By Debbie Schlussel
Last week, on the eve of Independence Day, the Wall Street Journal Op-ed page ran a piece by Islamofascist Junaid Afeef, “Obama Should Embrace His Muslim Heritage.” The piece contained the usual BS you hear from Islamic Spokesmodels: that Islam is peaceful, that most Muslims are moderate, that they are the victims of all of us who are unduly prejudiced, that they would all put down their AK-47s and disposable Tracfone IEDs tomorrow if only Obama would embrace his ties to them, yadda, yadda, yadda, dogpoop, dogpoop, dogpoop.
Well, it seems that the well educated WSJ readers aren’t buyin’. Today, the Journal ran a selection of letters, and every single one of ’em is good. The first one, I don’t agree with the first half of it. But the last sentence is pretty good. I’m putting that letter last. The rest are excellent!:

It is not irrational to fear Islam when we daily see property being destroyed and people murdered by terrorists, who use Islamic teachings and quote directly from Quranic verses to justify their actions.

Moderate Muslims have not been able to use theology to effectively refute the terrorists. We see the lack of women’s rights and lack of freedoms that exist wherever Islam rules. All cultures are not equal and we don’t want the Islamic culture introduced into the West. Our ancestors worked too long and too hard for the freedoms that we have, and we don’t want to be taken back to a 7th-century misogynistic, totalitarian ideology that cloaks itself within religious doctrine in order to hide its true goal of world domination.
George McCallum
Bethesda, Md.
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I believe the anti-Muslim sentiments are not a product of fear or a lack of understanding. Rather they are based on a perception that Islam and mainstream democratic values are somehow irreconcilable.
Maneesha Sharma
Charlotte, N.C.
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I can’t say that I have read, seen or heard everything, but since 9/11 the Muslim world community has not raised its voice in anger against the terrorist perpetrators of evil. Why not? They raise their voices against cartoonists and authors; why not against killers?
Those in the Muslim world who stay silent are the true Islamophobes. Do they fear their own religion and so do not dare risk challenging the killers?
Mr. Afeef, look inward, and get your imams to issue fatwas condemning Osama bin Laden and all his ilk at every mosque world-wide and Islamophobia will disappear.
Alan A. Fleischer
New Canaan, Conn.
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Rather than trying to debunk the bigotry of Islamophobes, I would ask Mr. Afeef to address the shortcomings of his own faith and its lack of a discernible, peaceful direction. Don’t smear the African-Americans, Chinese, Latinos and Jews of this country by associating their respective oppressions with the plight of today’s Muslim.
Denounce the violence, human rights violations and religious intolerance that are pervasive in Muslim nations, and watch the fear and lack of understanding of Islamophobes in America erode.
Brian Kling
Palatka, Fla.
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Regarding Junaid Afeef’s “Obama Should Embrace His Muslim Heritage” (op-ed, July 3): As a Christian I wouldn’t mind hearing Barack Obama positively acknowledge his father’s Muslim background. It could be a very good thing, especially given Mr. Obama’s exposure and international credibility. But to do so with a “can’t we all get along” ethos, as Mr. Aleef seems to suggest, will be no more helpful than Islamic public relations straining to assure the world that “jihad” is not just confined to a holy war intended to kill unbelievers.
Dr. James Rueb
Moraga, Calif.

Mega-Kudos to all of these well-educated people. They are not fooled by the well-greased Islamic PR machine.