Make what you will: Obama, Mosques, and Islam
There is quite a funny moment going on right now, where the various branches of the media are all claiming Obama's words for themselves, or their own ends. I feel like I am living in China during the cultural revolution, all claiming to be the true believers in and followers of Mao. Well, its not that bad, the military is not yet handing out machine guns to youth groups to follow through with those beliefs. But still, it is quite a moment.
According to the NYT:
According to the National Review:
According to the Wall Street Jounal:
Obama's Mosque Remarks Reverberate Across the Country
And in response to all this? The Democrats have gone running:
The funny thing is what Obama actually said... which was, classically, not very much.
on Friday:
"I was not commenting, and I will not comment, on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there," Mr. Obama said. "I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about."
In other words, he said nothing. Not a damn thing. Obviously they have the legal right to build the mosque, that is not in dispute, the question is whether they should. But it seems Mr. President just wanted to say the government should not violate the Constitution. Gee Mr. President? Really? I guess you were paying attention during that whole "oath" thing. In other words, Obama voted "present" - again. Luckily he did it in an incredibly idiotic manner.
Leaving behind our Narcissus of Chicago for a moment, and examining the issue itself: should we have a temple to a religion which caused the attack on the hallowed ground of the disaster? Is that fitting with our moral code and political society, regardless of the legality of the issue? And don't give me the liberal crap which exempts Islam from morality on some bullshit relativistic grounds, Islam is an aggressive and militaristic religion which promotes violence and sexism. Yes - I know that there are many branches of Islam, and I know that there are many muslims who follow modern and developed ideas of rights, religion, and gender relations. I know that Sunni Islam is big and decentralized, without a belief in hierarchy. But it is still a religion where one of the titular heads (of Shia Islam) claims that earthquakes are caused by women showing too much skin. It is also a religion which is today behind the oppression and mutilation of millions. So can you take generalizations about the religion and apply them to every muslim? No, that would be idiotic. But does Islam, both Shia and Sunni, have a lot to be held accountable for? Hell yes.
So do I support putting a mosque in the ground zero cultural center? I'll be a lot more clear than our President on this one: no. I think it is a silly and antagonistic move, a high-school ethics seminar way of trying to prove we are a tolerant and developed nation. In this case, we don't need to prove that (though it should remain one of our highest ideals) - we were the ones attacked, not apologizing.
As a final world, why exactly would you support putting a mosque there as a Muslim? I just don't get it. It would be like Germany putting a national monument on top of a concentration camp, why the hell would you ever put one there? It just would be an idiotic idea because it looks too much like you are celebrating the action. Have an educational center about Islam or something like that, but a mosque really seems like a bad fit. The only good news is that it is helping the cause of electing a Republican majority to congress - we desperately need two sets of idiots opposed to each other rather than one set of idiots getting their way.
According to the NYT:
Obama Strongly Backs Islam Center Near 9/11 Site
According to the National Review:
The President Stands with Sharia
According to the Wall Street Jounal:
Obama's Mosque Remarks Reverberate Across the Country
And in response to all this? The Democrats have gone running:Democrats: We were blindsided by President Obama's Ground Zero mosque comments
Tuesday, August 17th 2010, 4:00 AM
The funny thing is what Obama actually said... which was, classically, not very much.
on Friday:
"I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground," the president said in remarks prepared for the annual White House iftar, the sunset meal breaking the day's [Ramadan] fast.
But, he continued: "This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."On Saturday morning, backtracking due to the fact people mistakenly believed he had said something with meaning in it:
"I was not commenting, and I will not comment, on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there," Mr. Obama said. "I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about."
In other words, he said nothing. Not a damn thing. Obviously they have the legal right to build the mosque, that is not in dispute, the question is whether they should. But it seems Mr. President just wanted to say the government should not violate the Constitution. Gee Mr. President? Really? I guess you were paying attention during that whole "oath" thing. In other words, Obama voted "present" - again. Luckily he did it in an incredibly idiotic manner.
Leaving behind our Narcissus of Chicago for a moment, and examining the issue itself: should we have a temple to a religion which caused the attack on the hallowed ground of the disaster? Is that fitting with our moral code and political society, regardless of the legality of the issue? And don't give me the liberal crap which exempts Islam from morality on some bullshit relativistic grounds, Islam is an aggressive and militaristic religion which promotes violence and sexism. Yes - I know that there are many branches of Islam, and I know that there are many muslims who follow modern and developed ideas of rights, religion, and gender relations. I know that Sunni Islam is big and decentralized, without a belief in hierarchy. But it is still a religion where one of the titular heads (of Shia Islam) claims that earthquakes are caused by women showing too much skin. It is also a religion which is today behind the oppression and mutilation of millions. So can you take generalizations about the religion and apply them to every muslim? No, that would be idiotic. But does Islam, both Shia and Sunni, have a lot to be held accountable for? Hell yes.
So do I support putting a mosque in the ground zero cultural center? I'll be a lot more clear than our President on this one: no. I think it is a silly and antagonistic move, a high-school ethics seminar way of trying to prove we are a tolerant and developed nation. In this case, we don't need to prove that (though it should remain one of our highest ideals) - we were the ones attacked, not apologizing.
As a final world, why exactly would you support putting a mosque there as a Muslim? I just don't get it. It would be like Germany putting a national monument on top of a concentration camp, why the hell would you ever put one there? It just would be an idiotic idea because it looks too much like you are celebrating the action. Have an educational center about Islam or something like that, but a mosque really seems like a bad fit. The only good news is that it is helping the cause of electing a Republican majority to congress - we desperately need two sets of idiots opposed to each other rather than one set of idiots getting their way.
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