To Build a Mosque
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/08/31/a-mosque%E2%80%99s-location/
Opponents of the Ground Zero Mosque should think twice about basing their opposition to it solely on the provocative nature of the proposed site. To say, “They can build it anywhere else” seems like a reasonable compromise, but in the long run it may prove to be a strategic mistake. Once you say that your only objection to the building of a mosque is its location, you’ve given up the 99 other arguments that can and should be used to prevent the Islamization which regularly accompanies the introduction of a mosque into a community.
Each time a new mosque is proposed—whether it’s in Chicago or Atlanta or Pleasantville—its proponents will be quick to remind the opposition of the many previous assurances that the only objection to the New York City mosque was its location. And, of course, local and national media will chime in with the same reminder—along with not-so-subtle suggestions that the real objection to mosques is and always has been nothing but a matter of pure bigotry. Thus, “You can build it anywhere else” is a formula for insuring that future mosque construction in America will be all the more difficult to oppose.
“Location, location, location” may be the first three rules for buying a house, but you don’t want to bet the farm on the issue of location—the farm in this case being the jihad resistance movement. Unless you hone the other arguments for a Sharia-free America, you might end up confirming the liberal contention that there are no other arguments. As liberals see it, if you take away the location argument, the only other reason why people would oppose mosques is that they are hopelessly bigoted and ignorant. Thus, the liberal elites may be willing to concede that the people of New York have a point, but from their point of view the people of Pleasantville can have no case at all.
So it makes sense for those who are opposed to the Ground Zero mosque to lay out the full panoply of reasons for resisting the spread of Islam. Contrary to the liberal mantra about “bigoted ignorance” they are very good reasons. The views of the many Americans who oppose mosque proliferation are rooted in solid realities, while the views of the cultural elites are more often of the “This-is-what-we-have-always-believed-in-the-village” variety.
Why do Americans increasingly oppose mosques? It’s because they correctly perceive Islam to be a hostile political and religious ideology. For a long time after 9/11 the vast majority of Americans felt otherwise. They accepted the explanation that a handful of extremists had hijacked a religion of peace. But now they have their doubts. What is causing them to change their minds? Answer: a ton of facts. Unlike their “betters” in government and media, average Americans are able to adjust their views to accommodate new facts. They certainly don’t rush to judgment, but, given enough evidence, they are eventually willing to bow to the evidence. For many Americans the insistence on building a mosque at Ground Zero was the final straw—the last piece of evidence needed to come to a conclusion about the real nature of Islam. The Ground Zero mosque is considered “inappropriate,” “insensitive,” “provocative,” “insulting,” and “obscene” by a majority because they have finally come to realize that the connection between the bombing of the twin towers and the teachings of Islam is not an accidental one.
Americans are also awakening to the fact that, aside from the bombs and bullets, adherence to the teachings of Islam brings other forms of misery. By now, all but the most obtuse know that in Muslim majority countries there is very little or no freedom of speech or freedom of religion. And there is, decidedly, no freedom from fear. Along with accounts of the adventures of Tiger Woods and Lindsay Lohan, one now sees occasional stories about the vicious persecution of Christians and other minorities in Muslim lands—in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Nigeria, Malaysia, and just about anywhere where Muslims have the power to enforce their will. Naturally enough, Americans are beginning to wonder what would happen if Islam increases its power here.
Moreover, many Americans have, to paraphrase the song, “just met a girl named Sharia,” and they don’t like the looks of her. The post-9/11 message that Islam is a religion of love and justice was so widely accepted that it took a long time before people even knew about the existence of Sharia law, let alone about its harsh provisions. Now that they do know, they can be forgiven if they’re not too anxious to have it introduced into their neighborhood.
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