Islamic Law Is Clearly Against

The World Wants To Like America. The Guiding Values That Thomas Jefferson Articulated So Eloquently - Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness - Resonate Strongly Around The World, Transcending Countless Superficial And Cultural Differences, Not Because These Are American Values, But Because They Are Universal Values, Embedded In The Human Heart.

In Malaysia, Where Western Culture Was Extremely Influential, I'd Grown Up Listening To Elvis And The Beatles And Watching American Movies. People Wanted To Be Like Americans. In Contrast, When I Got Here, I Saw Prosperous Middle-class American College Students Wanting To Somehow Join The Third World.

I Was Completely Surrounded By Religion From A Young Time. I Was Taught By My Father. I Engaged In Discussions With Him And Many Of These Scholars Who Visited And Came Around The Dining Table, The Lunch Table, And Attended Many Lectures With My Dad. And So I Learned The Apprentice Way.

It Is Part Of My Responsibility As A Bridge Builder To Speak The Truth About What's Great About America, What We've Done Right, And What Our Less Glorious Moments. And Many People Feel That The Iraq Adventure, For Example, Has Been One Of Our Less Glorious Moments.

The Ultimate Vision Is To Instate In The Muslim World The Notion Of Multiculturalism, Which Is Part Of Our Heritage And History, Part Of The Fundamental, Mainstream Ideals Of Islam.