By Kelvin Wade
In a letter in 1803, Thomas Jefferson wrote "I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance, or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others." For a nation that was founded on religious freedom, this isn’t surprising. In perusing his, and other Founding Fathers’ writings, it seems obvious that they would be arguing in favor of the construction of an Islamic Community Center in Lower Manhattan, two blocks from Ground Zero.
It’s not easy. One of the commendable things President George W. Bush did in the aftermath of 9/11 was to make a distinction between Islamic radicals and peaceful followers of Islam. Tensions were high. On our TV screens were pictures and sounds of Arabs celebrating the cowardly act: ululations of Arab women and dancing and clapping from men and children.
Watching that in light of what had happened on 9/11, it was hard not to want the U.S. to lay waste to every Arab and/or Muslim in the Middle East. Rage and revenge was a normal emotional reaction to that horrific attack.
While we arrested Arabs, held many without charges, and there were reports of attacks and discrimination, the situation could have been a lot worse. For the most part, Americans didn’t meet Jihad with Jihad. We’ve tried to keep an open mind with a religion and culture alien to most.
But the uproar over the Park 51 Islamic community center exposes the true simmering feelings of many Americans. We like to talk the talk of tolerance. We say all the right things about Islam. But the ugly truth is, many don’t trust ‘those people.’ Many of us conflate Islam and terror. The outrage over the community center reinforces Al-Qaeda’s message that we are at war with Islam according to Mark McKinnon, a former advisor to President George W. Bush.
By opposing the center, we’re saying the enemy is Islam. I’m sure a lot of Americans have no problem saying that but is that who we’re supposed to be? Does sending that message help our soldiers in the field?
The Ku Klux Klan claims they’re a Christian organization. Should Christianity be viewed through the prism of David Koresh’s Branch Davidians? What about the Rev. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church and their picketing of funerals of those who died of AIDS and U.S. soldiers? Do they represent Baptists? Are all Catholic priests child molesters?
We have no problem looking at these people for the aberrations they are.
It’s true that a large swath of Muslims dislike the United States. Many, who don’t actively support terrorism, still don’t condemn it. Or they tacitly support it. That state of affairs is not unlike many right wing Christians who tacitly support Christian zealots who murder abortion providers. Our opposition to Islam isn’t going to help the situation.
Yes, it’s easy to live up to our ideals when we’re not under attack. To my thinking, a Muslim tolerance center near Ground Zero isn’t a thumb in our eye. It’s a finger in the face of extremists.
To me, the outrage isn’t a proposed Islamic community center being built two blocks from Ground Zero. The outrage is that nine years after 9/11, we have a big, empty construction site at Ground Zero.
Maybe more people wouldn’t mind a Muslim center being built in that location, if we’d built something tall and gleaming to be proud of at Ground Zero…if we even had a nice national memorial park. Something. The affront is a Muslim center being built there before we’ve built anything.
Thomas Jeffrson wouldn't be my prime example of a tolerant founding father, in fact I don't know of any by todays standards. Slave owners, Only white propertied men could vote or have access to courts. Your heart is in the right place but lets not get too sentimental about TJ, and his peers. The America we know is far better than what the founders created, but it's a long way to true tolerance.
Posted by: Tom Lewis | September 18, 2010 at 05:07 PM
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Posted by: uebernachtung guenstig buchen | November 29, 2010 at 04:32 PM