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An issue of religious freedom - period
Q: Religious freedom vs. wisdom. President Obama, after saying that building a mosque at Ground Zero fit our "commitment to religious freedom," backtracked, saying he wasn't commenting on the 'wisdom' of building it so close to 'hallowed ground.' A Fox News poll showed that while 61 percent of Americans believe that Cordoba House has a constitutional right to build near Ground Zero, 64 percent believe it is not appropriate to do so. Does Obama's hedging show a lack of ethical convictions? Does Hamas' endorsement change the debate? What is behind public opposition to the site? Can you believe in religious freedom but not believe the mosque is appropriate?As a proponent of religious freedom who early on stated my support for the construction of Cordoba House, I was proud to see President Obama's strong endorsement of religious freedom last Friday - and was quite disappointed when, on Saturday, he seemed to walk back his comments. That disappointment deepened as I saw a statement from Senate Majority Leader Reid's office saying he respects religious freedom but that the mosque should be built somewhere else.
It has been disheartening to see Members of Congress and other national leaders cite public opinion polling as a reason to stop the project. Anyone with a basic knowledge of the history of the First Amendment knows that religious freedom exists in part to protect the rights of the minority from the whim of the majority. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that if the Founding Fathers had relied on polling data, the First Amendment might not exist at all. On issues of religious freedom - and let me be clear, this is one of those issues - Congress and the President should not be wavering. In my experience, any sentence that begins "We recognize that this is a religious freedom issue, but..." is usually followed by an attempt to circumvent the guarantee of religious freedom on the basis of discomfort and bigotry. Arguing that we should overlook religious freedom in favor of taking the road less controversial is, in essence, an argument for not taking action on any significant religious freedom issue in this country; most all of them have been controversial.
Cordoba House is a project that shows the American Muslim community's commitment to democratic values, interfaith dialogue, and civic engagement and is, in many ways, a slap in the face to the extremists who sought to destroy those values with the September 11th attacks. Please understand that Hamas' recent statement of approval of Cordoba House is not an endorsement the initiative's founders sought - or, I suspect, want. Imam Feisal Rauf, a voice of progressive and peaceful Islam, has long been respected as a leader in interfaith issues; he and his wife Daisy Khan have repeatedly condemned radical Islam and have taken pains to disassociate themselves from extremists. Opponents must stop intentionally mischaracterizing the motives of those behind the Cordoba Initiative, conflating them with the impure motives of extremists who defile the religion of Islam by committing acts of violence in the name of their faith.
To oppose this project because Islam is involved and Muslims are sponsors of it is a violation of the religious freedom guaranteed and protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution - period. Whether the construction of such a building is "appropriate" is not for us to decide (though I do think an institution dedicated to education, fostering mutual understanding, and facilitating reconciliation is appropriate); rather, it is for us to recognize that the founding documents of our nation permit this project to move forward as a presence whose purposes include healing. The president and Congress should remember that they have sworn to defend the Constitution. Neither now nor ever is there a time to waver from that commitment.
By
Welton Gaddy
|
August 17, 2010; 10:23 AM ET
| Category:
Faith Community Building
,
Islam
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Posted by: AnnDe | August 24, 2010 12:55 AM
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Mr. Geddy:
Where were you when various Hindu organizations tried to build temples all over the uS and were not permitted for one reason or the other. You did not see the Hindus parading their victimization did they. This mosque seems to have been started in a high profile manner to bully the authorities to permit it lest they be accused of bigotry. Quite a PR stunt this is. In a city with 100 mosques already, how dare you pose that this is a "
An issue of religious freedom - period". For religious adherents whose native countries do not even allow a place of worship per country, this is really very cute, to complain like this. How many of these promoters have tried to influence their countries to even show a modicum of fig leaf to tolerance. When they have done that I will be more sympathetic.
Posted by: Secular | August 20, 2010 8:19 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
Secular: This is not about "their countries". This is about the U.S.A -- and what our country stands for. We are unique in the world, and, as the song says, I am "PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN" because we do not measure ourselves by others, but by our own ideals. (Period!!!} . . . well, that is how I think we should measure, anyway.
I would like to share a comment from one of those who lost a loved one at "Ground Zero".
FROM A “9-11 MOTHER. I saved a particularly memorable heart-wrenching post from a blog earlier this year:
Adele Welty June 7th, 2010 10:43 am ET
As a 9/11 family member who lost my son Firefighter Timothy Welty at the WTC, I strongly Support building a cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero. Whereas the attacks of 9/11 were an act of hatred and anger, this cultural center will be a symbol of inclusiveness and healing, welcoming all in the community to come to its events, regardless of differences of faith. This country was founded to foster religious freedom. Let us adhere to the vision of our founding fathers not the vitriol that caused the attacks on our nation.
Adele Welty - Flushing, NY - Mother of Firefighter Timothy Welty, FDNY, Squad 288
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QUESTION: Why don’t the protesters put as much into POSITIVE SUPPORT for the 9-11 Memorial center?