I know we’ve talked about the mosque before. Daisy wrote about it recently here, and before that I wrote about it here, and included a video which should elicit an emotional response from any person with a PULSE.
You probably heard yesterday that it’s pretty much going to happen now. And I’ve got some stuff to say about it.
The mosque’s leader, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, has ties to terrorist organizations. As this source reveals, according to the New York Post, Rauf is “a prominent member of a group that helped sponsor the pro-Palestinian activists” flotilla that initiated a deadly clash with Israeli forces in May. And worse, Rauf seems to think that the US is “partially responsible” for being attacked on 9/11. “I wouldn’t say that the United States deserved what happened. But the United States` policies were an accessory to the crime that happened,” he said. Yeah. This is the guy who’s going to build a giant F-YOU monument near the very site where people of his faith decided to kill thousands of innocent people.
Now, here’s the thing. They have a legal right to build it. I don’t argue that. But just because you have the right to do something, doesn’t make it the right thing to do. And that’s my whole issue with this. They could build this monstrosity ANYWHERE, and yet they’re choosing that site because they want to throw salt on the wound. You KNOW Imam Rauf is going to go back to hang out with his terrorist buddies and be all, “DUDE – we totally got away with it! Those Americans are so weak, so paralyzed with political correctness, so touchy feely, that they BOUGHT all the crap I fed them about this mosque being a symbol of healing. Can you even believe it? And the media, Allah bless ‘em – completely solidified our case!”
Yes. About the media. Instead of focusing on terror ties and where in the holy hell the FUNDING for this $100 million mosque is coming from, the media is choosing instead to make fun of Sarah Palin for criticizing the building of it. She tweeted that she’d like to see peace-seeking Muslims “refudiate” the Ground Zero Mosque. Refudiate isn’t an Actual Word, you see, so the Today Show and others couldn’t WAIT to pile on. “But of course, refudiate isn’t an actual word, more like a blend of two words with similar meanings, refute and repudiate,” said one reporter. “Palin will have plenty of time to coin some new words going forward.The scheduled groundbreaking on this [mosque] site is still years away.” Hey, Mr. Reporter man. Instead of worrying about new words that Sarah Palin is creating, how about you do some research about how this thing is being paid for? I hear the IRS has 16,000 new employees. Perhaps they could do an audit.
But the media isn’t content to just bash Sarah. They are also quick to talk about how GREAT the mosque idea is, and dismiss anyone who thinks otherwise as raaaacist. According to the source, “A New York Times article from May 26 described recent opposition to the mosque as ‘a feverish exchange of words, culminating in remarks about Muslims from a leader of the Tea Party, Mark Williams, that were widely dismissed as racist.’” That same article talked about how Imam Rauf said the mosque would help “heal the divide” among Muslim and other religious groups. Another NYT article praised Imam Rauf and described him as “having built a career preaching tolerance and interfaith understanding.”
The Today Show, after attacking Palin for using the word “refudiate,” showcased a developer as saying, “Where we are today is all about healing, is all about building bridges, is all about outreach, is all about reaching out to the community to let them know that there is a moderate Muslim, that there is a voice for the moderate Muslim.” Bridges and healing and outreach.
Mayor Bloomberg said, “Sarah Palin has a right to her opinions, but I could not disagree more. Everything that the United States stands for and New York stands for is tolerance and openness.” Tolerance and openness.
Even the Imam’s wife got to respond to Palin. She said, “Well, in some ways, it, it raises the very question of what is at the heart of all of this furor. And that is ignorance. I’m saying that she needs to educate herself about who the Muslim community is.” Racism and ignorance.
Are you noticing a pattern here? If you object, on moral grounds, to this mosque being built at Ground Zero, you’re a racist ignoramus. If you support building it, you’re a tolerant, open, healing, bridge-making peace-lover.
Let’s ask ourselves something. What if this was all happening on September 12th, 2001? Would the reaction be different? I suspect it would. People in the media would have their heads on a platter if they dared to support such a thing back then.
There’s a reason people say, “Never forget” about 9/11. It’s because unfortunately, the media is forgetting. They HAVE forgotten. The supporters of this mosque, regardless of whether or not they have the legal right to build it, are WRONG. It gets built, and America appears weaker as a result. Not stronger. This isn’t one of those, “Let’s rise above them and show them we’re not afraid of their stupid mosque” deals. This is allowing ourselves to be spat on. Plain and simple.
Lastly, I’d just like to say that I love the word refudiate and plan to adopt it at once. I too, enjoy making up words, as you may have noticed what with all of my talk about assular areas and craptasticness and whatnot. My favorite made-up word ever is co-prastinate, which is where you and a friend procrastinate together. Feel free to adopt and use. 
P.S. Building the mosque near Ground Zero is wrong. The end.
