Thursday, August 26, 2010

First Off, It's Not a Mosque

There is a debate raging in New York City now and no, it's not over those stinkers from . . . New Jersey. No, this is a debate of both religious ignorance and intolerance. This is a debate that shows how much Americans have deviated from what was once considered a virtue. This is about the "mosque" that is being planned in New York City.

First off, it's not a mosque. It's an Islamic COMMUNITY CENTER. While it is true that the top floors of the Park 51 building (which, by the way, is not actually anywhere near Ground Zero) will house a worship center, there is no "mosque".

The issue here is one of ignorance and freedom. Americans (dare I say, Christian Americans) don't blame Al-Qaeda for the attacks on 9/11, they blame all Muslims. Is this fair? It's like saying all Christians are responsible for Crusades or the Charles Manson killings (he claimed to be Jesus). Muslims, in general, are not this American hating group of people. While there are some who truly do (because we fuck around in their country), this is not indicative of the entire population. Therefore, building a COMMUNITY CENTER cannot possibly pose any threat, and anyone who does feel threatened is purporting a very bad stereotype.

While average citizens are allowed to protest this as much as they want, there is one group that can't: our government. I'm glad the NYC panel cleared the way for the building of this, because in America, everyone has the right to practice their religion ANY WAY THEY WANT! Why don't we tear down the Christian church that happens to sit MUCH CLOSER TO GROUND ZERO! It's that kind of ignorance and religious intolerance that I cannot stand.

Get the hint, the Muslims who want to build that community center have every right. You, however, don't have the right to tell them that they can't. Get over yourselves.

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