If Pastor Jones carries out his plan to publicly burn Korans and the media continues to give him and the occasion unlimited publicity, pogroms against Muslims throughout the country are not unlikely. The current disparagement and discrimination against Muslims and desecration of their property has not reached the horrendous level of other pogroms in history -- not yet. Nor are the attacks against Muslims government-sponsored, although numerous elected officials have added fuel to the fire. Rather than standing for principle, they have raised their fingers to test the wind and have gone with the popular flow. There has been growing opposition to new mosques, protest signs, graffiti, insults, destruction of property, possible arson, theft, desecration, discrimination and harassment. A teenager involved with others in an incident directed at a mosque in Watertown, N.Y., said he heard "it was a cult house where people drank blood." (New York Times, 9/4/10) Where have we heard that before?
Many on talk radio lend encouragement to the protesters. Some in the media seem to suggest that this is just some charming old American tradition of mistreating and discriminating against various groups -- like we did with the Irish, the Catholics, the Italians, the Chinese, the Jews and the blacks. They make it sound like some fraternity hazing that minorities must endure and get over. Worst to me is the airtime given to outright bigots like the pastor who intends to have the mass book burning of the Koran. Talk about finding a way to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world! General Petraeus today has warned that this incident will inflame Muslims everywhere and endanger our troops abroad. But the pastor continues to be a frequent guest on mainstream media and, rather than boycott the event, no doubt his hate stunt will receive widespread coverage.
If we are unwilling to stop these practices in the name of religious freedom and tolerance, we, at least, should recognize the propaganda, recruitment and consequences that result from our bigotry. If the Constitution does not carry the day, maybe national security and concern for our armed forces will. The only justification for this treatment of Muslims is imputing to all the acts of a few. The New York "mosque" is at the center of this controversy. It is claimed that a community center (not a mosque) near (not at) Ground Zero is an insult and a symbol of terrorist victory. All bigotry parades out justifications -- "they" will injure or change our children, our traditions, our families, our jobs, our neighborhoods -- our house values. Condemning an entire religion for the acts of a few is bigotry no matter how high-sounding the justification may be.
In addition to Mayor Bloomberg, one of the strong voices for tolerance of Muslims after 9/11 was President George W. Bush. Sarah Palin may not have known what the Bush Doctrine was, but this is certainly one of his doctrines that all America should know and heed. All of our fallen and wounded (including Muslims) did not sacrifice so that those of us back home could choose when and what of the Constitution we wished to abide by. We mourn the victims of 9/11 and celebrate the Constitution's anniversary (9/17) in the same week. Let's do both with class and dignity.
Matthew Weiner and Rev. Chloe Breyer: An Interfaith Buddhist Response to the Ground Zero Protests
Apparently, the laws of this Florida town prohibits the type of bonfire Pastor Jones wants, and as soon as a book is tossed on the fire, the Police should stop this nonsense.
My father in-law is a Presbyterian Minister, and though my husband and I call ourselves Orthodox Agnostics, he conducted our Marriage ceremony, and respected us and our lives. Not only that, we would have lively discussions never devolving into anger or resentment, and we both found we were closer in our core beliefs than our 'labels' lead us to believe. Were he now able, he would speak out against the kind of ‘religion’ that Pastor Jones is selling to his congregation.
It’s easy to forget that the first people to travel from England to the new world did so because they were not allowed to worship as they believed, it’s easy to forget all the mistake America has made in the past starting with the Native Americans, and regrettably not ending with the American Japanese. I wish our memory were stronger.
We live in a sick society.
Frankly, what the "Qu'ran burner" is doing is showing how small his faith really is.
For when one is small in faith, it becomes easy to denigrate and demonize the faiths of others.
For in by doing so, you build yourself up...in a very false and grotesque way.
Sic transit "The Qu'ran Burner," ergo sic transit any religious bigot.
If we are to know them by the fruit they bear, rather than by the bark they wear, accroding to Dr. King? The fruit being offered is chock-full of soul-killing vitriol, while severly lacking in soul-nourishing goodness.
Yet there are those who not only pluck such fruit from that tree, but bite into it saying "YUM-YUM!"
They are tortured souls because of it...and self-torturing ones, at that.
