Supporters of the Ground Zero Mega-Mosque … uhh …Cordoba Mosque … uhh …51st Street Cultural Center tell us that building it is not only the Right Thing To Do™ because it validates our own First Amendment freedom to worship, but it will show the Islamic world that we value the freedom to worship no matter what your faith.
To put it another way, we will show them that we value religious pluralism and put that value into practice even if it hurts the memories of those who lost relatives and friends on 9/11 and is opposed by the majority of our fellow countrymen. And the demonstration of that act of religious pluralism will make us better liked in the Islamic community.
The primary result of the mosque/center being built on that particular spot is to persuade the followers of Islam to like us because we stuck to our values.
That begs the question, are our values their values? What is the evidence that Islam values religious diversity? Is it the absence of religious diversity in Saudi Arabia? The “Holy City” of Mecca forbids non-Muslims to enter, not exactly an invitation to diversity. Images of Mohammad as a cartoon character causes deadly riots halfway around the world, not a demonstration of live-and-let-live. The Koran, which is interpreted as the final and authoritative word of Allah, does not permit the worship of other gods and required the death of those who leave the faith; diversity for thee but not for me. It is becoming ever clearer that the Arab – Israeli conflict is – at its root - a religious war: a Jewish state is rejected in the Arab world and non-Muslims are being forced out.
It is common to project your values on to other people and to assume that they value what you value. But religious pluralism, and respect for other faiths on an equal footing with Islam is not part of that belief system. One day, perhaps, if Islam sees a reformation similar to that which Christianity went through. But at this point in time, the multiculturalists are simply projecting, and telling the rest of us to shut up.
1 comment:
Thought experiment. Let's project their values:
We'll build a Cathedral on the smoking ruin of Mecca, and hold BBQ & Beer fundraisers. And no mosques ever on American soil.
(Sure, you can ask "is NYC part of America, or it's own little toilet bowl?" - But that's another question for another day.)
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