The iconic stand-up and star of the beloved sitcom The Cosby Show routinely weighs in on cultural matters.

This past weekend, Cosby penned an op-ed for The New York Post in which he detailed some of the flaws in modern society. He also suggested we should take a page out of the Koran if we want to have healthier families, less crime and more productive people.

"I’m a Christian. But Muslims are misunderstood. Intentionally misunderstood. We should all be more like them. They make sense, especially with their children. There is no other group like the Black Muslims, who put so much effort into teaching children the right things, they don’t smoke, they don’t drink or overindulge in alcohol, they protect their women, they command respect. And what do these other people do?

They complain about them, they criticize them. We’d be a better world if we emulated them. We don’t have to become black Muslims, but we can embrace the things that work."

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2013/06/10/cosby-all-should-be-muslims

The African American muslim community is actually a growing community worthy of emulation.

seconded

The op-ed on new york post:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/bill_cosby_plague_called_apathy_tbvGiDoQUJe3g9eav1R5wK/2

The Muslim community needs to applaud Bill Cosby for his recent comments about Muslims living in the U.S. I'll post a link to what he said below, but basically he criticized Christian leaders for turning a blind eye while drugs are being sold in many church neighborhoods, and said they should learn from Muslim leaders who have absolutely no tolerance for it and cleaning up mosque neighborhoods.

I can't speak for the Christian leaders part, but his assessment of the Muslim community, specifically the Black American Muslim community, was spot on. And this comes from someone who has not only traveled to these neighborhoods during my 30 Mosques shenanigans, but as someone who spent several years living in a former drug neighborhood that Muslims cleaned up in NYC.

But it is a little sad Bill Cosby recognizes how much of an impact Muslims have had on these neighborhoods, when we Muslims tend to forget, ignore, or simply have no idea.

What I loved about what Cosby did was he went beyond the whole "Hey Muslims aren't terrorists" cookie-cutter snoozefest discussions that clutter the airwaves. He took the conversation into a whole different area where nobody can really deny the impact Muslims had in cleaning up these neighborhoods.

His comments are getting lots of coverage in the news, and I hope it pushes the dialogue about Muslims in this country beyond the lame post 9/11 terrorism bologna.

What Bill Cosby did made me really really happy. I am going to put on an ugly sweater and eat some Jello to celebrate. Crap, is Jello haram? I can't remember lol, but I know ugly sweaters aren't.

by Amar Ali

It seems the world pays more attention to terrorists Muslims than regular Muslims.

Afam4eva: It seems the world pays more attention to terrorists Muslims than regular Muslims.

which would be unfair?

especially since the terrorists are a little(could have called it negligible) fraction of the Muslim populace.

I do not agree with many tenets of the Islamic faith. That is my choice - a choice borne out of the reality of being born and living in Nigeria for many, many years. Years in which I have seen inexplicable violence in the name of Islam, largely in Northern Nigeria. Extreme violence in which the perpetrators got away scot free because of the weakness of the Nigerian state in enforcing Nigerian law. Nigerian muslims have a lot to answer for.

Having said that, there is some truth in Mr. Bill Cosby's comments. As it was stated in the article, Cosby is very correct in his assessment of the social threads holding African-American muslim communities together and he is humble enough to admit that there are several cultural practices among Afro-american muslims that the wider Afro-american community would do well to borrow from. And its not just in the USA. I also remember what happened in South Africa in the 1990s after the fall of apartheid, when entire neighbourhoods and communities (mostly in deprived areas) were blighted by a fierce wave of looting, arson and drug dealing. I remember vividly that the only communities that stood up and resisted this crime wave were the muslim ones.

It is stories like these that increase the spotlight on Nigerian muslims. Will they stand up and be counted?

VolvoS60:
I do not agree with many tenets of the Islamic faith. That is my choice - a choice borne out of the reality of being born and living in Nigeria for many, many years. Years in which I have seen inexplicable violence in the name of Islam, largely in Northern Nigeria. Extreme violence in which the perpetrators got away scot free because of the weakness of the Nigerian state in enforcing Nigerian law. Nigerian muslims have a lot to answer for.

Indeed it's your choice, no one will force you to change it, but, i must say that your choice is borne out of a fallacious reasoning. Why? You tend to have made your choice about Islam from a faulty reasoning, you hastily concluded about the tenets of Islam(to promote violence) by looking at a minute sample(some Northern Nigerian Muslims). There have been cases of violence in Nigeria which were quite severe and they had no correlation with Islam or Muslims, for example the recent ombatse cult massacre of the Nigerian police, and more like such that have happened in the past whereby innocent people have been killed. Would it be right for me to conclude that Nigeria promotes violence or that Nigerians are violent people?

