Bob Ray Sanders is an op-ed columnist for the Ft Worth Star-Telegram. This morning, his syndicated column appeared in the Orange County Register. Here is the text of Mr Sanders' take on the proposed New York City mosque to be built at Ground Zero.
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"Islam, the religion of more than 1.2 billion people around the world, does not frighten me. I also have no fear of Muslims, those followers of the teachings of the prophet Muhammad who call God "Allah."
The words imam, Quran, mosque or even jihad do not cause me to tremble or to run in search of a hiding place.
What does scare me in these perilous times are the bigots, many of them zealots wrapped in religion and flag, who find it easy to spew their venomous hatred toward any person or group that is different from them.
Even more disturbing is that these peddlers of prejudice, urged on by those self-proclaimed and self-indulgent opinion makers who dominate significant parts of today's media, have no trouble recruiting misguided, eager followers.
They have decided they will uphold the honor of our democratic republic by fighting against all whom they consider to be un-American and, therefore, enemies to our way of life, our Constitution and our very existence. "They" want to protect me — us — from them, whoever the "thems" happen to be.
The controversy over a proposed mosque and community center near the site of the fallen World Trade Center towers in New York City has evolved into a textbook demonstration of intolerance, exhibitions of false patriotism and political demagoguery.
Since the hijackers who flew airplanes into the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001, were Muslims, there are those who feel the construction of an Islamic house of worship near "Ground Zero" somehow would taint this hallowed spot and smear the memories of all who died there at the hands of terrorists.
Several groups, including some family members of victims, current and former politicians and conservative advocates, have opposed building the mosque and have done everything in their power to stop it.
This past week, opponents hoped that the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission would declare "landmark status" for the current building on the site, meaning it could not be torn down to make way for the new mosque. The commission voted unanimously that the 152-year-old structure did not qualify as a landmark.
Some vowed to sue in an effort to halt the $100 million development of the property which, in addition to the mosque, would include an auditorium, basketball court, swimming pool and culinary school, according to The Associated Press.
It is not surprising that in this political season the politicians are preying on the fears of gullible people by creating enemies whom they can rail against and from whom they can defend us. Whether it be immigrants or Muslims, it really doesn't matter so long as it causes us to turn our sights away from the real issues facing this country and focus instead on the phantom threats to American freedom and justice.
The controversy is an issue in the New York governor's race, and it no doubt will be brought up in other contests around the country if politicians feel they can make a point or gain a vote by showing how prejudiced they can be. It's an old political tactic that has worked over the years.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a noble leader on this subject, eloquently articulating the right of Muslims to build their mosque where it is planned and reminding all Americans of the principles on which this nation was founded.
After the commission's decision, the mayor went to Governors Island — "where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted" — and, with the Statue of Liberty prominent in the background, taught us a brilliant history lesson about the wave of immigration and the constitutional guarantees to even the newest American citizens.
"Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center," the mayor said, "lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question: Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that government must never choose between religions or favor one over another.
"The World Trade Center site will forever hold a special place in our city, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves, and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans, if we said 'no' to a mosque in lower Manhattan."
Noting that Muslims also were murdered on 9-11 and that the first responders to the terrorist attacks died defending the Constitution, Bloomberg said, "In rushing into those buildings, no one asked, 'What god do you pray to? What beliefs do you hold?' We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting."
If you are tempted to succumb to the reactionary mob-mentality madness, come to your senses and become the true American you claim to be. Put aside your prejudices and reflect on the Founding Fathers whom so many like to quote these days.
And if you need help in remembering some of the principles on which the country was founded, I suggest you read Bloomberg's entire Governors Island speech. It just might open your eyes."
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Sanders, who rightfully points out that when it comes to legal and constitutional issues, those who want to build the mosque at the disputed site have the right to do so.
What Mr Sanders does not do is give any space whatsoever to the reasons and arguments why people are against this mosque so close to Ground Zero. Mr Sanders says nothing about the symbolism of having a mosque at this location.
