Antiterrorism Focus
In May 2005, the Free Muslims organized the first ever Muslim-led rally against terrorism. The rally was endorsed by more than 80 organizations and received substantial media coverage. Furthering this focus on terrorism, Muslims can report suspicious activity on the FMCAT website.
In June 2005, Nawash’s work with the Free Muslims was recognized by the U.S. government when the White House appointed him to represent the U.S. before the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Nawash addressed leaders of Europe and the former Soviet republics in a speech on tolerance at an international conference in Spain.
In addition, in March 2006 Nawash was invited to Jerusalem to advance an alternative approach to solving the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. In summary, Nawash argued that in light of the passionate claims both Palestinians and Israelis have for the same territory the only solution for them is to become equal citizens in a confederacy rather than splitting the territory into two sovereign states.
In a CNN interview in December 2006, he said:
After 9/11 ... unfortunately, many of the Muslim organizations in, rather than recognize that we have is a problem with extremism and trying to deal with it, since we are the only ones who can deal with it, instead they took the role of victimization and took the role of ... of calling anyone who notices the obvious, that we have a problem with extremism, they accuse that person of being anti-Islam if they mention that. I think human beings in general would rather talk about how the world is against them, as opposed to talk about hey, we need to look inward. We have a problem.
Commenting in June 2009 on the radical Islam that some terrorists practice, Nawash said: "It's a ridiculous form of Islam". He noted that some converts, particularly those who have been incarcerated, practice "the most extreme version of the religion", and have their own personal and political grievances.
In December 2011 the Ariel University Center of Samaria jointly with organization Free Muslims Coalition held a special conference, entitled “Best Plans for a Peaceful Israel/Palestine” conference. The conference, the second of its kind, featured three Israeli and three Arab speakers, each of whom presented his idea for a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Read more about this topic: Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism
Famous quotes containing the word focus:
“It’s sad but true that if you focus your attention on housework and meal preparation and diapers, raising children does start to look like drudgery pretty quickly. On the other hand, if you see yourself as nothing less than your child’s nurturer, role model, teacher, spiritual guide, and mentor, your days take on a very different cast.”
—Joyce Maynard (20th century)