Page 4 - Pakistan Link - April 21, 2023

P4 - PAKISTAN LINK - APRIL 21, 2023 OPINION
Pakistan Link These Muslim Convert Stories Will vast majority of the people killed by
these terrorists outside of the West are
Challenge Your Perspective of Islam Muslims themselves.
But it should. And I hope that
Advisory Board
Dr Sohail Masood this initiative — the sharing of West-
ern Muslim convert stories throughout
President n By Dr. Akbar Ahmed Ramadan — can begin to change the
Arif Zaffar Mansuri Chair of Islamic Studies conversation.
ArifMansuri@PLpublications.org at American University As an American Muslim with
Washington, DC American children and grandchil-
Editor
Akhtar Mahmud Faruqui dren, I am drawn to projects such as
afaruqui@pakistanlink.com n sharing these stories of people this in part because I understand the
who have chosen to adopt my risks posed to families like my own if
Editor Urdu Link & Bureau Chief I faith, I aspire to shake up people’s we don’t speak up. As a scholar of Is-
(Pakistan) perceptions of Muslims and Islam. lam committed to building bridges, I
Shabbir Ghori
urdulink@yahoo.com “Islam is not a re- am also all too familiar with the many
ligion, it’s an ideology, misconceptions we must eliminate in
Resident Editor Urdu Link the ideology of a re- order to help heal this disconnect be-
& Director Video Operations tarded culture.” Islam tween Muslims and the West. It’s the
Anwar Khawaja
akhawaja@pakistanlink.com is “like a malignant ignorance and misunderstanding that
cancer.” “I think Islam fuels the violence directed towards
Manager Sales & Advertising hates us.” “Middle Eastern-looking” men or
sales@pakistanlink.com These are just a few of the out- women, including non-Muslims such
landish statements made by Western as Hindus and Sikhs. Innocent lives
Regional Offices
voices of political influence in recent vent him from harassing two young bility, and onlookers become ever more lost as a result mean that it’s not just
YKKB times, one of whom was the president women, one of whom was wearing a fearful of “the other.” In the West’s cli- enough to understand the hatred or to
ykkb03@gmail.com of the United States of America. hijab, on a train in Portland, Oregon. mate of Islamophobia, this “other,” know the statistics. We must seek out
Such rhetoric that dangerously And Europe is experiencing a surge of more often than not, takes the form of the stories of those who showcase the
Sacramento, CA conflates Muslims and terrorists, and anti-Muslim incidents as well. a usually non-white immigrant Mus- religion’s diversity and explicitly turn
Sacramento@plpublications.com seeks to inflame the idea of a “clash “I hope that this initiative — the lim who has an apparent deep hatred the stereotypes on their head.

San Fransisco/Bay Area, CA of civilizations,” is nothing new. But it sharing of Western Muslim convert for Western society and its culture. It Islam is a religion, not a skin tone
Sanfrancisco@plpublications.com has made it especially difficult to be a stories throughout Ramadan — can doesn’t matter to many that the statis- or ethnicity. Its adherents range from
Muslim today in America and Europe. begin to change the conversation.” tics paint a much more nuanced pic- Middle Eastern, to Bosnian, to Afri-
New York, NY
Newyork@plpublications.com In 2016 alone, the US saw at least 385 Meanwhile, acts of terror commit- ture, that a significant amount of those can, to East Asian and everywhere in
instances of documented Islamopho- ted in the name of a distorted version who end up carrying out attacks are between. Your white neighbor could be
Houston, TX bia, many in the form of hate crimes of Islam — from Orlando and Paris to not immigrants but Western natives a Muslim. A Muslim can also be some-
Houston@Plpublications.org
and slandering. Only a few years ago, Manchester and Baghdad — continue who might not even be religious or that one not born into the religion but who
Phoenix, AZ a crazed white man brutally killed two to dominate the news. Groups like the not all Muslims come from an Arab or decided to adopt it later on — a
Phoenix@Plpublications.org heroic men as they attempted to pre- so-called Islamic State claim responsi- South Asian ancestry. Or even that the (Continued on page 23)
Ontario, Canada
Ontario@Plpublications.org
n By Peter White ties,” said Rodriguez.
Letters to the Editor US Will Abortion Be the Wedge
Readers are welcome to express their Radical Judges
opinion in these columns. Please keep olls were clear before and after Issue in the 2024 Elections? Although abortion is supported
your letters brief and to the point. Let-
ters without full name, complete ad- the 2022 midterm election. A by a majority of voters in both major
dress, and a daytime phone number will P large majority of Americans parties, Republican Party officials have
not be published. Also, copies of letters think abortion should be legal. More distanced themselves from their mem-
sent to other newspapers are not en-
couraged. Letters can be mailed, faxed than any other issue, abortion rights bership and paid a price. Women orga-
or e-mailed to the Editor at the Pakistan brought people out to vote in the last nizing for autonomy and the right to
Link Headquarters address listed below.
election. choose say they will pay again in 2024.
