28 August 2010 By Dr. Louay Safi The anti mosque campaign is a testimony to the
growing influence of the American far right in media
and political circles and a sad commentary on the
ability of Muslim bashers to sway public opinion in
the post 9/11 American. The campaign is led by open bigots like Pamela
Geller who is on record calling for the destruction of
the Golden Dome Mosque so a Jewish temple can be built
in its place, and who recently argued that Hitler
adopted Jihad and was inspired by Islam to commit the
Holocaust. She is also on record “praying” for a
nuclear war between Iran and Israel that would give
the latter the opportunity to nuke Tehran, Mecca, and
Medina. She has the audacity to question the
patriotism of President Obama and accuse him on
numerous occasions being a covert Muslim and an
anti-Semitic, Jihadist Mohammadan [sic] who is aiding
the Iranian regime. Geller, along with her network of likeminded Muslim
bashers, including Sean Hannity of the Fox News and
Robert Spencer of Jihadwatch, succeeded in setting the
tone of the current debate. They have referred to the
proposed Islamic center as a “triumphant mosque”
claiming that it is customary for Muslims to build
such mosques after defeating their enemies. They
called the plan to build an Islamic center two blocks away from ground zero a
provocation intended to upset the families of the
victims of 9/11. They even argued that the site of
9/11 is a hallowed ground and should hence be made
inaccessible for Muslims to build an Islamic Center
two blocks away from its site. The language of “provocation,” “triumph,” and
“sensitivity” presumes that all Muslims, and not only
al-Qaida members, are guilty of 9/11 attacks. Muslim
Americans by and large, including Imam Faisal Rauf,
have strongly rejected al-Qaida actions and views, as
did most Muslims the world over. To equate Muslims
with the atrocities committed by al-Qaida operatives
is tantamount to equating Christians with the
massacres committed by the Serb nationalists in
Bosnia. The opponent of building an Islamic center
near 9/11 site must remember that ground zero is
hallowed not only by Jewish and Christian blood, but
by the blood of over 90 Muslims who perished on that
horrific day. Despite the twisted logic of these arguments, and
the blatant efforts to revive medieval anti-Muslim
propaganda and equate all Muslims with the criminal
attacks of 9/11 terrorists, several prominent
politicians jumped on the anti-mosque bandwagon.
Republican leaders, including Dwight Gingrich and
Sarah Palin, sided with the anti-mosque crowd. The
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid added his voice to
those who spoke against the mosque. Even President
Obama wavered in the face of the anti-mosque campaign
as he seems to backpedal after speaking strongly in
support of the right of American Muslims to exercise
their religious freedom. Obama reportedly made a distinction between the
“right” to build the mosque, which he supports, and
the “wisdom” of building the mosque, on which he chose
to withhold judgment. Granted that having right and
being right are two different things, it is
unfortunate that President Obama seems to indirectly
question the wisdom of the Islamic center proponents
rather than those who unfairly oppose it. If anyone’s
actions and motives should be questioned, it should be
those of the bigots who equate Islam with terrorism
and who have embarked on a campaign of disinformation
and character assassination to stop Muslims from
exercising their constitutional rights freely. Yet it
is the actions and motives of the Muslim peacemakers
who took the initiative to build an Islamic center
dedicated to enhancing interfaith dialogue and
cooperation, and who have for decades been involved in
counter extremist interpretations and in bridge
building with their Jewish and Christian neighbors are
place under scrutiny. The history of the United States clearly
illustrates that the constitutional rights Americans
have cannot be separated from their ability to
exercise their rights freely. Despite having
constitutional rights, African Americans were
prevented from exercising their rights by racists and
demagogues who used every false arguments to stipulate
how, when, and under what conditions black Americans
could exercise their rights. If history teaches us anything it should teach us
that people have rights only when they can exercise
them freely, and that they have to exercise them
despite the arguments of those who want to limit their
rights. This simple fact was borne through the
struggles of all numerous individuals whose ability to
exercise their rights was thwarted by the ignorance
and prejudice of their countrymen, including blacks,
women, Jews, Catholics, and now Muslims. It is now the time for Muslim Americans to follow
the excellent examples of those who struggled before
them, and remind the whole world once again that no
false arguments should be allowed to separate the
rights of a minority and its ability to exercise its
rights freely. Right wing media has generated a national hysteria,
and amplified the voices of far right pundits who
succeeded in creating enough suspicion and arousing
public passion against the proposed Manhattan Islamic
Center through misinforming and unfounded accusations.
It is time for national leaders of all religious
persuasions to do the right thing and speak with clear
and unwavering voice in support of the right of
Muslims to freely exercise their religious freedom.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Fareed
Zakaria of the Newsweek have set a high example of
statesmanship and principled media punditry. Will we see more principled voices in the face of
shameless demagoguery? If 9/11 shocks has not
penetrated into the soul of America and has not
changed its spirit then America will once again reject
the voices of intolerance and push the bigots back
into their dark corners where they belong. -- Dr. Louay Safi writes and lectures on issues
relating to Islam and the West, democracy, human
rights, leadership, and world peace. His commentaries
are available at: http://louaysafi.com Comments 💬 التعليقات |