Members of Windsor's Lebanese community, Ghina Maawie, left, Aida Mrove, Ayat Choukier and H. Dabaja show their support for the message of the billboard, which is on display at Wyandotte Street and Marion Avenue. The sign has led to a political divide between some. Photograph by : Ian Willms, The Windsor Star

But some people are starting to fight back... And now this...

Of course, not everyone sees things the same way. Here's one columnists opinion... The Chicago Tribune The Seeker Manya Brachear Originally posted: December 13, 2007

Why Islam? In the past month, I’ve received more than a dozen calls about a billboard erected near O’Hare Airport asking “Why Islam?”

Why drivers have chosen to call me instead of the toll-free number on the sign frankly baffles me. I decided to let Sabeel Ahmed, a spokesman for the group sponsoring the billboards, address some of the callers’ concerns. Callers wanted to know why such a billboard was necessary. What did it accomplish? And who was funding such an expensive advertising endeavor? And who calls that number? (I started to wonder myself when my phone kept ringing.) Most callers to the hotline seek translations of the Quran in English or Spanish or literature about the faith, said Ahmed, a spokesman for the Islamic Circle of North America. A smaller percentage asks specific questions about events in the Middle East. Some are Muslims grateful for the positive publicity. Some have made donations to help fund the campaign. Some who have dialed 1-877-WHY-ISLAM have converted to the faith, Ahmed said. For them, the Chicago chapter of ICNA has started classes in Chicago and Villa Park. Then, Ahmd said, there are the angry callers who just want to tell Muslims they’re wrong. "Usually I listen to what they’re saying because they’re already emotional to begin with,” Ahmed said. “We want them to express their views." James Gustafson of Chicago was one of those drivers who called me instead of the number. He was indeed angry. "They’re rubbing it in our face,” he said. “I don’t buy what they’re saying. These people are not standing up like they should against these radical Islamic terrorists.” Ahmed has heard those sentiments. "After they slow down, we go about explaining to them in the context. Suicide is forbidden by Islam and killing innocent people is forbidden,” he said. "We recite them words from the Quran that say that. Muslims should not be judged by the actions of a few people, just like Christians and Jews should not be judged by actions of a few.” A quick glance at comments posted to The Seeker in recent months shows that a number of people harshly judge Islam, and occasionally other faiths. Instead of asking “Why Islam?” I’d like to ask “Why so much hostility?”

Why so much hostility, The Seeker asks? Well now, let me see...

There must be some reason for it...

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2007/12/why-islam.html

"Whom would Jesus bomb?" My neighbor's bumper sticker poses this loaded question or, more precisely, issues this provocative challenge. It is, of course, meant as an admonishment, an indictment aimed at those of us who supported the war in Iraq, those of us who, after decades of not responding to the escalating Islamic terrorist attacks against us, finally, after the horrors of 9/11, said, enough is enough and decided to fight back. Its obvious purpose is to shame us, to demonstrate how, once again, we are on the wrong side of the moral equation. Not only are we immoral, they tell us, but we are also sacrilegious.

There are, however, a few problems with this equation. In the first place, we're not bombing anyone. The vision that this conjures up is of squadrons of American B-52s carpet-bombing the poor people of Iraq into submission. The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of bombs being used in this conflict are those ubiquitous, cheap but effective IEDs, the jihadists' favored weapon of choice. And these deadly homemade bombs are being used daily against us and our allies and innocent Iraqi civilians.
Of course, they say, if we had not gone into Iraq in the first place, none of this would be happening. Let's consider this argument for a moment. If we had not invaded Iraq, if we had succeeded in confining the war to Afghanistan, can anyone seriously doubt that the mujahadeen would be coming in droves to Afghanistan to wage jihad against us there, just as they came there to fight the U.S.S.R. in the 1980s? We would be the same infidels fighting the same jihadists, for the same reasons,only we'd be fighting them on different soil. And, incidentally, Saddam Hussein would still be adding to his arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, ruthlessly murdering his own people and threatening his neighbors.
However, this still leaves us with that disarming bumper sticker question. And although of course it's highly speculative, the answer must surely be that Jesus wouldn't bomb anybody. Indeed, if he followed precedent, he would allow himself to be captured by the enemy, imprisoned, tortured and finally executed. He would do this because that is his role; his divinely-ordained role was, after all, to become a martyr, history's preeminent martyr. But should this be our role? Are we all preordained to be martyrs? I don't think so. There are many lessons to be learned from the example of the life of Christ; however, lessons on how to conduct a successful war may not be among them.
Perhaps the question should be reframed. How about "Whom would Muhammad bomb?" Muhammad was, after all, a consummate warrior who was in the business of creating martyrs, not becoming one himself. Here, the answer seems pretty obvious; all you have to do is read the Koran. Muhammad would bomb the infidel which, of course, is you and me. He would do this because that is his divinely-ordained role.
Whether we like the idea or not, we must face up to the fact that we are presently at war and we cannot allow ourselves to be made to feel guilty for defending ourselves against a murderous enemy obsessed with our destruction.
                                                                                                                                  Dodger1