Pakistan Link (ISSN 1074-0406) is pub- “The Supreme Court’s decision a “Radical judges and politicians
lished weekly for $85 a year by JAZ LLC, few months before the 2022 midterm are taking away our fundamental rights
DBA PL Publications, LLC.
elections was political suicide,” said to make decisions about if, when, and
Periodical postage paid at Anaheim, CA Suba Srinivasaraghavan, a field orga- how we have a family, and we’re not
and additional mailing offices.
POST MASTER: Send address changes to nizer with They See Blue in Virginia. going to take that sitting down. We
Pakistan Link, P O Box 1238, Anaheim, After the decision, she saw a surge will fight, organize, and build power,
CA 92815 in volunteering for get-out-the-vote ini- and vote until we can make our own
The management has the right to re-
fuse to print any advertisement, news, tiatives. “More people said ‘yes’ to field decisions again,” said Yvonne Hsu, a
article, letter or any other material. In organizers, to not just go out and vote, policy chief with the National Asian
case of any errors in advertisement the but also to volunteer, to write cards, Pacific American Women’s Forum
management will not be liable for more
than the amount paid for the advertise- knock on doors and to donate to many Seventy-five percent of voters say women and their doctors should decide; just (NAPAWF).
ment to the Link. campaigns,” Srinivasaraghavan said. nine percent say judges and politicians should decide - Alamy photo Hsu said that Asian American
Advertisements in Pakistan Link are “Abortion all of a sudden became women and Pacific Islanders (AAPI)
placed in good faith. The newspaper is
not responsible nor endorses the con- front and center for many constituents of Black voters and 53% of non-Dem- Rodriguez, National Executive Direc- find themselves in a place “where the
tents of any advertisement. In case of a and candidates alike,” she added. ocrats who voted Democratic in the tor, Latina Institute for Reproductive clocks have literally been turned back
frivolous lawsuit, the plaintiff will bear
the total cost of the suit, including but midterms. A plurality (48%) said they Justice. against us”.
not limited to the Link’s costs and the ‘Enough is Enough’ are less likely to support Republicans if The Latina Institute and the Na- Abortion restrictions will make
attorney’s fees. During a national briefing by they attempt to ban abortion care. tional Partnership for Women & Fami- accessing abortion care more difficult,
Information for Ethnic Media Services last week, five lies released research that found that and in some cases impossible, for
Subscribers organizers explained why reproductive Abortion Access Inaccessible nearly 6.5 million Latinas – 42 percent (Continued on page 23)
The printing of Pakistan Link is un- rights would be a top issue in the 2024 Lupe Rodriguez, National Ex- of all Latinas ages 15-49 – live in the 26
failingly completed by Wednesday Presidential Election. ecutive Director, Latina Institute for states that have banned or are likely to
every week and its copies are hand- Views and
ed over to the mailing house for “Voters across the country and Reproductive Justice, noted that abor- ban abortion. They represent the larg-
prompt dispatch to the subscribers. across the political spectrum said tion care has never been accessible for est group of women of color impacted opinions ex-
The Link should reach its destination pressed by
on time if there is no delay at the ‘Enough is enough.’ And in every state women of color. “Anti-abortion politi- by current or likely state bans. authors and
post office. If a delay is occasioned it where abortion was on the ballot, voters cians have been working for decades The research also found that
is in no way attributable to the per- contributors
formance of Link’s management. In supported protecting and expanding to make abortion difficult to get, and nearly 3 million Latinas living in these in articles,
case of delayed receipt of Pakistan access,” said Angela Vasquez-Giroux, the continued attacks on abortion ac- states are economically insecure and letters, opin-
Link or missing issues, please contact
your local Post Office and submit a Pro-Choice America’s Vice President cess fall hardest on communities of don’t have access to the funds they ion pieces, reports, advertise-
“Publication Watch” form. of Communications and Research. color and people working to make ends would need to travel to another state ments, etc appearing in Paki-
Tel: 714-400-3400 A poll conducted by Impact Re- meet,” she said. for abortion care. stan Link and Urdu Link are
Fax: 714-400-3404 search after the midterm election, False claims and misinforma- “This is upsetting, but not surpris- their own. The paper neither
E-Mail: Editor@PakistanLink.com shares nor endorses them
found that abortion has the power to tion about abortions and people who ing. Abortion bans fall hardest on La-
Pakistan Office continue to drive votes in future elec- provide them have many members tinas and other communities of color and thus should not be held
responsible for the views/
42 Rehman Court tions. A majority (52%) of voters are of the Latina and Latinx community who may work multiple jobs that pro- opinions of the writers & ad-
Plaza Square, Off M. A. Jinnah Road concerned that Republicans will try confused about new abortion laws vide no sick days or insurance cover-
Karachi-74400, Pakistan to ban abortion care, including 74% and where to get healthcare, says Lupe age, and live in underserved communi- vertisers.
www.Pakistanlink.com