I disagree that a mosque anywhere near Ground Zero will be a hub of moderate islam, or bring healing to this country. It is well known that in the qur'an muslims are directed to build mosques, the biggest ones possible after an islamic victory, or battle. Obama coming out in support of this wretched plot to islamize one of America's most scared areas is just as disgusting as this proposed mosque. True reform within islam would mean abandoning much of what the prophet muhammad said, and ridding islam of sharia alw and the barbaric punishments contained within sharia law. Will islamic countries allow churches, synagoges, temples to built in on spots that where mosques once stood, stand higher than all the buidlings around these new centers of worship, or be built at islamic battle grounds? I seriously doubt this will happen ever inside islamic countries. In how many islamic countries are Jews and Christians welcomed like we have 'welcomed' islam here?
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is made out to be a peace loving, moderate man of islam. All one has to do is spend some time researching Feisal and the truth will come out. He may have denounced terrorism but he still has come out against Israel and in support of the palestinians and the way they have waged a campaign of terror against Israel. I have not read or heard him say he refutes the evil passages of the qur'an or sharia law. The man is engaging in the age old practice of taqiyya. He is speaking out of both sides of this mouth. The Cordoba Institute is not a what is seems to be as portrayed by Bloomberg and his ilk. Speaking of Bloomberg, his speech in support of this mosque was in this patriot's opinion, a very sad day for America. An insult and slap to the face of the almost 3,000 that died on 9/11, not to mention the families and friends who all lost loved ones. Here is what Fareed Zakaria said about Bloomberg's speech: "Bloomberg's speech stands in stark contrast to the bizarre decision of the Anti-Defamation League to publicly side with those urging that the center be moved. The ADL's mission statement says it seeks “to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.” But Abraham Foxman, the head of the ADL, explained that we must all respect the feelings of the 9/11 families, even if they are prejudiced feelings. “Their anguish entitles them to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted,” he said.
First, the 9/11 families have mixed views on this mosque. There were, after all, dozens of Muslims killed at the World Trade Center. Do their feelings count? But more important, does Foxman believe that bigotry is OK if people think they're victims? Does the anguish of Palestinians, then, entitle them to be anti-Semitic?"
The ADL has sided with islamists in the past and has so many JINOS as members, it is enough to make me almost ill. The ADL has no credibility with me and most people I know. Abe Foxman? I will not even bother to comment on him. He calls the 9/11 victim's feelings "prejudiced feelings." What does Cair and almost every islamic organization scream and cry out about whenever an individual, organization, school district takes a stand against islam or muslims trying to force their ways and sharia law upon us? It is the racist, anti-Semitic, islamophobic charges right away.
Zakaria brings up Bloomberg's comments on religious freedom in America. True enough,but he ignores and refuses to recognize that islam IS NOT a religion. It is an ideology, not a religion. It is, as I have often mentioned, a cradle to grave ideology that robs the individual of all freedom of thought or actions. It demands a strict walk that is not based on love or peace but based on persecution, violence and adherence to sharia law. The majority of 9/11 families have come out against this proposed mosque. A few of them have mixed feelings and an even fewer number have come out in favor of this mosque. The vast majority of Americans polled across the country have come AGAINST this proposed mosque. Yet the potus,once again has kicked Americans in the heart. This time perhaps worse than any other error he has committed. NOvember and beyond will show this to be true.
The returning of the award to the ADL mirrors the mullah obamaham returning the gifts from England that had long graced the White House. Just because the ADL came out against the mosque with twisted logic, Zakaria returned his award and the $10,000 honorarium to the ADL. One decision does not make the ADL an organization full of islamophobes or racists that hate islam. Zakaria can change his mind as he is entitled to. His portrayal of moderate islam and muslims is without merit or standing. Most muslims who lay claim to being moderates are not. They will say one thing in front of the cameras and recorders but another to their fellow muslims. One only has to pull back the curtain to expose the deception and lies that islam has fed to Americans for far too long. We are waking up and becoming educated about islam and sharia law. This has been long in coming.
