Let the Mosque Go Up

I understand the emotional reaction against building a mosque near the site of the World Trade Center.
 
And I understand politicians who demagogue the flap to score points. That’s what politicians do.
 
But I don’t understand the logic.
 
Carter wrote in his blog yesterday, as I read it, that the mosque shouldn’t be permitted because “Protestants didn’t blow up the WorldTradeCenter.”
 
True.
 
But, of course, it was a handful of Islamic fanatics who blew up the WorldTradeCenter. Not all Moslems thought that was a good thing.
 
A fundamental difference between Americans and Islamic fanatics is that we don’t paint people of different faiths as evil and thus deserving hostility and even death.
 
They do. That’s why they brutally executed those incredibly heroic aid workers in Afghanistan.
 
Americans should welcome a mosque that, in effect, is a monument to our better angels: our freedom, our tolerance and our openness to people of peace, whatever their religion.
 
If there’s evidence that fanatical Islamic radicals are behind this mosque, let’s see it.
 
Otherwise, let’s ask: What would Jesus do?
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Gary Pearce

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Let the Mosque Go Up

I understand the emotional reaction against building a mosque near the site of the World Trade Center.
 
And I understand politicians who demagogue the flap to score points. That’s what politicians do.
 
But I don’t understand the logic.
 
Carter wrote in his blog yesterday, as I read it, that the mosque shouldn’t be permitted because “Protestants didn’t blow up the WorldTradeCenter.”
 
True.
 
But, of course, it was a handful of Islamic fanatics who blew up the WorldTradeCenter. Not all Moslems thought that was a good thing.
 
A fundamental difference between Americans and Islamic fanatics is that we don’t paint people of different faiths as evil and thus deserving hostility and even death.
 
They do. That’s why they brutally executed those incredibly heroic aid workers in Afghanistan.
 
Americans should welcome a mosque that, in effect, is a monument to our better angels: our freedom, our tolerance and our openness to people of peace, whatever their religion.
 
If there’s evidence that fanatical Islamic radicals are behind this mosque, let’s see it.
 
Otherwise, let’s ask: What would Jesus do?
Posted in ,
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Gary Pearce

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