Random Politics & Religion #00

Can I fly the ISIS flag? It's a symbol of rebellion against the decadent West.

A photo of a New Jersey home flying a flag that resembled the flag of ISIS, the militant group being bombed by U.S. planes in Iraq, sparked alarm and a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security -- but the home's occupant said he meant no offense and was just expressing his religion.

Mark Dunaway told ABC News that he's flown that black flag for the 10 years he’s lived in Garwood, New Jersey.

“I’m Muslim, and I fly a flag in front of my home that says I’m a Muslim,” he said.

Dunaway has flown the black flag -- which bears the Arabic inscription familiar to Muslims, “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God” -- every year during Ramadan, and every single Friday, he said. Having already had the flag up during Ramadan, he originally planned to keep it up until Friday.

However, after the Garwood Police Department received a complaint about the flag, officers visited Dunaway's home on Tuesday.

"The Garwood Police follow up with any complaint received," Police Chief Bruce Underhill said in a statement to ABC News.

“Police came by that day on a matter of safety,” Dunaway said, “I had no idea until they pointed it out to me. My reaction was, ‘Are you serious?’”

"Mr. Dunaway was very receptive when we approached him with our concerns and he voluntarily took the flag down," said Chief Underhill.

Dunaway, surprised at the complaint, realized the extent of the controversy when he saw the photo of his home posted on Twitter.

“It totally caught me off guard that someone was offended to that extent,” Dunaway said.

Marc Leibowitz, who posted the photo to Twitter, told ABC News that he was sent the photo by a friend and alerted Homeland Security.

Leibowitz said he doubted a member of ISIS would openly fly the flag, but that the situation was "disturbing and worth looking into," and that he "thought Homeland Security and any relevant authorities should probably be notified."

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told ABC News the flag is different from the ISIS flag and its message is something most Muslims are familiar with.

“The flag is a profession of Muslim faith,” Hooper said.

“Every Muslim in America has this phrase somewhere in their home,” Hopper added. “This man just chose to put it on a flag.”

“This is not the ISIS flag,” said Hooper, noting that the ISIS flag has an additional phrase on the bottom that makes reference to the "Islamic State.”

Hooper added that ISIS is a relatively new organization and Dunaway's flag flying predates it.

“It got totally taken out of context,” said Dunaway, “I am not affiliated with any type of militant group. It was just my way of expressing my religion.”

After hearing Dunaway's explanation, Leibowitz acknowledged Dunaway's First Amendment right, saying, "I don’t think he should be restricted from flying the flag, but I think it is a breach of good taste."

Some residents continue to harbor negative feelings.

"There have been a few threats to damage Mr. Dunaway’s residence on various social media outlets," said Chief Underhill. "This is unacceptable."

Dunaway said he is Muslim, but also "American-born and -raised" and did not mean to offend anyone.

He has since replaced the black flag with a San Diego Chargers flag, saying, "I just want this situation to go away."

Are we done misinterpreting the socio-economic and political history for the US in the 1850s-60s? This is getting rather boring.

He has since replaced the black flag with a San Diego Chargers flag

Nah, this one is tough to kill. It needs at least a few more Godwins.

Causes of secession
Main articles: Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War and History of the United States

The causes of the Civil War were complex and have been controversial since the war began. The issue has been further complicated by historical revisionists, who have tried to offer a variety of reasons for the war. Slavery was the central source of escalating political tension in the 1850s. The Republican Party was determined to prevent any spread of slavery, and many Southern leaders had threatened secession if the Republican candidate, Lincoln, won the 1860 election. After Lincoln had won without carrying a single Southern state, many Southern whites felt that disunion had become their only option, because they felt as if they were losing representation, which hampered their ability to promote pro-slavery acts and policies.

Slavery
Main article: Slavery in the United States

The slavery issue was primarily about whether the system of slavery was an anachronistic evil that was incompatible with Republicanism in the United States, or a state-based property system compatible with and protected by the Constitution, as had been the case in the Roman Republic. The strategy of the anti-slavery forces was containment — to stop the expansion and thus put slavery on a path to gradual extinction. To slave holding interests in the South, this strategy was perceived as infringing upon their Constitutional rights. Slavery was being phased out of existence in the North, where black men had in some cases been granted the franchise or even served as representatives; it was fading in the border states and urban areas, but was expanding in highly profitable cotton districts of the south.

Gawd learn your history brah. It's your problem that you associate that flag with Nazis. You real racist.

The swastika (also known as the gammadion cross, cross cramponnée, or manji) (as a Chinese character: 卐 or 卍) is a symbol that generally takes the form of an equilateral cross, with its four legs bent at 90 degrees. It is considered to be a sacred and auspicious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

It has been used as a decorative element in various cultures since at least the Neolithic, and is found on a man's tunic depicted in a Roman mosaic at the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily. It is known most widely as an important symbol long used in Indian religions, denoting "auspiciousness." It was adopted as such in pre-World War I-Europe and later, and most notably, by the Nazi Party and Nazi Germany prior to World War II. In many Western countries, the swastika has been stigmatized because of its use in Nazism. It continues to be commonly used as a religious symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism.

The word swastika derives from the Sanskrit svastika (Devanagari: स्वस्तिक) "lucky or auspicious object". The older term gammadion cross in Western literature derives mainly from its appearance, which is identical to four Greek gamma letters affixed to each other.

The 1909 Chilocco basketball team. Chilocco athletic teams often defeated University teams. The swastika was a common symbol used by American Indians until World War II.

The Society's seal incorporated the Swastika, Star of David, Ankh, Aum and Ouroboros symbols

Neither side will let it die. It is quite obvious that your side is just as much to blame as the the other after the unwillingness to understand how the Confederate Battle Flag means more than just racism.

Your solution, burn it, bury it , ban it. Lets not learn from it and try to move on. Hell, no that would be way to much to ask.

You want the country to stop being racist so you can look past it. Never gonna happen with the attitudes I've seen of the last few pages.

Why can't I hang my swastika flag off the front porch? It's a symbol of good luck :((((

They still use that symbol in other parts of the world, I guess they all hate them jews.

Too bad you don't extend that same tolerance to people in the South.

I extend understanding. I don't extend tolerance for people pretending to be ignorant of it's meaning to the vast majority or passing taglines about "states' rights" or oppression. I don't necessarily have a problem with private citizens flying that flag on their own property. I do have a problem with a state using it, especially flying it on public buildings.

Does it not seem odd that the places that cling to the flag and claim it doesn't represent racial motivations are also the places where blacks have some of the worst disparities and highest instance of hate crimes?

Perfect solution, new American flag:

It actually took me almost 10min to make that flag, lol.

One nation under feels of the Untied States of America for which it feels One nation under feels mostly racists homophobic and transgender

You could have killed 9 black people in that time !

Does it not seem odd that the places that cling to the flag and claim it doesn't represent racial motivations are also the places where blacks have some of the worst disparities and highest instance of hate crimes?

I do have a problem with a state using it, especially flying it on public buildings.

Walmart, Amazon, Sears, and eBay have banned sales of the confederate flag.

Although Amazon hasn't implemented it yet, and thus sales have soared in the meantime.

So now gun sales are up and confederate flag sales are soaring.

I think there is a correlation between having that haircut and mass shootings.