One final comment on what The Somali-born “ex-Muslim” writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali's advice to Muslims is: Convert to Chritianity. Will this create a big buzz? I would surely hope so. Ayaan Hirsi know all too well what the real islam and sharia law are, not the white washed version Zakaria and Abdul Rauf are trying to peddle. However and by whatever means one can free themselves from islam, should be the way to go. Just know bridges will be burned for good and your family may try to kill you.
Now if I have not put you to sleep, please read Fareed Zarakia's editorial that I have commented on. Note that it appeared in Newsweek magazine. Nothing more needs to be added.
By Fareed Zakaria
Ever since 9/11, liberals and conservatives have agreed that the lasting solution to the problem of Islamic terror is to prevail in the battle of ideas and to discredit radical Islam, the ideology that motivates young men to kill and be killed. Victory in the war on terror will be won when a moderate, mainstream version of Islam — one that is compatible with modernity — fully triumphs over the worldview of Osama bin Laden.
As the conservative Middle Eastern expert Daniel Pipes put it, “The U.S. role (in this struggle) is less to offer its own views than to help those Muslims with compatible views, especially on such issues as relations with non-Muslims, modernization, and the rights of women and minorities.” To that end, early in its tenure the Bush administration began a serious effort to seek out and support moderate Islam. Since then, Washington has funded mosques, schools, institutes and community centers that are trying to modernize Islam around the world. Except, apparently, in New York City.
The debate over whether an Islamic center should be built a few blocks from the World Trade Center site has ignored a fundamental point. If there is going to be a reformist movement in Islam, it is going to emerge from places like the proposed institute. We should be encouraging groups like the one behind this project, not demonizing them. Were this mosque being built in a foreign city, chances are that the U.S. government would be funding it.
The man spearheading the center, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, is a moderate Muslim clergyman. He has said one or two things about American foreign policy that strike me as overly critical — but it's stuff you could read on The Huffington Post any day.
On Islam, his main subject, Rauf's views are clear: He routinely denounces all terrorism — as he did again last week, publicly. He speaks of the need for Muslims to live peacefully with all other religions. He emphasizes the commonalities among all faiths. He advocates equal rights for women, and argues against laws that in any way punish non-Muslims. His last book, “What's Right With Islam Is What's Right With America,” argues that the United States is actually the ideal Islamic society because it encourages diversity and promotes freedom for individuals and for all religions. His vision of Islam is bin Laden's nightmare.
Rauf often makes his arguments using interpretations of the Quran and other texts. Now, I am not a religious person, and this method strikes me as convoluted and jesuitical. But for the vast majority of believing Muslims, only an argument that is compatible with their faith is going to sway them. The Somali-born “ex-Muslim” writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali's advice to Muslims is to convert to Christianity. That may create buzz, but it is unlikely to have any effect on the 1.2 billion devout Muslims in the world.
The much larger issue that this center raises is, of course, of freedom of religion in America. Much has been written about this, and I would only urge people to read Michael Bloomberg's speech on the subject last week. Bloomberg's eloquent, brave and carefully reasoned address should become required reading in every civics classroom in America. It probably will.
Bloomberg's speech stands in stark contrast to the bizarre decision of the Anti-Defamation League to publicly side with those urging that the center be moved. The ADL's mission statement says it seeks “to put an end forever to unjust and unfair discrimination against and ridicule of any sect or body of citizens.” But Abraham Foxman, the head of the ADL, explained that we must all respect the feelings of the 9/11 families, even if they are prejudiced feelings. “Their anguish entitles them to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted,” he said.
First, the 9/11 families have mixed views on this mosque. There were, after all, dozens of Muslims killed at the World Trade Center. Do their feelings count? But more important, does Foxman believe that bigotry is OK if people think they're victims? Does the anguish of Palestinians, then, entitle them to be anti-Semitic?
Five years ago, the ADL honored me with its Hubert H. Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize. I was thrilled to get the award from an organization that I had long admired. But I cannot in good conscience keep it anymore. I have returned both the handsome plaque and the $10,000 honorarium that came with it. I urge the ADL to reverse its decision. Admitting an error is a small price to pay to regain a reputation.
Fareed Zakaria is a member of The Washington Post Writers Group.
Original editorial can be found here