Mr Sanders says nothing about the fact that many Islamic radicals will view this mosque as a symbol of conquest.
Mr Sanders says nothing about the issues that have arisen surrounding the chief organizer of the project, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and his statements about wanting the US to become shariah compliant, the US being an accomplice to 9-11, his refusal to condemn Hamas as a terrorist organization, and Osama bin Laden being a creation of the US.
Mr Sanders says nothing about the legitimate questions surrounding funding for the mosque and where the money is coming from.
All Mr Sanders says about the opposition to the mosque is that those opposed are bigots. Is that fair?
I have read nowhere that those opposed to the mosque would deny the right to build the mosque elsewhere in the New York area. I certainly would not deny any one's right to build a mosque in another location. In fact, I concede that legally, there is no legal impediment to building a mosque in the proposed location. My argument is that to build the mosque at or near Ground Zero is an affront to our sensibilities surrounding 9-11. To date, these concerns are being ignored by Rauf, his supporters and New York officials like Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
And Bob Ray Sanders. To him, it is all about bigotry.
Mr Sanders is entitled to his opinion on this issue. If he were fair, however, he would at least acknowledge and refute the arguments against a mosque at or near Ground Zero. Instead, all he is able to do is to accuse his opponents of being bigots.
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2 comments:
This is an all too familiar tactic of the Left.... attack the motives of the opposition. Anyone opposed to it must be bigoted. Just as anyone who is opposed to Obama or thinks Rangel should be booted out of Congress is a racist.
Because Sanders and the rest of the Left feels so noble and righteous they think their opponents are evil people. Remember John Dean's assertion that Republicans want children to go to bed hungry?
Where was venomous hatred spewed by the Right? Wasn't it the Democrats that threw bags of urine and blood at the delegates going to the Republican Convention in NY? It never happens at the Democratic Conventions.
They attribute certain actions to the Right and consider them true. No one wants to impose their will on the rest of the country more than the Left... from healthcare choices, green choices, illegal immigration, activist judges, etc., etc.
The Muslims are making it worse for themselves by imposing this mosque on us where it is not wanted. They presume to build a mosque where they can teach religious tolerance to US??? If they want to promote religious tolerance they should go build a mosque in any Muslim country where they obviously need to learn about all kinds of tolerance. In fact, the Muslims, time and again, take advantage of our tolerant society which makes them more disliked and mistrusted. Remember the UCI MSU outrages and the Major Hassan massacres at Ft. Hood, just to name two examples? We were lenient and tolerant to them and look what happened.
This guy, Sanders, makes me puke with his smug superiority. He knows absolutely nothing of the real world or the Muslim culture.
The Muslims have made a major tactical blunder with the Ground Zero Victory Mosque, and we Islamically-aware counterjihadists need to use it and strike while the iron is hot. The Muslim grand strategy requires incremental creeping Sharia and supremacism, where Islam insidiously takes over and slowly destroys Western civilization by a thousand cuts. Every advance should be so small that the 'najis kafir sons of pigs and monkeys' (that's us, folks!) either don't notice it, or can't be bothered to oppose such a minor irritation.
But this abomination has half awoken the sleeping giant of American Public Opinion. We need to keep prodding the giant to prevent him falling back to sleep, and hopefully get him to awake fully. To do this we need to spread our message beyond the counter-jihadist blogosphere, using local media and social networks etc.
We also need to link the Mosque issue to the general problems of Islamic supremacism in as many ways as possible, a full list of topics can be found here.
A particular example that most Americans will be unaware of is the Islamic motivation for the Beslan child-rape orgy and massacre, the sixth anniversary of which approaches. The MSM went to great lengths to cover up both the vileness of the sexual tortures, and the Muslim involvement and Islamic doctrinal basis of this attack on kafir children
Although Beslan did not produce the greatest number of casualties of the current jihad, it exceeds all others in its sadism and depravity, and graphically illustrates what we have allowed into the West. Please ensure through your blogs and forums that the anniversary of Beslan is not forgotten this year.
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