November 7. Vote.

Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you stand, I think that Rick Santorum's recent statement is something to think about.

Santorum: " 'Mein Kampf means struggle; jihad means struggle,'' the Republican said as he compared the current geopolitical scene to the years of allied inattention before World War II." (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06305/734534-177.stm )

Jihad is a central and broad Islamic concept that includes struggle against evil inclinations within oneself, struggle to improve the quality of life in society, struggle on the battlefield by using a standing army for national defense, or fighting against tyranny or oppression.

Mein Kampf was the exposition of Hitler's political ideology of Nazism.

This comparison is incredibly misaligned, and the words are terribly dangerous, especially in today's geo-political environment - and more importantly, in the domestic arena. Not even two weeks aga, Alia Ansari - an Afghani-American in California, was gunned down in broad daylight - an incident that has been labeled a hatecrime. Alia Ansari, a muslim, the mother of 6 and yes, she wore the headscarf - was shot, point blank - in front of her six year old daughter ... on her way to dropping the child off at elementary school. Hate crimes occur every day, which in itself is a tragedy. At this point, we have the opportunity to prevent such hate from increasing. One has to stop the momentum before turning back the movement ...

Alia Ansari is (I believe) the first victim of a hate crime related to being Muslim. You can read more about Alia Ansari here.

Also, Imam Zaid's tribute to Alia Ansari.


Although, I don't need to say this to alot of you, but I wanted to send this out anyway - please vote on November 7 ... exercise your right, we are a privileged few that have it.