What it is to be American

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. 


It is by that simple line that one of the greatest nations the world will ever know built her foundations.  The undeniable right to practice whatever religious subject you so choose.  As Americans we are subjected from time to time by things we may not agree with, but that is the beauty of what it is to be American, we live in a land where being different is ok.

In some countries, if you go outside the cultural norm, if you do things which are not accepted by the elite, you may find yourself six feet under.  In Saudi Arabia a woman would be beaten by a mob if she ever dared to wear pants.  In Singapore you can be caned for chewing gum.  In America you can read from the Quran openly next to a man reading from the Bible, next to a woman reading from the Torah. 


With all of that said, unless you've been living under a rock you've presumably heard SOMETHING about the 'Ground Zero Mosque', an Islamic Cultural Center(think YMCA with turbans) that is to be constructed roughly three blocks away from the former site of the Twin Towers, in an area of Manhattan filled with abandoned buildings, where almost all business has fled and prices have crashed in the wake of 9/11. 

This center will include a basketball court, culinary school, pool, library, and a small portion of it will be set aside for open public religious worship.  This institution will be open to the public, just like a YMCA, and anyone can use its prayer areas.  It is being pushed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Imam of one of the older mosques in Manhattan, a moderate clergyman who has made a life-goal of improving relations between Islamic society and Western society.  He has written three books relating to Islam in America, specifically regarding the hand-in-hand nature of Muslim and American values.  He is also employed by the Government(hired under the Bush Administration) to reach out to Muslim communities outside America, and preach to them about Islam in America. 

Now it should come as no shock to any sane, level headed person that this is wrong.  Wait.

What?

Alright, so in case you really have been living under a rock, the right-wing has come out in open hostility to this building.  Notably the OVERWHELMING majority of those who oppose the center are people who don't live within New York City, both the Mayor and the City Council approved it(with a vote of 29-1).  It's on private property owned by Imam Rauf, and is in no way shape or form visible from 'Ground Zero'.

I've laid out most of the facts here, without TOO much of my own bias, so here's where I'm going to throw down my gauntlet.  I'm going to draw my line here.  Cross it and you can go ahead and just emigrate, because you don't belong in America.


If the Cordoba House is blocked, Al Qaeda wins.

Let me say that again.

If the Cordoba House is blocked, Al Qaeda wins.

Think about it, please.  Put some serious thought into this.  Why did Al Qaeda attack us?  Why did Osama Bin Laden target America?  Because he felt that we hate Islam.  That we seek to destroy Islam, to destroy his way of life.  He believes that America is evil, that we are a christian theocracy that would gladly launch another crusade if we had the opportunity.


Think about the message it sends to have an Islamic Cultural Center a few blocks from such a horrific religiously-inspired tragedy?  It says that as Americans, we see past the star, the cross, and the crescent. It says that as Americans we understand that there are fanatics of every creed, color, and religion, and as Americans we do as Christ did...

We do not judge our fellow man for the sins of others.  As Americans we do as Christ, we judge a man for his deeds and his alone.


And that is what it is to be American.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feisal_Abdul_Rauf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordoba_House