If the idea was to show Islam's tolerance and quest for peace with other faiths and cultures, this backfired miserably.
I'm fairly certain the idea was to build a house of religion in a country that values the freedom of that expression enough to protect it in the Constitution and values its expression sufficiently to address God in its stamp...that and, of course, to build and keep their own place, where they couldn't be tossed into the street or have to worship in a basement.
While building this center may well be their right it's certainly imprudent,
Not if they believe in our principles.
Only if you find the objections reasoned and reasonable...and I'm still waiting for more than passion on that side and a willingness to generalize in a way I pointed out (giving the 9th ward example) would seem laughable else. But this is Islam. These are people who frequently dress and look and sound different. Who worship in a way not even tangentially revered by the dominant culture. That's a real test of our fortitude and values. So far, I'm wondering if we come out of this with a C-.
When building a house of worship can be so described the arguments against have lost reason at their root.
and completely tone deaf.
Which begs the question, is there anything worth hearing? Is outrage divorced from a reasoned objection, the desire to attack a specific idea not because of any fault in the particular, but because of a larger hostility that does have a root in something more...is that sufficient?
Are all Southerners racist--to be shunned because many historically and recently have been exactly that thing and have done unspeakable things in the name of that hatred?
I for one am all for a pluralistic society that treats religions with equal respect but with that respect comes an expectation for treating that equity with its own kind of reverence. In this instance, Islam failed horribly.
So they can eat in the restaurant of ideas, so long as they do it in the kitchen...sufficiently removed from polite society?
Since the KKK perverts Christianity the way many claim radical Muslims pervert Islam, then let’s have the KKK build a 100 million dollar cultural center right in the middle of Harlem, and see if anyone says anything.
That's not remotely parallel. You might as well have compared building a church in the 9th ward of New Orleans (in light of the comments I mentioned) to building a Neo-Nazi welcome center next to the Holocaust museum. :sigh:
Do you see the problem?
