OBAMA TAKES A STAND FOR ISLAM
http://fresnozionism.org/2010/08/obama-takes-a-stand-for-islam/
Obama takes a stand for Islam
Fresno Zionism
As everyone knows by now, President Barack Obama has come out squarely in favor
of building a mosque and Islamic center two blocks from ground zero:
“As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right
to practice their religion as everyone else in this country,†Obama told an
intently listening crowd gathered at the White House Friday evening to observe
the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
“That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center
on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and
ordinances,†he said. “This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom
must be unshakable…â€
While insisting that the place where the twin towers once stood was indeed
“hallowed ground,†Obama said that the proper way to honor it was to apply
American values.
The logic of the case includes several strands. There are countervailing
‘commandments’ here. There is the constitutional principle that demands that we
allow free exercise of religion, and there is the moral principle that it’s
wrong to tear open the wounds of people mourning their dead.
There is the symbolic issue that this structure in this place is seen — by many
observers on both sides of the conflict — as representing the victory of Islam
over the United States.
There are practical consequences. Those Muslims who do favor violent jihad
against the West — and even those who favor more peaceful conquest (but conquest
nevertheless) — will be encouraged.
The argument from “religious freedom†is seriously weakened by the fact that
opponents to the mosque do not object to the building of mosques in general, do
not object to the building of mosques in New York City, and do not even object
to the building of mosques in lower Manhattan. They object only to a mosque in
this specific location.
Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi compared the project to building a Serbian Orthodox
church at Srebrenica:
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. 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.
In addition, there are reasons to worry about the intentions behind the project.
Al-Tamimi continues,
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.
The principle of religious freedom, like any constitutional — or for that
matter, moral — principle is not absolute. It is always necessary to consider
countervailing principles, possible consequences and facts, that in any given
case might mitigate the application of the principle.
The President, however, has chosen to present his decision in the most demagogic
manner possible, as upholding the right of American Muslims to practice their
religion, when clearly not one Muslim would have his rights limited if the
mosque were built a mile away. This from the man who denies Jews the right to
build homes in East Jerusalem!
He has elided the question of honoring the victims of 9/11, and did not even
discuss the very legitimate issue of Imam Abdul Rauf’s ideology and connections,
as well as the funding of the project.
He didn’t have to take this road. He could have continued to say that it was a
local issue, to be decided in New York City. But apparently he did some polling
and calculated that those who object to the mosque are primarily already in the
opposition, and that his ‘courageous’ stand against ‘bigotry’ would help him
with his base.
It will also get him the affection of Muslims around the world, perhaps even
more so than his obnoxious Cairo speech did. They will understand the subtext of
this issue far better than most Americans seem to, at least today. The AP item
included this:
Entering the highly charged election-year debate, Obama surely knew that
his words would not only make headlines in the U.S. but be heard by Muslims
worldwide. The president has made it a point to reach out to the global Muslim
community, and the over 100 guests at Friday’s dinner in the State Dining Room
included ambassadors and officials from numerous nations where Islam is
observed, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
It remains to be seen if the issue will grow political legs in the US, legs
which will turn around and kick his butt out of office. I devoutly hope so.
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