Hole in the Wall
Nothing to Prove
RECEIVED Thu., Jan. 29, 2015
Dear Editor,
To become an American citizen, I had to officially take an oath and declare my allegiance to the United States. Not only have I come to love the United States, as a Muslim, I am obligated to be loyal to my country.
Recently, freshman state Rep. Molly White instructed her staff to ask all Muslim visitors to pledge allegiance to the United States as they gathered to celebrate Texas Muslim Capitol Day [“Rep. Molly White Not Quite Sure Who's American,” Newsdesk, Jan. 29]. Not only that, she also left a flag of Israel on her desk declaring where her own allegiance lies.
There were also protesters at the state Capitol, proclaiming their anti-Islam sentiments loudly and clearly. Their comments can be attributed to ignorance about the Islamic faith, but I have a hard time justifying the comments of an elected official, who blatantly revealed her own prejudice by asking Muslims to prove their allegiance to their country.
Besides being a proud American, I am a practicing Muslim who believes that loyalty to my country is part of my faith. However, I don’t need to prove that to any elected official who is supposed to represent their constituents without any discrimination of race, religion, or ethnicity.
To become an American citizen, I had to officially take an oath and declare my allegiance to the United States. Not only have I come to love the United States, as a Muslim, I am obligated to be loyal to my country.
Recently, freshman state Rep. Molly White instructed her staff to ask all Muslim visitors to pledge allegiance to the United States as they gathered to celebrate Texas Muslim Capitol Day [“Rep. Molly White Not Quite Sure Who's American,” Newsdesk, Jan. 29]. Not only that, she also left a flag of Israel on her desk declaring where her own allegiance lies.
There were also protesters at the state Capitol, proclaiming their anti-Islam sentiments loudly and clearly. Their comments can be attributed to ignorance about the Islamic faith, but I have a hard time justifying the comments of an elected official, who blatantly revealed her own prejudice by asking Muslims to prove their allegiance to their country.
Besides being a proud American, I am a practicing Muslim who believes that loyalty to my country is part of my faith. However, I don’t need to prove that to any elected official who is supposed to represent their constituents without any discrimination of race, religion, or ethnicity.
Aziza Faruqi