Nigerian Muslims need no answering here, we only would continue to live peacefully and remain law abiding citizens as we have always been.

Criminals who comit attrocities under any guise should be dealt with by the state, and we(citizens) irrespective of our religious affiliations must stand up and support the state to bring them to justice.

Having said that, there is some truth in Mr. Bill Cosby's comments. As it was stated in the article, Cosby is very correct in his assessment of the social threads holding African-American muslim communities together and he is humble enough to admit that there are several cultural practices among Afro-american muslims that the wider Afro-american community would do well to borrow from. And its not just in the USA. I also remember what happened in South Africa in the 1990s after the fall of apartheid, when entire neighbourhoods and communities (mostly in deprived areas) were blighted by a fierce wave of looting, arson and drug dealing. I remember vividly that the only communities that stood up and resisted this crime wave were the muslim ones.

It is stories like these that increase the spotlight on Nigerian muslims. Will they stand up and be counted?

@the bold
Again, Nigerian Muslims have never been found wanting in educating the populace in regards to morality and eschewing societal vices, lectures and seminars are conducted regularly, and very soon the holy month of Ramadhan(month of obligatory fasting) would be here with lots of activities which are centered on God consiousness and being better Muslims. Please tune in to Islamic programs and listen to what is being preached, you wouldn't hear about riches and wealth like others do, but rather, fear of God, good deeds and good moral characters that would uplift the individual and the society.

Let me give you an example, i want to believe you studied in Nigeria, and if not, perhaps an assignment for you to verify, some Nigerian universities are known for cultism and other social vices. Foremost of those who stand up against these vices is the Muslim community. There are cases of cultist who come to the mosque to renounce cultism and then rehabilitated, our females are better dressed and exhibits good morals and our males show decorum. You can go to any public institution in this country that has a sizeable amount of Muslims, and confirm this.

deols:

which would be unfair?

especially since the terrorists are a little(could have called it negligible) fraction of the Muslim populace.

The terrorists are very little but their noise seems to be the loudest just like Nigerian scammers. It now behoves on good Muslims out there to start showing the world the good things about them just like AlJazeera is doing. I don't think Muslims have done enough in this regard.

Afam4eva:
The terrorists are very little but their noise seems to be the loudest just like Nigerian scammers. It now behoves on good Muslims out there to start showing the world the good things about them just like AlJazeera is doing. I don't think Muslims have done enough in this regard.

what do you suggest they do?

what would you have done?

"intentionally misunderstood"

sino:

Indeed it's your choice, no one will force you to change it, but, i must say that your choice is borne out of a fallacious reasoning. Why? You tend to have made your choice about Islam from a faulty reasoning, you hastily concluded about the tenets of Islam(to promote violence) by looking at a minute sample(some Northern Nigerian Muslims).

^^^^
No sir, my choice is not borne out of 'a fallacious reasoning', as you put it. My 'hasty conclusion' is not based on observation of a minute sample. A sample drawn from which population? African muslims? Or muslims from all over the world? Which is it? It cannot be the population of Nigerian muslims. You referred to this 'minute sample' as being made up of 'some Northern Nigerian muslims'. No sir, it isn't 'some'. All I need to do is refer you to the facts - from the early 1980s to date ALL the states up North (except perhaps Sokoto) with a clear muslim majority have experienced shocking levels of violence with religious undertones. This is not a phenomenon that can be dismissively referred to as "some Northern Nigerian muslims". It is too widespread for that.

sino:
There have been cases of violence in Nigeria which were quite severe and they had no correlation with Islam or Muslims, for example the recent ombatse cult massacre of the Nigerian police, and more like such that have happened in the past whereby innocent people have been killed. Would it be right for me to conclude that Nigeria promotes violence or that Nigerians are violent people?

^^^^
The only answer to your question above is 'ýes'. Nigeria promotes violence. We ARE violent people. Our modes of conflict resolution (at home, school, work, play, worship - you name it) expressly include violence as one of the first options on the table. We do not even need to debate this - look around you. The only issue we may argue about is the differences in the propensity towards violence of the different sub-groups (stratified along economic, political, ethnic, gender, class, and yes, religious lines) that make up this weird and wonderful country. What is sure is that there is a built-in baseline level of violence below which no (true) Nigerian can fall.

sino:
Nigerian Muslims need no answering here, we only would continue to live peacefully and remain law abiding citizens as we have always been. Criminals who comit attrocities under any guise should be dealt with by the state, and we(citizens) irrespective of our religious affiliations must stand up and support the state to bring them to justice.

