And it's about time. "This Is Where We Begin to Say No: On the Ground Zero mosque, Americans reject the opinion elites that empower the Islamists," by the peerless Andrew McCarthy at National Review, September 8:
[...] Americans have had our fill. We are willing to live many lies. This one, though, strikes too close to home, arousing our heretofore dormant sense of decency. Americans have now heard Barack Obama's shtick enough times to know that when he talks about "our values," he's really talking about his values, which most of us don't share. And after ten years of CAIR's tired tirades, we're immune to Feisal Rauf, too.We look around us and we see our country unrivaled by anything in the history of human tolerance. We see thousands of thriving mosques, permitted to operate freely even though we know for a fact that mosques have been used against us, repeatedly, to urge terrorism, recruit terrorists, raise money for terrorists, store and transfer firearms, and inflame Muslims against America and the West. As Islamists rage against us, we see Islam celebrated in official Washington. As we reach out for the umpty-umpth time, we find Muslim leaders taking what we offer, but always with complaint and never with reciprocation. We're weary, and we don't really care if that means that Time magazine, Michael Bloomberg, Katie Couric, Fareed Zakaria, and the rest think we're bad people -- they think we're bad people, anyway.
So finally we're asking: Where is this "moderate Islam" you've been telling us about? Why would a self-proclaimed bridge-builder insist on something so patently provocative and divisive? How can we be sure that if imam Rauf builds his monument on our graveyard, it won't become what other purportedly "moderate" Islamic centers have become: a cauldron of anti-American vitriol?
It turns out that there are no satisfactory answers. When finally pressed on the taxonomy of moderate Islam, the best our elites can do -- besides shouting "Islamophobia!" -- is debate whether there ever was a "golden age" of Islamic tolerance. They have to confess that the Islamists -- whom they'd like us to see as a handful of "extremists" but who are in truth a mass movement -- are in the ascendancy. It is embarrassingly obvious that while some of us have been working to defeat Islamism in our midst, our elites are of the incorrigibly progressive mindset that counsels accommodating them -- in the delusion that they will be appeased rather than encouraged to become more aggressive. That is precisely the mindset that makes an Islamist think: Maybe now is the time for a $100 million mosque at Ground Zero.
"Moderate Islam" is a dream, not a reality. It is a dream with potential, because there are millions of Muslims who are moderate people, and because there are dedicated Muslims working to transform their faith into something that is institutionally moderate. But they work against great odds. They confront Islamists whose dedication to theocratic principles is deeply and undeniably rooted in Islamic scripture. And they confront American opinion elites who, wittingly or not, serve as the lifeline of the Islamists.
The reformers' slim chance at prevailing hinges on the American people's will to say "no" to our self-anointed betters. Ground Zero, once again the site of epic Islamist overreach, may be remembered as the place where we started to say "no."
Let's hope so!
McCarthy is right. Brilliant text. Anyway, we need to play on the offense on the world stage, not defense on American soil.
A whole movement is needed to protest, demand and speak about the rights of Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus and women in the Islamic societies. This can be a good start:
"Stop the Saudi persecution: 2 million Christians in Saudi Arabia deserve their FIRST church".
"Stop the islamic violence against Christian COPTS in Egypt".
"Why the Bible is forbidden in Iran?".
We need banners, bus adds, letters to editors, calls to the talk radio, demonstrations in front of Saudi Embassies..
Get over it already. This mosque is gonna get built.
Feisal Rauf
The imam speaks
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2010/09/08/imam-raufs-nyt-op-ed/
We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More
important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community,
government at all levels and leaders from across the religious
spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right
thing to do for many reasons…
At Cordoba House, we envision shared space for community activities,
like a swimming pool, classrooms and a play space for children. There
will be separate prayer spaces for Muslims, Christians, Jews and men
and women of other faiths. The center will also include a multifaith
memorial dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks…
I therefore call upon all Americans to rise to this challenge. Let us
commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 by pausing to reflect and meditate
and tone down the vitriol and rhetoric that serves only to strengthen
the radicals and weaken our friends’ belief in our values.
Feisal Rauf
The imam speaks
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2010/09/08/imam-raufs-nyt-op-ed/
We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More
important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community,
government at all levels and leaders from across the religious
spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right
thing to do for many reasons…
At Cordoba House, we envision shared space for community activities,
like a swimming pool, classrooms and a play space for children. There
will be separate prayer spaces for Muslims, Christians, Jews and men
and women of other faiths. The center will also include a multifaith
memorial dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks…
I therefore call upon all Americans to rise to this challenge. Let us
commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 by pausing to reflect and meditate
and tone down the vitriol and rhetoric that serves only to strengthen
the radicals and weaken our friends’ belief in our values.
