I find it fascinating to discover the little nuggets of reality that often tend to get lost in the Sturm und Drang of a screaming, foaming-at-the-mouth “debate”. The latest example of truth ignored because it doesn’t fit the desired narrative comes to us courtesy of the “debate” surrounding the Park 51 community center (or, as the screaming ninnies like to call it, “The Ground Zero Mosque”). Never mind the fact that there’s been a mosque in that lower Manhattan neighborhood for the past 40 years…but that’s not the nugget of reality I’m referring to. No, in this case, what’s being roundly ignored by those with an overabundance of righteous rage, is that there was a Muslim prayer space on the 17th floor of 2 World Trade Center. Yes, part of what was destroyed on 9.11 was a prayer space used by co-religionists of the 9.11 hijackers. The people who used the space were people who worked in the building, constructions workers of various stripes, and people who just happened to need a place to pray.
If we could all just stop screaming and foaming at the mouth, perhaps we might come to understand the truth and the reality of 9.11. The attacks that day didn’t just killed Conservative White Christians- they killed people of all races, creeds, and colors. Among the dead were Muslims and all manner of other people, none of whom likely expected to die on that sunny Tuesday morning in September, 2001. Yes, those responsible for the 9.11 attacks called themselves Muslims, but that hardly serves to make Islam responsible for the attacks. If you believe that, then you’d have to concede that Christianity was responsible for the Oklahoma City bombings, the murder of George Tiller, etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
The truth is that cold-blooded killers used Islam to murder 3000 Americans on 9.11, in the same way that Timothy McVeigh and Scott Roeder used Christianity to justify their murderous deeds. The fact is that religion was merely the justification used to rationalize committing heinous acts of senseless violence and destruction. At it’s most basic, Islam is a religion of peace in the same way Christianity is. True, faithful Muslims believe in peaceful co-existence, just as true, faithful Christians do. Yet there are so many among us willing to foster hatred and rage in order to advance their agenda and their own self-aggrandizement (Et tu, Pamela Geller and Rick Lazio??).
I’m not saying that we should be tolerant of radical Islamofascism…but neither should we be tolerant of the same strain of hateful intolerance within Christianity. Neither hateful bastardization of perfectly serviceable religions serves the purpose of humanity in any shape, manner, or form.
The Park 51 community center is an opportunity for New Yorkers, and Americans, of all faiths to come together and participate in activities that can serve to demonstrate that the terrorists haven’t won. Unfortunately, the flames of hatred and anger are easier to fuel than forgiveness and tolerance. And if there’s one thing Americans excel at, it’s blind hatred.
WE DESERVE BETTER.
