Over the last few years, seemingly out of nowhere, a cloud has arrived and expanded to cover much of the US. This cloud brought with it the fear of a plague on its way to infest and destroy the US from within. The call was clear: we need to stop this plague now before its too late.

The plague? "creeping Shariah"

When asked, what it was or on what basis the fear is based, many of the proponents of anti Shariah measures clearly illustrate their ignorance of what it is, but stress that it is a real, legitimate fear requiring drastic action. Many speak in details about the Quran, the scripture upon which this creeping Shariah is primarily based, but when asked, have never ever read it.

While its nice to make fun of such ignorance, as has been done on political satire shows and such, the reality is such ignorant fear mongering, if allowed to persist, will only result in regrettable behavior in society, both on an individual level and on a collective level. Such as the Norway terrorist attacks. (BTW one of the big proponents of such fear, Pamela Geller, recently amended her website to remove sections of a posting from Norway which likely could have been by the perpetrator wherein the author said "We are stockpiling and caching weapons, ammunition, and food. This is going to happen fast." Read more at http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/38949_Pamela_Geller_Edits_Post_to_Conceal_Violent_Rhetoric_in_Email_from_Norway

Who is behind this campaign? Is it an evolutionary phenomenon that has just miraculously come together, thereby proving the real and valid nature of it? Or is it being cooked up in some dark laboratory by some whose intentions we can only guess at?

Well the New York Times has put together an expose on the source of the campaign. I would urge you to visit it at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/us/31shariah.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

The Jewish Daily Forward also has put together their own report on the mastermind. You can find that at http://forward.com/articles/139688/

One of the striking things from these news reports is that the proponents cite a "study" done at US mosques which evaluated the key aspects of Shariah and the threats they present. Specifically, how long the beard of the imam is. Whether he wears his watch on his right hand. How many of the congregants wear head wear. Etc. Real substantive evidence of the looming threat.

We have enough hate in this world to go around. Instead of adding more to the mix, why can't we follow the spirit of the various religious scriptures we all subscribe to, and foster peace, unity and love. As Rodney King said it best, "Why can't we all just get along"

We should support efforts to promote understanding. Such as interfaith social welfare programs helping the broader society. Like the doctors in Detroit, my birthplace, who are bridging religious lines to help those less fortunate (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4097874,00.html#.TjTnPNMm3dU.facebook)

Historically, when such ignorance runs wild, the result is a black eye for the era in which they occurred (eg. Spanish Inquisition, Germany, etc). Do we want our era to be viewed in similar fashion?