Duke University Muslim Scholar On Faith Issues Call to Deal With ‘Antisemitism Problem’ in Muslim Communities

Finally, stating the obvious. I wonder if this scholar is prepared for the smear campaign that will be lodged against him.

Duke University Faith Scholar Issues Call to Deal With ‘Antisemitism Problem’ in Muslim Communities

By:Abdullah T. Antepli, Associate Professor of the Practice of Interfaith Relations at Duke University.

A Muslim-American imam and academic at Duke University issued a passionate appeal to confront antisemitism in the Muslim community following the hostage situation at the Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas.

Story continues below advertisement

Abdullah T. Antepli, an Associate Professor of the Practice of Interfaith Relations at Duke University, wrote on Twitter, “We North American Muslims need to have the morally required tough conversations about those ‘polite Zionists are our enemies,’ ‘The Benjamins!!!’ voices and realities within our communities.”

Antepli was referencing antisemitic statements made in December by Council on American–Islamic Relations official Zahra Billoo and by US Rep. Ilhan Omar in 2019.

“We MUST!” he continued, “Without ands and buts, without any further denial, dismissal and or trivializing of the issues … we need to honestly discuss the increasing antisemitism within various Muslim communities.”

Antepli is also the founder and co-director of the Muslim Leadership Initiative at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.

“Yes, we Muslims living [in] North America undeniably have an increasing antisemitism problem and seemingly we have yet to even begin to address the issue honestly, morally and accurately… but again we have to,” he said Sunday.

“I am really sick and tired of the overall defensiveness and tribal nature of our reaction to this alarming internal problem,” he stated. “We are better than this! We can no longer pretend the problems of antisemitism within us does not exist.”

The problem, he asserted, is “not going anywhere. Quite the contrary, [it’s] getting worse.”

British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, who has been identified as the hostage-taker in Saturday’s standoff, had demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving a US prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas after being convicted in 2010 of shooting at US soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan.

Speaking to the Washington Post on Monday, Antepli elaborated, “It’s as if there is no context in which these things are happening.”

“We have every right to be pro-Palestinian; American Muslims have to make this a pillar of our faith life, but increasingly, this is becoming a zero-sum game, and subtly veiled antisemitism is creeping, hiding behind being pro-Palestine — and we have to stop this denial,” he said. “Pay attention to the last 10 to 15 years.”

The Truth Must be Told

Your contribution supports independent journalism

Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.

Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.

Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.

Please contribute here.

or

Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.

Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding. Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.

Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival. Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.

Follow Pamela Geller on Gettr. I am there. click here.

Follow Pamela Geller on
Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. It's open and free.

Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the - symbol under the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

If you would like to join the conversation, but don't have an account, you can sign up for one right here.

If you are having problems leaving a comment, it's likely because you are using an ad blocker, something that break ads, of course, but also breaks the comments section of our site. If you are using an ad blocker, and would like to share your thoughts, please disable your ad blocker. We look forward to seeing your comments below.

Sponsored
Geller Report
Thanks for sharing!