President Obama was, of course, right to say that a Muslim group has a right to build a mosque in New York City two blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center towers. Our First Amendment right to freedom of religion guarantees this. Whether it's two blocks, ten blocks or fifty blocks is irrelevant. If people want to build a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, ashram or any other religious structure anywhere in America that isn't on public land they are allowed to do so.
Most Americans apparently do not agree. A CNN poll this month found that 68% "oppose this plan" while only 29% "support" it. Because of the wording of the question that may include people who may agree the Islamic group has a right to do so but don't think it is a good idea. The President himself said his defense of the right to build the mosque does not necessarily mean he thinks it is a good idea. "I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there," he said. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding."
When you have rights and freedoms you have to stand behind them. You cannot withhold them from entire groups because some extremists or fanatics committed an outrage. Consider this event from Middle Eastern history.
On July 15, 1099 forces of the First Crusade broke into Jerusalem. After eliminating the last pockets of armed resistance on the Temple Mount, Crusader knights and soldiers began a massacre of Muslim and Jewish civilians. According to Christian eyewitness Fulk of Chartres, "In this temple almost 10,000 were killed. Indeed if you had been there you would have seen our feet colored to our ankles with the blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women nor children were spared." Estimates of the civilian toll throughout the city range from 10 to 30 thousand.
How many Americans do you think would agree that Christians should not be allowed to build churches in Jerusalem after such a massacre? That's right, none would. You either believe in freedom of religion or you do not. It is one of the cardinal principles of American civic values, which is why it is in the very first article of the Bill of Rights. And it has to apply to everyone.
3 comments:
Nicely put, dad.
Good points, Steve. If I were your editor I might question use of the term "build a mosque" (here and in most media reports) because it implies a bare piece of ground was purchased and soon minarets will appear. In fact, there are several existing mid-rise buildings being purchased for re-modeling into a community center that will include a prayer room that qualifies it as a mosque. Plus, there's already been for many years a similar center-mosque ten blocks from the 9-11 site. And the religious leaders behind the project have been among the most outspoken in the US in denouncing the extremist-violent groups who have used their religion as a shield.
Excellent comments, Don. Yes, it is an existing building, would be used primarily as a community center with just a couple of upper story rooms set aside for prayer, and Imam Rauf is well-known as a consensus builder. The project had been endorsed by the Jewish Federation of New York and Trinity Church, for instance.
Post a Comment