Pompeo- A Bad Choice For America And The World Peace

Pompeo- A Bad Choice For America And The World Peace April 11, 2018

President Trump selects yet another unfit individual to lead the dept. of state. CIA director Mike Pompeo is scheduled for confirmation hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday April 12. Put simply, it is a mistake America (and more specifically the senate) cannot afford to make.

The secretary of state is a sensitive and a critical position in the U.S. cabinet-one that requires wisdom, openness and fairness.

This position cannot be held by bigots, zealots and religious extremists, such as Mike Pompeo. Pompeo has shown that he is unfit for this position by his behavior, statements and the company he keeps.

I am not the only Patheos blogger who has written against his nomination for this position.

Michael Stone from the Nonreligious channel expressed his strong concerns on a post on March 13, Trump Taps Pompeo, Dangerous Christian Extremist, For Secretary of State.

A recent report from Foreign Policy paints a dismal portrait of the CIA under Pompeo. According to the report, Pompeo was working to make the agency a bastion for white, male, Christian conservatives.

For the record, Mike Pompeo is a dangerous Christian extremist, and a sharp critic of Islam. Indeed, Pompeo even goes so far as to endorse the notion of a “Holy War” between Christians and Muslims, and believes the fight against terrorism is a war between Islam and Christianity.

Courtesy: msnbc.com

To be clear, I have nothing against the whites, males, or the Christians. In fact, anyone who has followed my blog or my work in the interfaith circles knows very well that I strive to build bridges between people of all faiths, including Christians and Jews. As faith workers, it is our responsibility to point out those who are threatening to divide us by using religion. In fact, you don’t even have to be a person of faith to do so.

It is the bigotry, the twisted extremist views that make Mike Pompeo a dangerous choice for all of us, including the Christians.

Nonreligious channel bloggers were not the only ones expressing their concerns.

Deacon Greg Kandra of the catholic channel also posted the same day as Michael stone, quoting some of the disturbing statements he has made. Mike Pompeo: ‘Jesus Christ, our savior is truly the only solution for our world’. 

It is not his belief in Jesus Christ that people have problem with. After all, that is the belief of most Americans. I strive to understand my Christian cousins’ faith tradition as I work to build bridges. But his extremist views and hateful rhetoric is what people are concerned about.

It is no secret that religion has been used to divide us by people of all faiths- Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Hindus among others. I strongly believe religion and faith can actually help bring us together. Therefore when I see someone using religion to fuel hate and divide us, we need to speak up.

A Known Islamophobe

His bigoted, Islamophobic views are rather well known. Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths. Their call for action includes contacting your senators to express your opposition to this nomination. According to a post on its website, Pompeo has:

  • AccusedAmerican Muslim leaders of being “potentially complicit” after the Boston Marathon terrorist attack;
  • Sponsored a Capitol Hill legislative briefing from ACT for America, the nation’s largest anti-Muslim hate group;
  • Received the “highest honor” award from ACT for America;
  • Claimed that Muslims “abhor Christians…and will continue to press against us until we make sure that we pray and stand and fight”; and
  • Advocated to halt refugee resettlement.

The daily Dot had concerns about Mike Pompeo back during the election campaign of 2016 when the then candidate Donald Trump picked him for CIA director’s role.

Pompeo demonizes Muslims; is a member of the National Rifle Association; has received large sums of money from Koch Industries; believes raped women should be denied abortions; supports the indefinite detention of military prisoners without charge at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, which he fervently opposes shuttering; and is a proponent of the dragnet phone surveillance carried out by the National Security Agency against Americans for nearly a decade—a program ruled illegal last year by a three-judge panel at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

War on terror- a war between Christianity and Islam

He depicts the war on terrorism as a war between Christianity and Islam, as reported by The Intercept.

He continued: “Every time there has been a conflict between the Christian west and the Islamic east, the data points all point to a singular direction.

“They abhor Christians,” Pompeo said, “and will continue to press against us until we make sure that we pray and stand and fight….”

His bigotry is not confined to Muslims only.

In 2010, as reported by Little India and other news outlets, when running for Congress, his campaign tweeted a post referring to his Indian-American opponent, Raj Goyle, as a “turban topper.” The post included the comment, “This guy could be a muslim, a hindu, a buddhist etc who knows, only God, the shadow and . . . goyle knows! One thing’s for sure . . . goyle is not a Christian!”

Pompeo later apologized and conveniently blamed a staffer for the post.

As I have repeated so many times, the real struggle is not between Muslims, Jews, Christians or Hindus. The real struggle is between extremists of all faiths (and no faith) on one side, and the descent silent majority of all faiths (and no faiths) on the other.

The descent silent majority cannot afford to have an extremist take on such an important role in the U.S government that will have far reaching effects on not just the US affairs, but will impact the global peace. Therefore the peacemakers belonging to all faiths (or no faith) need to express their strong opposition to Pompeo’s nomination.

 

Contact your senator today that you will not let the bigotry and hate prevail.

 

 


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