The Philadelphia Weekly has a feature story relating to the struggles of Iraqi refugees in that area. One of the more interesting parts of the story relates to the what some see as an increasing antagonism towards Muslims in this country, as evidenced by recent controversy relating to the building of a mosque near ground zero in New York. The article mentions a “watchdog” group called Refugee Resettlement Watch on whose website is a category entitled “Stealth Jihad” which alleges that Muslim immigration/refugee resettlement to the U.S. will lead to the “Islamization” of American culture. Philadelphia Weekly interviewed it’s founder Ann Corcoran who said:
“We gave Iraq a free country,…I don’t know why we need to be bringing various squabbling factions of Iraqis to us, bringing them here for what? When there’s no employment?”
She also added :
“There needs to be a national debate about how many refugees and other immigrants we take and from what cultures they come from… Frankly, we have made a grievous error in taking the Muslim refugees…“Unfortunately, political correctness and a worshipful attitude toward multiculturalism have blinded us.”
The reality of the situation is that those Muslim Iraqis who have come here in many cases had no choice. Many of them worked valiantly for the United States government because they had a vision for a new and free Iraq. And many of them died alongside Marine and Army soldiers whom were their colleagues and friends. When they were targeted by militias and deemed collaborators, they had to make a heart breaking decision, to leave their life, relatives and all they knew behind, in order to escape certain death. Our government has the responsibility to protect them and their families. Anything less would be a insult to those all those Iraqis who gave so much. We at least owe them the chance to start over, to not have to look over their shoulder in fear, and to give them the opportunity to raise their children without the specter of violence looming around the next corner.