Should America Really Have a Muslim Heritage Month?

It was a day well spent in the Nevada State Assembly on Thursday, if you’re a committed resident of the left’s fantasy world: Nevada’s Assembly Committee on Government Affairs held a meeting to consider whether to designate July as Muslim Heritage Month. There are all of 7,400 Muslims in Nevada, comprising less than half of one percent of the state’s population, but proponents of the measure, according to Citizen Portal, “highlighted the bill’s potential to foster inclusivity and celebrate the contributions of Muslim Americans to the state and the nation.”

What contributions? Citizen Portal notes that “Austin Daly, representing the University of Nevada, Reno, also voiced his support, stressing the need to honor the historical contributions of Muslim Americans to the local community.” The report doesn’t say, however, whether Daly actually enumerated some of those historical contributions. Was there a notable Muslim governor of Nevada? Was there a hero of World War I or World War II or Korea or Vietnam or any other war who hailed from Nevada and declared that there was no god but Allah and Muhammad was his prophet? Was there a prominent Muslim businessman or accomplished Muslim athlete who called Nevada home?

The answer to all these questions is obvious, although that fact got no notice Thursday in the Nevada State Assembly. Citizen Portal let the cat out of the bag when it reported the real purpose of a Muslim Heritage Month: it “represents a low-cost opportunity to showcase the progressive values of Nevadans, illustrating how the state embraces various nationalities, ethnicities, and religions.”

Ah. So it’s all about showing Muslims how sweet the state of Nevada is to them. “As the committee considers the bill, the discussions reflect a broader commitment to diversity and inclusion in Nevada, with advocates eager to see the legislation advance. The recognition of Muslim Heritage Month could serve as a significant step toward fostering a more cohesive and accepting society in the state.” There it is: it’s really about hoping to pacify Muslims to the extent that jihadis won’t blow anything up in Nevada.

That likely explains why Nevada isn’t the only state that is considering establishing a Muslim Heritage Month. Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, and Utah already have Muslim Heritage Month, and bills to make Muslim Heritage Month a nationwide observance have been introduced in both the House and the Senate. Robert McCaw of the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) explained: “It’s to educate and expand the awareness of the Muslim community. There are so many rich traditions to explore.”

That’s swell, Bob, but usually when there is a celebration of some heritage or other, there is a heritage to celebrate. Yet when we speak honestly (which would already be a sharp departure from CAIR’s usual practice), what is there to note about Muslim heritage in the United States? Muslims in the U.S. were the cause of some remarkable innovations in airport security procedures after September 11, 2001, and aside from that, what is there? The U.S. pursued long, wrongheaded and fruitless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because of those same Islamic jihad attacks of September 11. Then there were the jihad massacres at Fort Hood; the Boston Marathon; the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida; San Bernardino; Chattanooga; New York City; New Orleans; and so very many other places.

The real legacy of Islam in relation to the United States is war. The first war the new nation fought was against the Barbary Pirates, who were Islamic jihadis. And still today, the United States faces threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran, where the regime orders the people to scream “Death to America” in the mosques every Friday. Our sole reliable ally in the Middle East, Israel, likewise faces bloodthirsty and genocidal jihadis in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere.

And in response to this global, fourteen-hundred-year-old war, Democrats are busy sabotaging the Trump administration’s efforts to protect America, and sponsoring bills to establish Muslim Heritage Months in the various states as well as nationwide. It’s not just foolish. It’s not just stupid. It’s not just useless: no Islamic jihadi is going to tell his comrades, “No, brothers, let’s call off this attack on a major American city. After all, they established a Muslim Heritage Month.” It’s giving aid and comfort to a people among whom are many who consider themselves to be enemies of the United States. Giving aid and comfort to the enemy — there used to be a word for that.