Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Ground Zero Mosque

I'll keep this brief.

The First Amendment to our Constitution opens with, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...". Why then, based on the principles upon which this country was founded, is there any sort of argument against building an Islamic Cultural Center 2 blocks from the World Trade Center? First of all, the term Ground Zero Mosque just doesn't apply here. There already IS an HAS been a mosque at the WTC for years, even before the complex was contructed. Second, the proposed building isn't a mosque... it's a cultural center. Third, it's not at Ground Zero, it's 2 blocks away. Those are the facts.

Muslims died on 9-11; in the planes, in the towers and many gave their lives to rescue people. To say that they can't have a place to worship near this site makes us no better than countries like Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, where many religions are illegal. Comparing this building to a "synagogue in Mecca" is not only asinine, but just plain stupid. First of all, I don't know of anyone who actually wants or needs a synagogue in Mecca. Second, this is a comparison of two vastly different cultures in to very different countries, both of which have different laws and perspectives regarding religion and the free practice thereof. Preventing this cultural center from being built underminds American values and spits in the face of those who died in the attacks, as well as the people fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's astonishing that there are Americans who are willing to support our troops being sent to die to supposedly protect our freedoms, but are unwilling to share these same freedoms with law-abiding, peaceful citizens of this country. The argument that shrine to a religion that kills people is an interesting one, and as such, frankly, means that no religious building should be built anywhere, since all religions are guilty of needless killing for some insane reason. I'd like to see how many white Christians would protest a church being built next to the Murrah Building Memorial in Oklahoma City. My bet is, there wouldn't be any protests, despite McVeigh having been a Christian.

Of course, the Republicans are using this issue to renew the fear of the brown person, just like they did in 2001. How anyone can support a political party whose main platforms are fear and hatred is just beyond my scope of understanding... it actually makes my brain hurt trying to figure out how people can really be this stupid.

The bottom line is, freedom of religion is pretty explicit. Therefore, you so-called defenders of the Constitution, I ask, what's the problem? Don't treat our most important document like you do the Bible, just picking and choosing things that suit your agenda. It won't work.

11 comments:

  1. I agree, in essence, with you position here, but we all know that these are non-issues. Why don't you address something like, as someone on the left end of the political spectrum, how do you recommend Obama deal with the national debt? How should SS and Medicare be fixed? What should be done in Afghanistan? Etc. The mosque is a political football of no real importance.

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  2. Well, it is and it isn't. It sets dangerous precedent, and conservatives are even calling for a ban on all mosques, everywhere. There will be posts on the issues you've cited!

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  3. Some conservatives may call for that, but my point is that isn't a serious argument. That is beyond the pale of reasonable discourse. You obviously can argue against a statement like that, but it's such a preposterous statement to make that the vast majority of people (of all political stripes) are going to agree with you anyways. It's like coming out against slavery, okay...? (This is in reference to the call for the ban on all mosques, not the issue related specifically to building the mosque near ground zero, which I agree seems to be controversial among the political mainstream).

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  4. I agree with you, but I just had to vent on this. Stupidity irks me.

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  5. I think it is more an issue of, Is this the "right" thing to do. We all know we have freedom of religion.

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  6. I think some people don't know that... I think the protesters think they only have freedom of their religion.

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  7. That's nonsense, the protesters primary issue is that they view the construction of the "mosque" (it is really an Islamic community center) as offensive, given the proximity to ground zero. It's the same argument as protesting a Japanese cultural center from being constructed right next to the memorial to the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor. To be clear, I think it is a ridiculous issue, and that the group should build whatever they choose to on that property, but to imply that the opposition to the "mosque's" construction is based on ignorance to the constitution, and not on a deeply emotional response to the 9/11 experience, is very misguided.

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  8. It's both, because conservatives are calling for a ban on all mosque building in this country. Why is there no stink about the mosque that's actually been at GZ for 40 years? Because these people are stupid. That's the bottom line.

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  9. When you say "conservatives are calling for a ban on all mosque building in this country," can you provide a link? I would like to read about what specifically you are referring to.

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  10. The leader of the American Family Association has said exactly what I wrote and high-ranking conservatives like Newt Gingrich have implied similar stances.

    http://www.examiner.com/progressive-in-milwaukee/far-christian-rightwinger-wants-to-ban-all-future-mosques-america

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  11. Okay, so when you say "conservatives are calling for a ban" you mean to say, "one right wing extremist" has called for a ban. Which sort of changes the context of the argument. Instead of their being a real, public effort amongst a number of conservatives to "ban mosques," really what we have here is one guy saying he wants to ban mosques. I suppose we can go back and forth debating which political ideology can come up with the craziest individual, but that doesn't get us anywhere. I tried to find evidence of Newt Gingrich saying (or implying) that there should be a ban on new mosque construction, but all I could find was him ranting about the "creeping expansion" of Sharia law in America and specifically how he does not want the "Cordoba House" to be constructed so close to ground zero.

    I'm not hear defending Newt, I think he is a cancer and does a disservice to real, constitutionally minded conservatives. My only concern is that you may be, in this instance, making an assumption about how he generally feels about mosque building in America based on his comments regarding this specific issue.

    I also think that citing the absurd comments of one individual who advocates for the halt of all mosque construction in America, and than saying that it demonstrates that "Conservatives are calling for a ban on mosque building" is extremely misleading.

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