Clearly many Americans think the mass murderers who carried out the 9/11 attacks on men, women and children of Moslems, Christians, Jews and others were of the same cloth as any who profess to be Moslem. Those criminals were no more representative of Islam than the Ku Klux Klan is of Christianity. Theirs is an extremism that is not on the edges of Islam - it's beyond the border.
The people to punish for the terrorist acts are the people who committed them - not the religion they pretend to have belonged to. Any religion has its murderers and psychopaths. A religion may even welcome them, steer them toward redemption - but it is not defined by the worst acts of its members.
The KKK has carried out acts of vandalism and murder as good, God-fearing Christians. Timothy McVeigh carried out the Oklahoma federal building attack as a justified Christian act of morality and necessity. Do we blame the Christian religion for such acts? There is certainly enough incendiary and cruel language in the Bible to make that case; the Quran can barely compete. Of course, this is not to reference either the whole Bible or Quran - only the passages critics use to try to discredit one religion or the other.
Do we, should we, look at the Oklahoma federal building bombing, that Christian terrorist act, as truly Christian? As representative of the faith? Do we feel the KKK are reasonable emissaries of the Lord? Do we demand that no Christian churches be allowed in Oklahoma City out of respect for dead and their families? Or do we understand the difference between acts of horrific violence and acts of spirituality, faith, and grace? Or do we think only Christianity has those virtues? Judge not, lest ye be judged. Any faith can be used to fan or quench the flames of hatred and fear.
I would think that the people of Oklahoma City might think it would be healing to have a house of worship at the site of that attack. People of faith might think that prayer to the one God would be a good thing.
Christians are not terrorists. Jews are not terrorists. Buddhists are not terrorists. Hindus are not terrorists. Moslems are not terrorists.
Terrorists are terrorists. This is an incredibly important distinction.
And to those of you who will continue to think that a downtown New York public community center built and operated by Islamic clerics would be a terrorist training center, I have one word:
Really?
If that's the best plan the terrorist brain trust can come up with, I’m much less worried about terrorism. “Hey, I know - if we build a community center a few blocks from the World Trade Center attacks, we can conduct our evil plans in complete secrecy! People won’t even know we’re there! We can carry out our evil plots and no one will suspect a thing! Evil laugh!!!!!!!!!!!!”
I love America. I hate terrorism. Who’s with me? Anyone? Everyone? Good. Terrorists tell their followers that we hate Moslems without reason; that we do not respect their religion; that we will cower with fear and reveal our true - and anticonstitutional - colors if provoked. An example they could give would be our abandoning our commitment to freedom of speech and religion by refusing, say, to allow the legal building of a community center and/or mosque. What on earth do the terrorists tell their followers if we say, “Sure! Build your center. We welcome all faiths. We’re America. We’re good like that.” How does that go over with the terrorist recruiting? Not great. Takes the wind right out of their sales. Or should we burn our values on the pyre of our fear, and let terrorist plotters use that flame to light their way?
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