This has angered me.
Basically, there are plans to build a new Islamic cultural centre in lower Manhatten very close to the sight of Ground Zero, where the atrocious terrorist attacks took place nearly nine years ago. There has been a sizeable amount of criticism, mostly from the right-wing/Republican side of America, about this. Sarah Palin said it was far too provocative and said that it would ‘stab hearts’ (…ok…) but Newt Gingrich takes the biscuit:
There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia. The time for double standards that allow Islamists to behave aggressively toward us while they demand our weakness and submission is over.
The proposed “Cordoba House” overlooking the World Trade Center site – where a group of jihadists killed over 3000 Americans and destroyed one of our most famous landmarks – is a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites…
…Those Islamists and their apologists who argue for “religious toleration” are arrogantly dishonest. They ignore the fact that more than 100 mosques already exist in New York City. Meanwhile, there are no churches or synagogues in all of Saudi Arabia. In fact no Christian or Jew can even enter Mecca.
And they lecture us about tolerance.
If the people behind the Cordoba House were serious about religious toleration, they would be imploring the Saudis, as fellow Muslims, to immediately open up Mecca to all and immediately announce their intention to allow non-Muslim houses of worship in the Kingdom. They should be asked by the news media if they would be willing to lead such a campaign…
…America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilization. Sadly, too many of our elites are the willing apologists for those who would destroy them if they could.
No mosque.
No self deception.
No surrender.
The time to take a stand is now – at this site on this issue.
Gingrich should probably check his facts before he starts labelling things mosques, since this isn’t actually a mosque. As Mehdi Hasan describes in his Comment Is Free piece in The Guardian earlier this week:
Cordoba House is not a mosque but a cultural centre, which will include a prayer area, sports facilities, theatre and restaurant. The aim of the project is to promote “integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion … a place where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds, will find a centre of learning, art and culture”. Nor is it being built at Ground Zero. The proposed site is two blocks to the north.
However, as usual, the Republicans, with the assistance of Fox News, have turned this into from a non-issue into a political issue. If ever you needed an example of blatant stirring up of racial tension then look no further. It’s appalling. The worst thing about it is that if it was a Christian place of worship then there wouldn’t be such a fuss. Instead, it’s an excuse to promote values of ignorance and intolerance into the minds of the American public. President Obama has done the right thing and vigorously defended the plans to build the centre.
The thing that angers and saddens me the most about all of this is that ‘religious tolerance’ is now seen as controversial. This might sound quite simplistic but how is it that we now live in a world where we’ve become increasingly ignorant and intolerant of other people’s religious beliefs (including if they believe in religion at all)? What has happened? Have things really gotten this depressingly dire? I am an atheist but I believe people should the right to practise whatever religion they choose to believe without prejudice. If the Republican cadidate is anywhere near as bigoted and downright racist as Palin or Gingrich, then things will only get worse.
The News Discontent blog has put up a really good piece on this subject that’s also worth checking out.