Apologies. Double post.
The mosque is not going to be built.
Get over it.
It will be built but to what good? Interfaith? lol yeah right. Imam Rauf has known terrorists ties to Muslim Brotherhood and Holy Land Foundation. He has been caught doing the doublespeak of saying what sounds good to Americans then speaking to his Arabic audience with things to encourage jihad and "kill the jews" type speak.
It's good to see more people speaking out against what the Koran says and also criticizing the elites in the Media for their condemnation of "intolerance" when they are defending the one religion in the world that is most intolerant.
Islam on trial. Do the Cordoba House (Victory Mosque) related organizations qualify for charity designation by the IRS? If the organizations/sponsors themselves invoke Islam and the issue of the US freedom to practice religion then it is they who will have invited a comprehensive inquiry into Islam itself, to answer this taxing question. But the Islam that they present as a charity should be defined as it is understood and practiced internationally. Inclusive of Saudi Arabia and Iran, and generally among the member states of the OIC.
This IRS publication might be useful in answering this question, or in framing the questions:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicj85.pdf
We could have a legal case like that in The State of Tennessee vs. Scopes (Scopes Monkey Trial). Does the teaching of Islam tend to induce the commission of crime? Wife beating, for example. Or prescribe conquest.
Two things might follow from a denial of tax status as a charity:
1) The preachers and teachers of Islam could be recognized as inciting violence, as a fact dtermination.
2) New York could not lend their credit to the Mosque ("Islamic" community center).
Even if 51 percent of the activities at a "community center" were Pro-Jew and Pro-Non-Muslim the Pro-Islam aspect would still be not "insubstantial" and require denial of charity status.
The delivery of public dollars to a religious organization is "contrary to public policy" because of the first amendment prohibition on establishment of religion. Invoking religious freedom here must be a double edged sword, at a minimum as to the delivery of public tax dollars obtained under penalty of criminal sanction.
Would the real world examples of Islam in Iran or Saudi Arabia be allowed as evidence to determine if Islam is charitable for purposes of IRS tax status?
Maybe, but not in your lifetime...
Fabulous piece!
I just received his book "The Grand Jihad" and can't wait to read it.
"The reformers' slim chance at prevailing hinges on the American people's will to say "no" to our self-anointed betters."
Yes. Please save us, white America. You are our only hope.
60 years later WW2 is still going to your head. But the USSR won that war and someone else will win this one.
Great article, kudo's to Mr. Andrew McCarthy. Journalism such as this will get us out of the mess we are in better than the trillions being offerd in our defence against islam.
For those of you who are not familiar with Andrew McCarthy,here is a little bio on some of his work:
Andrew C. McCarthy is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the District of New York. A Republican, he is most notable for leading the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and planning a series of attacks against New York City landmarks.He also contributed to the prosecutions of terrorists who bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He resigned from the Justice Department in 2003.
McCarthy was educated at Columbia University and New York Law School, and has served as a professor at the latter and at Fordham University Law School.
He is currently a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, serving as the director of the FDD's Center for Law and Counterterrorism. He has served as an attorney for Rudy Giuliani, and is also a conservative opinion columnist who writes for National Review and Commentary.
He has defended the practice of waterboarding as not necessarily being torture, and as necessary in some situations to prosecute the War on Terror[2][3] whilst admitting that "waterboarding is close enough to torture that reasonable minds can differ on whether it is torture".
During the 2008 Presidential election campaign, Andrew McCarthy wrote a number of posts on the National Review's Corner blog stating that he thought that Democratic Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, was not serious about protecting U.S. national security against threats from radical Islam and elsewhere, and that Obama had a number of troubling ties and associations with leftist radicals.
In an opinion posted on the blog 'the Corner' on 10/22/08 [5], Mr. McCarthy wrote "I believe that the issue of Obama's personal radicalism, including his collaboration with radical, America-hating Leftists, should have been disqualifying."
In May 2009, Mr. McCarthy provided details of a letter declining an invitation from Attorney General Eric Holder for a round-table meeting with President Barack Obama concerning the status of people detained in the War on Terror. Mr. McCarthy noted his dissension with the administration in their policies regarding the detainees.
On December 5, 2009 he came out publicly against prosecuting Islamic terrorists in civil courts rather than military tribunals, saying "A war is a war. A war is not a crime, and you don’t bring your enemies to a courthouse
The mosque will not be built. I've already smeared the building with pork fat.
