Never forget the victims of 9/11! They all had faces… they all had names. You dishonour them by following the haters of the Tea Party… you spit on them, in fact. Think on THAT.
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We shouldn’t look for a religious cause for the scandal surrounding the construction of the Islamic centre near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York…
The project to build an Islamic centre near the site of the Twin Towers in New York that were destroyed in a terrorist attack has caused a split in society and in the higher political circles of the USA. The debate intensified when it emerged that although they supported the construction of a new mosque, city authorities refused to help restore an Orthodox church destroyed during the terrorist attack on 11 September 2001. For eight years, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America has tried to obtain the go-ahead from municipal authorities to rebuild St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in lower Manhattan. However, the authorities always stonewalled them, citing more important and urgent tasks. That’s why the decision to build a mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center so angered the parishioners of St Nicholas. If all religions are equal, as the US Constitution states, which was emphasised by the supporters of the mosque, why was the question of the reconstruction of an already existing church brushed to the side?
Boris Makarenko, a lecturer in comparative political science at MGIMO, told VOR, “You can find the answer to this in political manoeuvring, not in religion. Construction of an Islamic centre in the proximity of the site of the former twin towers took on a heightened political significance because it exacerbated all the contradictions inherent in American society. This led to a considerable drop in Mr Obama’s credibility. Of course, President Obama is demonstrating consistency in using a democratic and tolerant approach, but he shall pay a price, albeit not Mr Obama or Democratic candidates in New York, who shall be re-elected at the next election with no small number of votes“.
Indeed, the consultants of the Democratic Party are clutching their heads. In upholding the legality of the construction of the Islamic centre in lower Manhattan, Mr Obama took a position that is very unpopular in society. His political opponents will not ignore this opportunity. Now, at meetings, in interviews, and on the pages of Internet websites, people are asking the Democratic president to do what party PR agents are strongly recommending that he not do. That is, for him to say whether it is actually worth anything to Muslims to insist on the construction of a religious edifice near a site where Islamic fanatics killed nearly 3,000 people. Legal rights are one thing, but human reactions to the question are quite another. So far, Mr Obama has refrained from further comment. However, his ratings continue to fall. Moreover, according to opinion polls, one-fifth of Americans believe that Mr Obama (who is a Christian) is a Muslim. Things went so far that the White House had to make a formal statement that Mr Obama is a Christian. Republicans also tried to score extra points by using the remarks that the president made earlier. Moreover, the question of the mosque is no longer a problem only in New York; it has grown into a national debate.
Meanwhile, the little Orthodox church of St Nicholas has waited for many years to start reconstruction…
20 August 2010
Natalia Kovalenko
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2010/08/20/16546278.html
The late Patriarch Aleksei Rediger (1929-2008) greeting Mufti Talgat Safich Tadzhuddin (1948- ), Supreme Mufti of Russia. THIS is what we should be doing… don’t listen to Limbaugh and Beck…
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Editor’s Note:
Let me say that my own position is unambiguous. Both the church and the Islamic centre should proceed with all due dispatch. As St Nicholas parish was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks, the government has a moral obligation to help it rebuild on its old site. That’s clear. As the site of the Islamic centre wasn’t part of the WTC territory, everyone should shut up regarding it. Full stop. Don’t talk to me of “emotions”. The group wishing to build the centre isn’t a bunch of wild-eyed Wahabbists. Let me tell you, there are extremist American Sectarian nutters who are as scary as the Wahabbis, actually, more so (like the “Pentecostalist” movement, the polygamist Mormons, and Dominion Theology “evangelicals”).
Mr Obama showed guts in speaking out at all. I’m no leftie, and I say openly that he had guts. He could’ve just kept his mouth shut. Earth to teabaggers: Muslims died in the collapse of the Twin Towers, both in the building and as emergency responders. To insinuate that an Islamic centre run by a rather moderate group is an “insult” to the memories of those who died on 9/11 is disgusting and reprehensible, and I say so openly. The Tea Party, both in the Breitbart video and in its reaction to the Islamic centre has shown itself a racist movement. Under Russian law, the leaders of the Tea Party would be convicted under Article 282 of the Criminal Code, which forbids dissemination of hate materials based on race, nationality, or religion. There are Mormons and JWs in the slam in Russia for their hateful materials… Pat Robertson, Sarah Palin, Limbuagh, Beck, et al would be bustin’ rocks. That’s where haters belong… where they do no one any harm.
It’s simple. Rebuild St Nicholas church on or very near its old site… let the Islamic centre go up too, it’s being run by moderates who want to build something that will benefit the entire community. THAT’S what the teabaggers don’t want… Muslims showing themselves as good neighbours and decent human beings. Traditionally, Muslims and Orthodox Christians have lived in peace. Don’t let these Sectarian extremists tell you otherwise. Look at the photo above… that’s what we should be doing, not joining any “Tea Party”.
Don’t give in to hate…
BMD
Editor’s Postscript:
A friend sent me the following:
Great post! The picture of the beloved Patriarch and the beloved Cleric is classic! All of the whack-job converts that have slowly tried to take over Orthodoxy in North America should be required to have that as their desktop wallpaper… freaking morons. I agree, build them both!
Quite… and the above is not an isolated comment, by the way!
BMD