^^^^
Laudable words which unfortunately run into serious problems in the real world. I once posted here on NL on the life and times of the late Alhaji Lateef Adegbite. He and other well known Islamic scholars like the late Sheik Mohammed Gumi could be said to represent the views of a sizable number of Nigerian muslims. These men (while alive) had stated publicly at one forum or another that they considered Sharia law to be superior to Nigerian law. As you know, this view can only lead to trouble, the most recent manifestation of which is the Boko Haram problem. You see the contradiction?

sino:
Again, Nigerian Muslims have never been found wanting in educating the populace in regards to morality and eschewing societal vices, lectures and seminars are conducted regularly, and very soon the holy month of Ramadhan(month of obligatory fasting) would be here with lots of activities which are centered on God consiousness and being better Muslims. Please tune in to Islamic programs and listen to what is being preached, you wouldn't hear about riches and wealth like others do, but rather, fear of God, good deeds and good moral characters that would uplift the individual and the society.

^^^^
I am all for this. For years I have listened to Islamic sermons that come on the media during Ramadan, etc., and though I am not a muslim, any exhortation to live to a higher standard can only be a good thing. For example I have always admired the simplicity of Islamic burials. Ostentatious burials do not seem to be common among muslims - this encourages a solemn focus on the finality of death and the grave lessons for those of us left behind. But having said that, I also understand and agree with those who consider death to be a celebration of sorts, particularly if the deceased lived to a ripe old age in the service of God and man. These are just my views anyway.

sino:
Let me give you an example, i want to believe you studied in Nigeria, and if not, perhaps an assignment for you to verify, some Nigerian universities are known for cultism and other social vices. Foremost of those who stand up against these vices is the Muslim community. You can go to any public institution in this country that has a sizeable amount of Muslims, and confirm this.

^^^^^
You do have a point here. I am Nigerian through and through and went through UI. I know the hell that some students went through in the hands of confraternity boys and it was surprising to find out that a number of universities (mostly in the North & a few down South, notably OAU, Ife) had made their institutions a no-go area for confraternities. (Not that they were not present, but they were definitely on the margins). Unfortunately, a number of universities (mostly those up North with a large majority of muslim students) gained a reputation for a simmering tension between muslim and christian students. In the end, the gains were lost. Zero cultism but frequent clashes between muslim and christian students? There is no gain there.

sino:

Our females are better dressed and exhibits good morals and our males show decorum. You can go to any public institution in this country that has a sizeable amount of Muslims, and confirm this.

^^^^
Can't argue with you about the dressing and general behaviour of muslim girls. You are absolutely correct on this. But don't forget that there are a lot of non-muslim girls in Nigerian public institutions who also dress modestly and avoid trouble.



I still stand by my main points in my first post. Non-muslims in Nigeria who have suffered one loss or another in one of the many violent religious riots WILL NOT be satisfied with pious declarations about how Islam means peace. Nor will their pain be soothed by constantly assigning the blame to a 'faceless minority' that inexplicably, continues to operate unhindered. No sir. We want to see the peace of Islam demonstrated in practice. Only then will it make sense.

VolvoS60:
No sir, my choice is not borne out of 'a fallacious
reasoning', as you put it. My 'hasty conclusion' is
not based on observation of a minute sample. A
sample drawn from which population? African
muslims? Or muslims from all over the world? Which is it? It cannot be Nigerian muslims. You
referred to this 'minute sample' as being made
up of 'some Northern Nigerian muslims'. No sir, it
isn't 'some'. All I need to do is refer you to the
facts - from the early 1980s to date ALL the states
up North (perhaps with the exception of Sokoto) with a clear muslim majority have
experienced shocking levels of violence with
religious undertones. This is not a phenomenon
that can be dismissively referred to as "some
Northern Nigerian muslims". It is too widespread
for that.

You are still making the same fallacious reasoning, from your initial post, you based your opinion about Islam mainly on Northern Nigeria, you said;
"That is my choice - a choice borne out of
the reality of being born and living in Nigeria
for many, many years. Years in which I have
seen inexplicable violence in the name of
Islam, largely in Northern Nigeria."
This particular sample, is too simplistic to arrive at your conclusion. It is hasty cos you didn't factor in other reasons which might have been the propelling factor for these "years of violence up north". ZeInfact, some of these violence have more to do with politics or tribalism than religion not to mention ignorance and poverty. You generalize a lot, and that would not get us anywhere.
I said minute, yes, what is the population of these violent Muslims in relation to Muslims that had been peaceful? How often is the violence up north with religious undertone? What triggers these violence?

