Comments on: Weekend of Twinning: Mosques and Synagogues Bond

By: Jeff Siddiqui

Jeff Siddiqui — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:39:11 +0000

Hello Richard,
Naveed Haq caused a lot of anguish among Muslims by his attack on the Jewish Federation and he is rather severly mentally ill…However, he had converted to Christianity and had been attending a church for the prior year or two and he had been baptized about a couple of months earlier. He should be correctly identified either as a Christian or a Christian convert.

By: Jeff Siddiqui

Jeff Siddiqui — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:30:22 +0000

Jeff Z there are PLENTY of hate-filled instances to go around. We have a choice; we can either continue to wag our fingers at each other or, decide that ther is more than enough room for us all to live together in brotherhood. Yes, there will inevitably be bumps on the road, but do you want each of us to focus on every bump as we go along or, would you rather have us see that we are getting closer to the goal?

By: James

James — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:20:58 +0000

Cheryl, bless you for such a rational comment that blossoms from such an irrational situation. Every culture would claim itself to be peace loving; who can even begin to believe where hate and aggression stem from. They are human traits, not a muslim traits.

By: Voices without Votes » US: Mosque and Synagogue Twinning Week

Voices without Votes » US: Mosque and Synagogue Twinning Week — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:55:33 +0000

[...] Silverstein, a Jewish blogger in the US, writes about how 40 mosques and synagogues in the US conducted a joint programme on Islamophobia and [...]

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:07:09 +0000

@Jeff Siddiqui: I can appreciate how Haq’s repulsive act would make any good Muslim want to flee as far away fr. it as possible & make you severely uncomfortable in terms of his being identitified as Muslim. But the truth is that he seemed in his sloganeering during the shooting to be identifying himself as an Arab or Muslim. That was what was motivating his mind during the killing. Yes, he was baptized & may have identified as a Christian at some pt of other. But I think that’s more a symptom of his profoundly disturbed mind & failed search for identity.

On no acct. do I agree with the Jewish rightists like Pipes & Geller who identify this crime with Islam. It had nothing to do w. Islam. A sick Jewish or Chrisitian or Muslim mind does not implicate those religions in the victim’s sickness. Let’s be crystal clear about that.

That being said, there are Jews (& Muslims) who are not mentally ill who DO use their religion to fuel their hate of the other. Those people I have no tolerance or stomach for. But Naveed Haq is not one of those.

By: Global Voices Online » US: Mosque and Synagogue Twinning Week

Global Voices Online » US: Mosque and Synagogue Twinning Week — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:57:54 +0000

[...] Silverstein, a Jewish blogger in the US, writes about how 40 mosques and synagogues in the US conducted a joint programme on Islamophobia and [...]

By: Cheryl Stumbo

Cheryl Stumbo — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 21:37:46 +0000

Hi Jeff — We do not have to speculate about what he was feeling enraged about…he TOLD us what he was feeling enraged about. During the event and after (to his parents, to psychologists and psychiatrists, all of whom testified). And from how his participation in the non-denominational Christian congregation was described by the man who invited him to it, it was about trying to find somewhere to fit in. And I am in no way indicting his Muslim upbringing, in fact I think he was probably raised by very decent parents, parents who in fact founded their mosque. I don’t think his religion (Muslim, Christian or otherwise) had anything to do with his decision to break into, assault and kill, but I do think it helped his agitated mind select a target for his frustration.

By: Jeff Siddiqui

Jeff Siddiqui — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 19:22:39 +0000

Hello Cheryl,

I am hate to disagree with you on anything because of what you have gone through but I must address the “Muslim upbringing” part because that suggests there is something about Muslims that turns women off.
There is nothing about a “Muslim upbringing” that is really any different from a Christian or Jewish upbringing.
He also referred to Arabs as “my people”, however, with his Pakistani heritage, he is less of an Arab (Semite) than most Jews are. He could just as easily be targeting women because he is a man, but that should not be an indictment of a male upbringing either.
As far as I understand, Haq was brought up in a family that was NOT very orthodox in their faith, but, as you said, who can understand what goes on in a sick mind?
We know he was a Christian when he committed his murder and the shootings; we can only speculate that he was feeling enraged about something that he felt “Jews” were doing and felt had had to “defend” Muslims by attacking Jews.