KING: I believe it is very offensive and it’s wrong. I don’t believe that legally it can be stopped, however, because of the first amendment. But having said that, you know, the mosque will be there. It will be within walking distance of where so many Americans were killed by radical Muslims. And, obviously we cannot blame all of Islam for what a handful of terrorists did. What bothers me though is since then that so many Muslim leaders have failed to speak out against radical Islam, against the attacks. We had mosques here on Long Island who were actually blaming the attacks on the Jews, the CIA and the FBI. So, that’s why this is particularly offensive.
A few days ago, I wrote about plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. At the time, I facetiously wondered how long it would be before various and assorted loons worked themselves up to a fever pitch of righteous outrage. As it turns out, not so very long at all.
Because Islam is an evil, awful religion of America-haters and murderers bent on destroying Our Way of Life ©, Muslims apparently deserve to be treated like the criminals they are. OK, so this isn’t to say that some radical Muslims aren’t criminals…but aren’t some radical Christians also criminals (Paul Hill, Scott Roeder, Scott Rudolph, and Timothy McVeigh…just to name a few)? ‘Course, if you happen to inhabit the far Right edge of the political spectrum (and/or work for Fox Noise Channel), you’ve long since convinced yourself that White Folks by definition can’t be terrorists. Someone really ought to tell these folks that not ALL Muslims are murderers and terrorists…in exactly the same way that not ALL Christians are murderers and terrorists.
King may speak the words, but he clearly doesn’t mean whatever it is that emerges from his mouth. In case this case, it’s all about pandering to a constituency conditioned to reflexively hate all things Muslim. Rather than attempting to bridge gaps and reduce suspicion and hatred, King has chosen to divide and conquer. If King’s constituents are busy hating and fearing Muslims, it’s unlikely they’ll have the time, energy, or inclination to wonder why he’s such a hate-driven fear-monger.
Why is a mosque near Ground Zero any different from a Christian church near the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City? If your going to tar Islam as a religion of murderers and terrorists, the same argument can and should be applied to Christianity. The reality is that neither Islam nor Christianity is responsible for the murderous acts of a few deranged followers. The vast majority of adherents of both religions are peaceful souls who legitimately want to live their beliefs as an expression of trying to make the world a better place. In Peter King’s world, though, White Christians are held to a different, and far less onerous standard than the swarthy Brown People who follow Islam. Islam = terror…and therefore Muslims don’t deserve the same rights and freedoms that White Christians do. As King well knows, no Republican ever went wrong by indulging in cheap, unsubstantiated Islam-bashing…because good, God-fearing White Folks can’t be terrorists, don’tchaknow?