I have no panacea--they have to find their own way back from the abyss they willing threw themselves into...if they are of a miind to do so!
--RKJ
My lovely ginger kitty, it is the stuff America is made of: ignorance, bigotry, racism has been rampant throughout the country's history. It was somewhat quelled (or at least hidden) in the last 40-50 years but the current economic, political and media climate has certainly made it OK to be a racist again. I think we all know exactly what Beck, Palin et al meant by "restoring honor", they and many others actively promote this huge backward step.
"Building a Islamic Community Center with a huge prayer room as close to Ground Zero as possible is just as wrong."
But I question this. How exactly is the place and time "wrong"? You suggest it to be a moral truth that is unavoidable. Perhaps the Muslim community intended it positively, but incorrectly gauged what the public reaction would be. Yet I am confounded by how such things can be defined with such finality as "wrong", without a clear understanding of their intentions.
"If the Imam wanted to separate the moderate elements of Islam from the extremist he would not have wanted a place for Muslims to worship that is as close as possible to ground zero, and would not have chosen to open on 9/11."
If I put myself in the Imam's shoes, giving the benefit of doubt, I would first consider the idea that American Muslims are probably hoping to manifest a fresh start for America's perception of the Muslim faith. It seems obtuse that one would assume the worst intentions in anothers' actions, without bending themselves to actually understand it.
Do we actually understand Muslims in America, or just judging them at a distance? Mustn't you engage your neighbor in conversation if you truly wish to understand their nature?
This article is a good reference:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harris-zafar/ground-zero-mosque-a-musl_b_651637.html
I read the article from link above, and I took a different view. I agree with dialogue and openness, but I do not see this from the Imam. He has seemed to be more secluded and less open as this debate rages. I too would like to give the Imam the benefit of doubt, but none of it adds up for me.
One he wanted to build bridges. This has not built bridges it has created a divide. This has been growing and growing as opposition states why they do not want this building and the group refuses to move. This brings me to open dialogue. He does not open this up for discussion with community groups multi faith groups and elected officials to find a common ground that would help the Muslim community. Maybe he did not really know what the reaction was going to be, but now he does. When the Pope told the Convent near Auschwitz to shut down because it was not sensitive, he was heralded as building bridges between Jewish and Catholics. This Imam has seen the resistance to this, he has seen past examples of how to build bridges, but he moves foward on different path. This is why I question his intentions.
You can't see the mosque from ground zero.
You can't see ground zero from mosque.
The 'mosque' is on a smallish street and you have to pass dozens of reataurants, bars and businesses to get there. (There is also a bar right next to the site.)
There was not a single protester or protest sign there.
This was clearly a ginned up outrage from the start, but to see it up close really brings it home.
I started off this recent turn of events with little warning bells and now I'm hearing the clang of 5-alarm, if you know what I mean. And the media is indeed enabling in the name of "reporting". Voices of reason, not even if they come from a respected general like Petraeus, don't seem to penetrate the din.
I was wondering if you had any thoughts on Marty Peretz of The New Republic, who has decided he doesn't much care if the Muslims have 1st Amendment rights. (!!) Jason Linkins here at Huffington Post gives the synopsis and links:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/07/tnrs-peretz-muslims-unwor_n_707321.html?ir=Politics
It's escalating. They began with baiting and then openly hate mongering but now they're actually toying with things that would codify hatred and make it something official. They're not there yet of course - Peretz is pedant - but the impulse is there.
You mention that you're Jewish. Do you remember in "Schindler's List" when the Jewish official says (the line chilled me): "This isn't just good old fashioned Jew hating now. It's policy."?
This is what I fear. For all of us. Not that they'd actually accomplish it so much as that this darkness is right there in their every impulse, and they want to make it official in some way. Sometimes I don't recognize my fellow citizens. It's like we grew up in different countries.
Can you even imagine if "we" were confronted with a crazy-acting group of Muslims burning "our" bible? Multiply that by 100, and you'll have the outrage that will be felt when this act happens.
sad thing is that the Muslim community abroad will react with abhorrence (which can be expected and predicted), and our "Christian" communities will use this to point fingers and say "look how violently they react."