Hawaii lawmakers back the creation of 'Islam Day'
File this one under the title, "What in the world are they thinking?".
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's state Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday to celebrate "Islam Day" — over the objections of a few lawmakers who said they didn't want to honor a religion connected to Sept. 11, 2001.
The Senate's two Republicans argued that a minority of Islamic extremists have killed many innocents in terrorist attacks.
"I recall radical Islamists around the world cheering the horrors of 9/11. That is the day all civilized people of all religions should remember," said Republican Sen. Fred Hemmings to the applause of more than 100 people gathered in the Senate to oppose a separate issue — same-sex civil unions.
The resolution to proclaim Sept. 24, 2009, as Islam Day passed the Senate on a 22-3 vote. It had previously passed the House and now goes to Republican Gov. Linda Lingle.
The bill seeks to recognize "the rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions" that Islam and the Islamic world have made. It does not call for any spending or organized celebration of Islam Day.
"We are a state of tolerance. We understand that people have different beliefs," said Sen. Will Espero, a Democrat. "We may not all agree on every single item and issue out there, but to say and highlight the negativity of the Islamic people is an insult to the majority" of believers "who are good law-abiding citizens of the world."
But Republican Sen. Sam Slom argued that the United States has become too sympathetic toward Islamic extremists.
"I don't think there's any country in the history of the world that has been more tolerant than the United States of America, and because of that tolerance, we've looked the other way a lot of times, and many thousands of our citizens have been killed by terrorists," said Slom, a Republican.
The lone Democrat voting against the bill opposed it on church-state separation fears.
So? Where is the ACLU filing complaints regarding separation of church and state? Why is the state of Hawaii officially recognizing a specific religion? Wonder if we will hear from all the demonstrators that raise hell every time Christianity is mentioned in a government office? I don't imagine Madaline O'Hares ghost will come back for this issue of church and state?
The lone Democrat had it right on this issue and the two Republicans got it wrong. They opposed passage, but for the wrong reasons. 22 Democrats apparently have no clue. Wonder if they will consider passage of a National Christianity Day? Judaism?
Eh, don't hold your breath waiting for it.
Update:
Here is a copy of HCR100-HD1
HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
PROCLAIMING SEPTEMBER 24, 2009, AS ISLAM DAY.
1 WHEREAS, Hawaii is known for the wealth of its cultural and
2 religious diversity and the harmony with which people of many
3 cultures and religions live together; and
4
5 WHEREAS, Muslims constitute an ethnically diverse part of
6 Hawaii's cultural fabric, with around 3,000 practicing members;
7 and
8
9 WHEREAS, the Prophet Mohammad left his house to migrate to
10 Madinah and reached Quba in the vicinity of Madinah on the 12th
11 day of Rabi ul-Awwal according to the lunar calendar, or
12 September 24th according to the Gregorian calendar, thereby
13 marking the birth of Islam; and
14
15 WHEREAS, Islam, a religion with a long and noble history,
16 is the second largest religion in the world, with over one
17 billion followers spread across every continent, and including
18 members of many nations and cultures; and
19
20 WHEREAS, the Islamic world preserved and made original
21 contributions to works of science and philosophy during the
22 Middle Ages when these disciplines were threatened by bigotry
23 and prejudice in other parts of the world; and
24
25 WHEREAS, Islamic artists, scientists, and philosophers have
26 a rich history of contribution to world literature and our
27 collective scientific understanding; and
28
29 WHEREAS, the Islamic faith shares common teachings found in
30 the texts of both Christianity and Judaism, whose followers are
31 respected and considered "People of the Book"; and
HCR100 HD1 HMS 2009-3797
II~~IIII~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII~~I~IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1~1~11111111111~~~lllllllllllllllllllllmlll
Page 2 H.C.R. NO. 100
H.D.1
1 WHEREAS, Islamic doctrine encourages generosity in its
2 adherents, maintaining that those who possess much have a
3 responsibility to care for those in need; and
4
5 WHEREAS, Islam, along with its monotheistic counterparts,
6 holds that peace is a divine quality and necessary for
7 collective human happiness; and
8
9 WHEREAS, Islam strives for a world-wide community which, in
10 the words of one Islamic poet philosopher, "does not recognize
11 the superficial differences of race, or history, or
12 nationality"; and
13
14 WHEREAS, the United States and countries of the Islamic
15 world hold in common many beliefs and values including concepts
16 of world community and'mutual responsibility; and
17
18 WHEREAS, international understanding and peace, as well as
19 understanding and peace in our local communities, are
20 strengthened by free and open communications among everyone
21 representing various cultural and religious traditions; and
22
23 WHEREAS, the 96th United States Congress officially
M recognized the noble qualities of Islam in a concurrent
25 resolution on October 15, 1979 (SCR 43), honoring the religion's
26 14th centennial; now, therefore,
27
28 BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
29 Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
30 of 2009, the Senate concurring, that September 24, 2009, shall
31 be known as "Islam Day" to recognize the rich religious,
32 scientific, cultural, and artistic contributions Islam and the
33 Islamic world have made since their founding; and
34
35 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
36 Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's congressional
37 delegation, the Governor, and the Board of the Muslim
~ Association of Hawaii.
Recent figures place the Muslim population of Hawaii at around 3,000 of a total population of 1,283,388. What accounts for this astounding move on the part of the Hawaiian legislature?
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