VolvoS60:
^^^^
The only answer to your question above is 'ýes'.
Nigeria promotes violence. We ARE violent
people. Our modes of conflict resolution (at
home, school, work, play, worship - you name it)
expressly include violence as one of the first options on the table. We do not even need to
debate this - look around you. The only issue we
may argue about is the differences in the
propensity towards violence of the different sub-
groups (stratified along economic, political, ethnic, gender, and yes, religious lines) that make up this weird and wonderful country.
What is sure is that there is a built-in baseline level of violence below which no (true) Nigerian can fall.

I disagree with you sir! If indeed we are violent people, then Nigeria would have seized to exist. How long have we been bamboozled by our leaders and up till now, there isn't any form of violent resistance form the "violent people of Nigeria? Aren't we the happiest people on earth until recently? We may be confrontational but to classify us as being violent is extreme!
@ the bold, i find it quite interesting, that you made mention of economic, ethnic, political strata of Nigerians before religion perhaps it's not hierachical, regardless, it still butress my point of your fallacious opinion about Islam.

VolvoS60: ^^^^
Laudable words which unfortunately run into
serious problems in the real world. I once posted
here on NL on the life and times of the late Alhaji
Lateef Adegbite. He and other well known
Islamic scholars like the late Sheik Mohammed Gumi could be said to represent the views of a
sizable number of Nigerian muslims. These men
(while alive) had stated publicly at one forum or
another that they considered Sharia law to be
superior to Nigerian law. As you know, this view
can only lead to trouble, the most recent manifestation of which is the Boko Haram
problem. You see the contradiction?

There is no contradiction here, their statement should be understood from the perspective that God is the best of judges, if God had revealed a law, isn't it superior to man-made law? You might argue about whether the law is from God, but that would be irrelevant to an adherent of the law. I'm sure these Muslim leaders didn't make the statement to promote any form of violence, but rather to enlighten people what Islam can offer. Aren't we all looking forward to live in justice and equity?

VolvoS60:
^^^^
I am all for this. For years I have listened to
Islamic sermons that come on the media during
Ramadan, etc., and though I am not a muslim,
any exhortation to live to a higher standard can
only be a good thing. For example I have always admired the simplicity of Islamic burials.
Ostentatious burials do not seem to be common
among muslims - this encourages a solemn
focus on the finality of death and the grave
lessons for those of us left behind. But having
said that, I also understand and agree with those who consider death to be a celebration of sorts,
particularly if the deceased lived to a ripe old age
in the service of God and man. These are just my
views anyway.

I like your words, well different strokes for different folks i guess.

VolvoS60: ^^^^^
You do have a point here. I am Nigerian through
and through and went through UI. I know the
hell that some students went through in the
hands of confraternity boys and it was
surprising to find out that a number of universities (mostly in the North & a few down
South, notably OAU, Ife) had made their
institutions a no-go area for confraternities. (Not
that they were not present, but they were
definitely on the margins). Unfortunately, a
number of universities (mostly those up North with a large majority of muslim students) gained
a reputation for a simmering tension between
muslim and christian students. In the end, the
gains were lost. Zero cultism but frequent clashes
between muslim and christian students? There is
no gain there.

Honestly, i am not aware of anycase of clashes between muslim and christian students, please if you do have a proof, i'll like to see.
Most university up north that i know of are quite social, at least i know that they do have a good number of christians studying in them.

VolvoS60:
^^^^
Can't argue with you about the dressing and
general behaviour of muslim girls. You are
absolutely correct on this. But don't forget that
there are a lot of non-muslim girls in Nigerian
public institutions who also dress modestly and avoid trouble.

Yeah, i agree they do, even in recent times, some universities have enacted dress code in their instituition to curtail the excesses of some naughty students which i see as a very good initiative by those schools.

VolvoS60:
I still stand by my main points in my first post.
Non-muslims in Nigeria who have suffered one
loss or another in one of the many violent
religious riots WILL NOT be satisfied with pious
declarations about how Islam means peace. No
sir. They want to see this demonstrated in practice. Only then will it make sense.

Honestly, i do understand how some non-muslims who were cought in these crisis would feel, i have often times wondered what my reactions would be if the tables were turned and i was a victim of such senseless killings...it's just like me being a victim of police shenanigans, while coming back from the Mosque yesterday, i saw some policemen and i felt disgusted, i didn't care if they were there to forestall a crime that might endager me, all i wished was for me not to see them at all. I can't blame the whole police force for the crimes some of them comit, the police wasn't setup to cause problem to the society, as bleak as it seems, they still protect us in one way or the other and not all of them are that bad.
Islam on the other hand is a religion that means submission to the almighty, there are billions of Muslims around the world, if we look at the number of bad muslims who comit acts of violence against innocent people with the number of muslims that are peaceful, we'll understand that it's not Islam that is propelling these people, they are criminals that need to be checked.