“Ground Zero” Mosque
Now that there’s been so much talk about the “Ground Zero” mosque, I figured it’s time I offer my two cents. Lots of good arguments have been made … entirely by those in support of the builders’ rights.
From the opponents’ side, I hear a lot of people asking “why does it have to be so close to Ground Zero?” That’s a question you’re free to ask yourself, or perhaps those who selected the site, but you cannot ground a serious objection in that question alone. Besides, what would you offer as a solution, to have a legally enforced radius around this hole in the ground where no Muslim edifice can be erected? Sounds constitutional to me …
I’ve also heard that it would be a “slap in the face” to the victims of 9/11. Well, I think that abandoning our nation’s principles is a greater affront to the memories of those killed in the attack than an “Islamic Cultural Center” ever could be. Not to mention the American Muslims who were in the towers when they were brought down; wouldn’t disallowing the construction of the Center be a slap in the face to them?
Which brings me to my next point: if there was ever any doubt in our minds that the Right is in the habit of systematically vilifying Islam and Arabs, that should by now be expunged. After all, these aren’t al-Qaeda operatives who want to build the Center, they’re Americans: that’s right the opponents are trying to deny Americans their right to worship wherever they want. Well, let them be reminded that the first line of the First Amendment reads
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”
Yes, let them be reminded that their bellyaching can never beget any legal instantiation, because it would violate one of the first rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution.
In the end, I think that the anti-”mosque” people’s idiocy speaks for itself. But I should say that, while I think their entire rhetoric is vile, I would happily die for their right to voice it, as should any American for the free speech of their brothers and sisters.
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Tags: 9/11, Freedom of Speech, Ground Zero, Islam
August 17th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
I find it shocking that well-known figures are making the argument that a mosque near ground zero is a slap in the face to 9/11 families. Unless 9/11 families believe that Islam was somehow the perpetrator of the terrorist attacks, I don’t understand how it could possibly be offensive to them. There is no sense in which Al-Qaeda represents Islam or is somehow the product of Islam; they’re the product of political extremism and every non-bigoted person knows that.
Since the only people possibly offended by building a mosque near ground zero believe that “Islam did 9/11″ in the face of all available evidence, there should be no problem with offending those people. Especially because it’s reasonable to be suspicious that the people clinging to that belief are doing so not because it is supported by evidence, but because it is supported by a racist/bigoted world-view. Bigoted attitudes should never be tolerated in the American public sphere, no matter who has them or why.
And as for people who think that the mosque is a bad idea because it’s going to provoke controversy, a similar argument could have been (and was) made against desegregation in the 50s. There might be some room to be pragmatic, but this country would be abandoning the best parts of its cultural traditions if it were hamper the free practice of religion in order to placate irrational, bigoted sentiments.
This whole debate really sickens me because the mosque could have been an opportunity for American to announce that it does not hate the Islamic world and truly does not believe that it is at war with Muslims in general. It was the perfect opportunity for America to stand by its ideals of religious freedom and acceptance, not just tolerance, of difference. Of course, now the Islamic world will (rightfully) be even more suspicious about what many Americans really think of them now. This is a disaster.
August 17th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
What gets me is Newt Gingrich and the whole “Cordoba is secret Muslim code for conquering the West” BS. What kind of paranoid basketcase does it take to come up with that crap? Why are we even giving these people audience?
August 17th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I know, they’re becoming a parody of themselves. Hopefully this kind of nonsense combined with tea party will somehow force the right to fragment into the diverse groups that somehow align to make up the republican party. Hopefully Wall street elite conservatives can’t vote for a candidate who almost openly states that Islam is bad.
August 17th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
It’s bugging me that I can’t edit the grammatical error out of that last post…
August 18th, 2010 at 3:44 am
Hi! Is it OK if I go a bit off topic? I am trying to view your blog on my iPod Touch but it doesn’t display properly, do you have any suggestions? Thanks! Celeste
August 18th, 2010 at 7:35 am
@Chris, I fixed it.
@Celeste, assuming this is a serious inquiry, I haven’t made any effort to optimize this site for mobile devices, for the time being.
September 7th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
One issues that is missed in this debate is how wonderful the US Muslim religious community is on the war on homegrown terror. A well-integrated Islamic community is a great source of information to the country. This does not happen in Europe due to widespread discrimination.
September 7th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
I totally agree. Alienating Muslims will just make their communities more insular and secretive, which is precisely what we DON’T need.