"Good morning, news! What do you have to tell me?"
"Well, here's a piece from FOX complaining about the President's comments on the "Ground Zero Mosque."
"Okay, let me take a look... seems to imply that Obama inserted himself in the debate; victims are angry; Peter King claims the President "caved to political correctness;" here are references to the unpopularity of the mosque (70%); oooh, this is nice: Rick Santorum says Islam is not just a religion but a political doctrine, and he goes on to say the imam behind the GZM (Faisal Abdul Rauf) has said the USA was "an accomplice" and "brought about the events of 9/11."
Folks, this really dismays me. Lemme break this down...
First of all, Obama is not jumping into this debate on a whim. He was speaking at the White House iftar celebrating the beginning of Ramadan. If there were ever an appropriate time for the President to talk about a Muslim-American controversy, this was it. In fact, if Obama had kept mum over the affair, it would have been extremely conspicuous.
Next, when a victims' spokesperson claims that the president "has abandoned America at the place where America's heart was broken nine years ago, and where her true values were on display for all to see," not only is she wrong, she's speaking the exact opposite of the truth. America IS religious freedom. If we allow our misgivings about our fellow citizens to overrule our principles and deny innocent people the very rights we hoard for ourselves, we are acting unequivocally un-American. Therefore, madam, you are the one abandoning America.
Let me be clear: I'll never forget where I was and what I was doing on that fateful Tuesday morning. I shared in the national shock as I turned on the news just after the third plane struck the Pentagon, and I looked on in horror as one tower fell, and then the other.
Mr. Santorum, if Islam is a political doctrine, then so is Christianity, Judaism and every other religion under the sun. You refer in your interview to Sharia law; what about Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy? Don't they set up a theocracy, too? And even if Islam is a political doctrine (which it isn't), not all Muslims believe the same things or act the same way. Even within Sharia, there are four major branches of thought with varying degrees of tolerance (see here). As far as I know, Faisel Abdul Rauf is not even advocating instituting Sharia, so it shouldn't be a concern in the first place.
Furthermore, the foulest things that FOX can dredge up against this imam are his quotes saying the USA was "an accomplice" and "brought about the events of 9/11," plus he refused to be pigeon-holed into calling Hamas a terrorist organization. It's a tough pill to swallow, but Bin Laden's trigger against the USA was our presence in the Gulf War (read here and here), so in that sense, the imam is right. As for the Hamas quote, try to put yourself in Rauf's shoes. If he calls Hamas an out-and-out terrorist organization, he alienates many Muslims who sympathize with the cause and ignores Hamas' contributions like social services (noted here). If he demonstrates any tolerance at all for Hamas, then he immediately receives the label of "radical." I'll say this, though: Rauf ought to have repudiated the violence of Hamas; instead, he dodged the question and thus allowed Hannity et al. to paint him as untrustworthy.
Now, do I think that this mosque/cultural center is in good taste? No. But just like freedom of speech or freedom of the press, freedom of worship is guaranteed regardless of taste. As long as you don't incite violence or promote destruction of life or property or do anything else against the law, you get a green light. You know what else is in poor taste? Politicizing this issue. If the law says you can build a church or synagogue or grocery store, then that should be the end of it. Let us be gracious enough to let our neighbors worship in peace.
Finally, perhaps the most upsetting facet of this whole issue is that President Obama gave a wonderful speech (which is even better than this post, if you can believe it), and all anybody talks about is the GZM. Take a look:
Well, I think that's it, for now. As always, if I've messed up my facts or logic, please correct me; and if I've overlooked something, please let me know. I crave conversation!
There's something I think a lot of the heartland folks don't realize about the mosque:
ReplyDeleteLower. Manhattan. Is. Crowded.
This means that "Two blocks from Ground Zero" is pretty much a different neighborhood. My dad works two blocks from Ground Zero. Standing in front of his building, all I can see of the site is a few cranes. That's about it. And maybe three blocks from there is the South Street Seaport.
So within a half mile or so, you go from sight of national tragedy to boring financial district to people standing in line for two hours for discount Broadway tickets.
And if you go maybe four blocks north from my dad's office, you're in Chinatown. Another four, Soho. Another four, the village.
Anyway, my point is, portraying this thing as being right on top of Ground Zero is ridiculously inaccurate. Which is why the general consensus of the people of lower Manhattan is meh. Including, and yes, I will play this card, my dad, who was in the World Trade Center on that day.
/rant