May 30, 2017 08:53 AM UTC

Radio host warns against "living next door" to a Muslim

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Pick a day on Denver talk radio, and you’ll find Muslims under attack in the most heartbreaking, insulting, and ignorant ways.

The audience is small but the bigotry is too real to ignore with Trump in the White House. More people need to know this is happening here, in Denver, our home, so we can be ready to help our Muslim neighbors if they come under even more serious attack or discrimination.

The latest example oozes from KLZ 560-AM, which describes itself as “dedicated to upholding this country’s Judeo-Christian roots” and “committed to serving God and country, upholding traditional American values such as freedom, justice, honesty, and respect.”

If you caught the station’s afternoon show, called Rush to Reason, this is what you heard:

John Rush @2 min 15 sec below: Those out there predicting that the Muslim faith–I don’t want to call it af faith because I don’t think it is–Those that believe in the Muslim world, telling you that there are a bunch of peace-loving Muslims running around that are waiting to shake your hand and help you out, I don’t think so…. Trust me, they are not going to stop until we stop them or they take the world over, one of the two. Those are the only two answers, folks.

There is nothing in between. There is none of this,  living next door to one and thinking everything is going to work out great. It’s not how it’s going to happen, folks.

It’s obvious that all religions, including Christianity and Islam, rely on interpretations. Here’s what Akbar Ahmed, Chair of Islamic Studies at American University and author of Journey into America, told me couple years ago:

“In Islam, god in the Koran has 99 attributes, 99 names, and the two names that god uses all the time to define himself, and we use to define god, are compassion and mercy. So god’s justice reflects god’s compassion and mercy.”

The bigots on the radio are going to take a lot of work before they accept the fact that Islam is no different than any other religion. Meanwhile, we have to be ready in case Trump, John Rush,  or anyone comes after the Muslims in our community. ProgressNow Colorado has set up a “rapid response” network to respond to Trump and his allies. Sign up here.