Salman Rushdie Defends Muslims' Right to Build NYC Mosque [View All]

[sabrina 1]

Rushdie defends Muslims' right to build NYC mosque

NEW YORK: ''The Satanic Verses'' author Salman Rushdie is not a great fan of organized worship but believes an Islamic center and mosque should be permitted two blocks from ground zero.

Rushdie's satirical novel led in the 1980s to worldwide riots by Muslims and calls for his death. He tells The Associated Press in an interview Monday that he understands the ''sensitivities'' of building the site close to where thousands were killed during on Sept. 11, 2001.

But he says US Constitution's rights to freedom of speech and religion should be honored. He adds that he is ''not personally'' a lover of mosques or any place of worship.

But he says that if people ''want a mosque, it seems absolutely right they should have it.''

Another voice added in support of what never should have been an issue to begin with. If anything defines the Sane V Insane members of this society, it is the list of those 'for' and 'against' this Mosque.

A non-issue about as significant as the Balloon Boy story, becoming significant only because of the huge amount of coverage given these tea-bagger haters by the Media, who appear to be obsessed with whatever emanates from the hateful ranks of America's far-right fringes. If they given even a fraction of the coverage to the War Protests, this might be a different country today.

A few years from now, anyone who was on the wrong side of this will not want to admit to it. The photos of those protesting picturing faces filled with hatred, remind of the old black-and-white photos of similar mobs protesting the integration of schools back in the Civil Rights Era. Who would want to go down in history like that?

I just feel sad that a few Democrats, one I admire so much, felt compelled to be on the wrong side of this. There is still time to change their minds and I hope they do.