Ladies and Gentlemen of America...I haven't had the energy to weigh in on this since it started, but I simply can't bear it any longer. So, let's break it down real quick and simple-like, shall we?
ISLAM does not fly airplanes into buildings. In the same way that CHRISTIANITY does not blow up abortion clinics or create racist militias. My guess is that if you were to sit down over pints with Muhammad and Jesus, they'd probably both be like, "Yeah, no. That's totally not what we had in mind." No, those kinds of acts are committed by religious nuts who put themselves under the umbrella of those doctrines despite being completely out of synch with the core tenets of each. Factions and individuals like this have done heinous shit in the names of their respective gods for years. (Northern Ireland was on fire when Mohamed Atta was still in diapers.)
If we accept that religious zealots with twisted views of the principles of their proclaimed faiths are to blame (and not the entire faith community), then your argument against building a mosque near the Trade Center is officially null and void. And, if you still disagree, then you really have to ask yourself "why?". Like, seriously sit with the question. Plumb the depths. Test your position. Your reasoning may be uglier than you ever wanted to admit. And if, in the end, you simply can't come up with a better answer than, "No, I don't want a mosque two blocks away from the Trade Center because ultimately I sorta figure all Muslims are terrorists and that would really feel like a slap in the face", then I challenge your tolerance and your patriotism and suggest you might want to consider starting a country of your own. One whose Constitution doesn't guarantee religious freedom as it's first motherfucking order of business.
I've walked past this site every day on my way to work for the past four years. An abandoned Burlington Coat Factory. An eyesore. In all of that time, apparently NO commercial developer has deemed it worth interest. Now a community of faith wants to use it as a house of worship. They've gone through all of the proper legal steps one has to go through to do such a thing in New York City. Any reason (ANY. Reason.) given for not letting them move forward is assumptive, fear-based, wrong-headed and simply untenable.
I know, I know. Perhaps my take is a little dismissive and overwrought. And anyway, you've got to get the kids to soccer practice, so who's got time to think about this stuff anyway.
Fair enough.
-IMBA
