Reply #29: If Al Qaeda was building the Islamic Center. [View All]

[Hansel]

Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization hell bent on destroying America and has declared war on it. It is a criminal enterprise and thus has lost their right to argue that they are exercising religious freedom because they instead would be arrested and put in prison, not for their religion, but for their crimes.

Islam is not a criminal enterprise, it is a religion and has nothing to do with 911 in and of itself and the media and our politicians have failed miserably on this point. Just because a group of extreme criminals commit a crime in the name of religion it does not make that religion and everyone who practices it responsible for it.

Would you argue that it is up to cities where abortion clinics have been blown up and doctors assassinated in the name of Christianity to decide if a Christian churches be built there? Of course not, because it would be a clear violation of religious freedom and because it's clear that the people who commit those crimes are criminals and whack jobs and don't represent all Christians.

One of the arguments I hear is that Muslims have not condemned 911 enough. Well that is complete BS, but lets put Christian churches to the test. How many of them have condemned the bombings of abortion clinics and assassinations of abortion doctors on the national stage that has made it a memorial condemnation? How many leaders of the churches that bombers and murderers worship in have? In this case some have actually praised it. Yet they would still be allowed to build their churches.

If a Christian had done 911 in the name of their extreme religious views there would not even be a discussion about whether or not a Christian community center could be built on this site. In fact, Christian churches would be lining up to build such a center to prove that this horrific crime was not done in their name and Americans would applaud it. Guaranteed.

This is about people being different from most Americans and fear of the unknown or what they think they know. It is irrational fear and in many cases bigotry. The building of this center in that location might actually be the best 1st step in moving past the fear that was instilled in people by not only 911, but by the propaganda from the Bush WH and the right wing media and politicians mostly on the right but from both sides. This might be the 1st best step toward healing.