Tuesday, August 10, 2010

How To Create A Perfect Terroist

By now, the controversy over the construction of an Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan, near "Ground Zero" has become old news. But the histrionics surrounding the controversy are as usual, the only sounds that keep echoing. 
Newt Gingrich has tried to get as much political mileage out of it as possible with the paranoiac parroting of the claim that the construction would "embolden terroists" and that if a 'mosque" which Cordoba House is decidely not, is allowed in lower Manhattan, then Saudi Arabia should have to allo Christian Churches in Riyadh. 
I won't even go into the disjointed illogicity of his arguments, except to point out that inspite of any other  rational voices, this is what paranoiac teabag America chooses to hear and believe.
I won't go into the hypocrisy of  Rabbi Marvin Hier, of the Weisenthal Center, who publically opposed the building of the Center in this location in Manhattan, because of the "sensitivity" of the site while being part of an organization which is engaged in a very international controversy over its plans to build a "Museum Of Tolerance" in Jerusalem on top of a 2000 year old Arab/Palestinian cemetary.
This is what this grandstanding has done in the rest of America:
At one time, neighbors who did not want mosques in their backyards said their concerns were over traffic, parking and noise — the same reasons they might object to a church or a synagogue. But now the gloves are off.

In all of the recent conflicts, opponents have said their problem is Islam itself. They quote passages from the Koran and argue that even the most Americanized Muslim secretly wants to replace the Constitution with Islamic Shariah law.

These local skirmishes make clear that there is now widespread debate about whether the best way to uphold America’s democratic values is to allow Muslims the same religious freedom enjoyed by other Americans, or to pull away the welcome mat from a faith seen as a singular threat.

What is this accomplishing?
Simply, this is how Paranoiac Conservative American will create its own worst nightmare.
I have read posts on fundamentalist christain blogs idiots who brag about their stalking and private surveillance of their local mosques. What do they see? Nothing yet, but they are outside the window ready in case anything "funny" should happen to occur. We see an upswing in the incidences of desecratuion and vandalism of mosques....
But the truth is revealed in a New York Times article which highlighted an academic study that concludes the opposite of what Gingrich and his uninformed ilk are claiming, finding that many mosques deter terrorism:
A two-year study by a group of academics on American Muslims and terrorism concluded that contemporary mosques are actually a deterrent to the spread of militant Islam and terrorism. The study was conducted by professors with Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy and the University of North Carolina. It disclosed that many mosque leaders had put significant effort into countering extremism by building youth programs, sponsoring antiviolence forums and scrutinizing teachers and texts.
“Our research suggests that initiatives that treat Muslim-Americans as part of the solution to this problem are far more likely to be successful,” said David Schanzer, one of the authors of the study. Co-author David Kurzman added, “Muslim-American communities have been active in preventing radicalization. This is one reason that Muslim-American terrorism has resulted in fewer than three dozen of the 136,000 murders committed in the United States since 9/11.”
The Center for American Progress recently held an event on identifying, preventing, and responding to domestic terrorism, with Schanzer and other experts. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) was the keynote speaker, and he pointed to the “critical role Muslims in America have played and must continue to play in fighting domestic violent extremism.” For example, as ThinkProgress highlighted, Aliou Niasse, a Senagalese Muslim immigrant who works as a vendor in Times Square, was the first to bring the smoking car that was part of the failed Times Square bombing plot to the police’s attention.
Unfortunately, the battle at Ground Zero is playing out across the country. In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, protesters are similarly disparaging a proposed mosque. In June, Lou Ann Zelenik — a Republican candidate for Congress in that area — claimed the mosque was “designed to fracture the moral and political foundation of Middle Tennessee.” Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R), who is running for governor, wondered whether Islam is a “cult” and said Muslims “crossed a line when they start trying to bring Sharia Law into the state of Tennessee.”
Additionally, supporters of these Islamic centers are not the ones who are being extremists — it’s the opponents who are ramping up. Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), run by self-described “anti-jihadist” and right-wing blogger Pamela Geller — has launched a series of bus ads reading, “Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got questions? Get answers!” in major cities. Opponents of a planned mosque in southern California have ominously warned of a “confrontational atmosphere” if the construction plans move forward:
The pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, just across a cul-de-sac from the site of the mosque, said the two religions “mix like oil and water” and predicted a “confrontational atmosphere” if the project moves forward.
“The Islamic foothold is not strong here, and we really don’t want to see their influence spread,” said Pastor Bill Rench.
There is a concern with all the rumors you hear about sleeper cells and all that. Are we supposed to be complacent just because these people say it’s a religion of peace? Many others have said the same thing,” he said.
Last Friday, the Connecticut Post reported that approximately “a dozen right-wing Christians, carrying placards and yelling ‘Islam is a lie,” confronted Muslim worshippers outside a mosque. Using a bullhorn, the protesters yelled “Jesus hates Muslims,” and one protester “shoved a placard at a group of young children leaving the mosque.”

Historically, we have seen the results of systematic religious persecution of the Jews. A religion and race totally traumatized by centuries of persecution which culminated in the Holocaust. The result? The perfect terrorist state. Untouchable and totally self contained rationalization of any atrocity they think they need to commit to shout to the world, "NEVER AGAIN!"  The triumph of Zionism. Think about it.

4 comments:

SR said...

The new improved crusades.

KudosMicrodot! Astute and intelligent analysis with the horror movie-like conclusion!

microdot said...

Thank you, SR...I went back to proof read and found your comment.
I was so heartened to hear your gossip item about Carla Bruni, or Carlita Brun-Brun as we know her here in Groland.

mud_rake said...

This is a very good posting, Microdot, and it sheds quite the light on fundamentalism in general and [c]hristian fundies in particular.

Does 'paranoid' sum all of this up nicely? As i have oft said, religion will be the death of humanity!

microdot said...

But in the long run, perhaps humanity will be the death of religion....