THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 155, August 13, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
OPPOSE THE GROUND ZERO MOSQUE?
By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
THE PROPOSED GROUND ZERO MOSQUE: SHOULD IT BE OPPOSED? IF SO, ON WHAT GROUNDS? IS IT
MORALLY RIGHT TO OPPOSE THE GROUND ZERO MOSQUE? WOULD THE MOSQUE FULFILL THE APPARENT,
DECLARED INTENTION OF FOSTERING OUTREACH & MUTUAL RESPECT BETWEEN PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT FAITHS?
THE MOSQUE AS AN UNNECESSARY ACT OF PROVOCATION AT BEST & A PROJECT WITH A DUBIOUS AGENDA AT WORST,
SOMETHING THAT CERTAINLY WILL NOT ACHIEVE THE SUPPOSED GOAL OF IMPROVING INTERFAITH RELATIONS
FULL STORY:
News that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has come out in opposition to the planned construction of a 13-story
"Córdoba House" or "Park51" mosque, two blocks away from "Ground Zero," should prompt us to ask whether it is
truly right to oppose the building of this particular mosque.
To begin with, it should be noted that there is no basis for opposing its construction on legal grounds. That said, a
distinction needs to be made between legality and morality. The key question, therefore, is: would the mosque fulfill
the apparent, declared intention of fostering outreach and mutual respect between people of various faiths?
The answer, however, should be a clear "No." To be fair, some of the opposition from the Tea Party movement to the
"Ground Zero" mosque is undoubtedly rooted in anti-Muslim bigotry: for instance, radio talk-show host Mark
Williams, who resigned from "Tea Party Express" over a month ago, described Allah as a "monkey god" and
characterized all Muslims as 'animals'.
Nonetheless, it is evident that there is also considerable popular opposition from New Yorkers themselves. For example,
according to a poll by Quinnipiac University, on average 52% of New York voters oppose the construction of the
Ground Zero mosque. Moreover, even in Manhattan, where there is most support for the project, only 46% are in favor
of building the mosque. Amongst Americans in general, a majority oppose the planned construction, as the New
York Times notes. Of course, resistance is particularly strong amongst families of the victims of 9/11, whose anguish
ought to be taken into account here.
Such opposition is not at all surprising. Even supposing good intentions on the part of those behind the project, one
could ask why they did not simply choose a site in Manhattan somewhat further away from Ground Zero. A suitable
analogy would be as follows: how would Bosnian Muslims feel about proposing the construction of a Serbian Orthodox
church at Srebrenica? Indeed, there are many parallels between the Srebrenica Massacre of 1995 and 9/11. The former
was the killing of over 8000 Bosnian Muslims by Serb militias, who justified their aggression on the pretext of defending
their faith. In reality, however, the goal was to create a Greater Serbia by ethnically cleansing or exterminating Bosniaks
and Croats from regions of the former Yugoslavia with mixed populations.
Similarly, the jihadists who perpetrate atrocities such as 9/11 purport to act in self-defense, but actually seek the
eventual subjugation of the world under Shari'a (Islamic law). This is apparent from the declarations and writings of the
leaders of jihadist groups. A case in point is Osama Bin Laden himself. When addressing Westerners, he normally
justifies his actions by naming the usual grievances (e.g. the presence of Western troops in the Arabian Peninsula, U.S.
support for Israel etc.), but when appealing to Muslims, he frequently invokes the idea of jihad, whether offensive or
defensive, as a religious obligation.
For instance, in response to Saudi intellectuals who called for dialogue with the West in the immediate aftermath of 9/11,
Bin Laden wrote:
"There are only three choices in Islam: either submit
[i.e., convert to Islam], or live under the suzerainty of
Islam, or die. Such, then, is the basis and foundation
of the relationship between the infidel and Muslim.
Battle, animosity, and hatred-directed from the
Muslim to the infidel is the foundation of our
religion."
Similar sentiments were echoed by Faisal Shahzad, who attempted to bomb Times Square, when he stated in a tape
released by Al-Arabiya that "you'll see that the Muslim war has just started ... until Islam is spread throughout
the whole world."
Nevertheless, the evidence suggests that Imam Abdul Rauf, the chief proponent of the mosque project, would do
nothing effective to counter the broad elements in classical fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) that justify the doctrines of
jihad as explained by Osama Bin Laden and Faisal Shahzad above. Indeed, in a 2000 treatise on Shari'a, and a 2004
book entitled What's Right With Islam, he has praise for figures such as the Sufi jurist Al-Ghazali, Ibn
Taymiyyah and Al-Wahhab, all of whom formulated rationales for the notion of jihad as warfare to expand the realm of
"Dar Al-Islam."
He furthermore hails the implementation of Shari'a in society, including in America itself. Thus, he is no better than the
evasive Tariq Ramadan, who is wrongly lionized as a genuine moderate. After all, praising uncritically thinkers who
justified noxious doctrines of warfare and subjugation of non-Muslims in writings intended for Muslims is no way to
counter Islamism in any form, as it is their works that have been made so readily available by Saudi petrodollars.
In conclusion, the mosque is an unnecessary act of provocation at best and a project with a dubious agenda at worst,
something that will certainly not achieve the supposed goal of improving interfaith relations. It is therefore morally
right to stand with groups like the ADL in opposition to the construction of this mosque, whilst, at the same time,
condemning unequivocally individuals like Mark Williams who are largely motivated by religious bigotry.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
The Islamist Fifth Column -- America's Internal Enemies:
Disloyalty, Subversion, Sedition, & Treason
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a student at Oxford University, and an intern at the Middle East Forum.
The foregoing article by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi was originally published in the American Thinker, August 3, 2010,
and can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum, a foreign policy think tank which seeks to
define and promote American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam,
working for Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote
constitutional democracy in the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly
asserting U.S. interests vis-ą-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat.
(Article URL: http://www.meforum.org/2718/oppose- the-ground-zero-mosque)
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
August 13, 2010
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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