McCarthy: On the Ground Zero mosque, Americans are rejecting the opinion elites
And it's about time.
..............
Hear! Hear!
Just speaking hypothetically, what would they do if pig fat WAS spilled in the building? Could the space be simply Islamically "cleansed" by prayer or is the ground permanently polluted? Or don't they care so much about spilled pigfat really, seeing they are only told not to eat pigmeat, not to avoid anything piggy anywhere, any time?
McCarthy: On the Ground Zero mosque, Americans are rejecting the opinion elites.
Good. Now they need to throw them out of office.
The biggest catastrophe for our present day unethical politicians, is not that the country they represent, may lose a war or be occupied. No. For these people, it is loss of political office that is the greatest catastrophe. To circumvent this immense national tragedy, they will do anything.
I'm sure they are watching the GZM crisis with great interest. The moment it becomes clear that they may be thrown out if they do not come out, they will be anti-GZM.
When it comes to analysts/pundits like McCarthy, I like to play a little game of something like Where's Waldo? -- basically a search for the asymptotic loopholes.
In this particular McCarthy essay, aside from his annoying use of the term "Islamists", I had to read through the seemingly no-nonsense, tough rhetoric to the closing paragraphs to find Waldo:
“Moderate Islam” is a dream, not a reality. It is a dream with potential, because there are millions of Muslims who are moderate people, and because there are dedicated Muslims working to transform their faith into something that is institutionally moderate.
It's dismaying to find so many readers uncritically embracing a hard Glazovian like McCarthy.
"Get over it already. This mosque is gonna get built."
I thought the Muslims were calling it a "community center" which was to be open to everyone...
"At Cordoba House, we envision shared space for community activities, like a swimming pool, classrooms and a play space for children. There will be separate prayer spaces for Muslims, Christians, Jews and men and women of other faiths. The center will also include a multi-faith memorial dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks…"
At Cordoba House, we envision shared space for Islamic community activities, like a male Muslim only swimming pool, classrooms for teaching our future jihadis that Judaism and Christianity are false religions and that America is the Great Satan, and a play space for Muslim children, complete with swords, a course on how to be a successful liar, a designated area where they can learn to shred Bibles and Torahs, and instructions on making Molotov cocktails.
There will be separate prayer spaces for Muslims, Christians, Jews and men and women of other faiths. We will pray inside, and the Jews and Christians will pray in the alley out back, weather permitting. In the event of less than ideal weather conditions, non-Muslims will be responsible for finding a different location in New York to pray.
The center will also include a multi-faith memorial dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, where we will continue to blame Americans for our noble brothers attacking them, and laugh about how absolutely oblivious the Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg and other kaffurs are to our true agenda.
There, fixed now.
So, Yusef K, you say the Soviets won World War II?
I agree, as I look back on modern history.
Perhaps Soviet victory over Hitler was just, given that they started the European portion of the war when they kissed Hitler over the corpses of Poland and the Baltic states (Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact of 1939). And, given that they came out of the war with land taken from Finland, Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Japan, plus absorption of the previously independent Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Tannu Tuva (Uriankhai), and then went on to demand southern Azerbaijan and Kordestan from Iran, along with Kars and Ardahan from Turkey. Seeing that they got satellite regimes in a third of rump Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Poland, China, North Korea, Yugoslavia, and Albania, I guess they did win--if winning means grabbing land.
And we Americans did pretty poorly. We went ahead and gave the Philippines independence--originally scheduled for 1942--after reconquering it from the Japanese. Then the British, after having 2,000,000 Indians volunteer to fight the Axis (the largest voluntary enlistment of WWII, BTW), went on to give up the jewel in their imperial crown.
Maybe you're sorry that Chin Peng and his associates got driven into the hills along the Thai border where he had to hole up until your government and the Thais joined hands, pushed a little too hard, and a disarmed amnesty was too much for the CPM to resist?
Do you welcome those residual Stalinists in China (the last country where his portrait is displayed in the pantheon of revolutionary heroes) becoming the dominant power in your continent--especially considering how Mao Zedong forced Muslim farmers to raise the "black bug" (黑虫子)to free them from "feudal superstition"; while more "moderate" Communists are trying to break the Muslim demographics of the Northwest? Not even the thrice-accursed Mr. Bush tried that on the rural population of Iraq and Afghanistan! Indeed, our former Prex thought that once he and local forces got the Ba'athi and Taleban out of the way, Iraqis and Afghans could just go bck to being, well, Iraqis and Afghans.
How do you view the Sarawak People's Liberation Army? Are they still actively trying to save you Bhumiputra from your "feudal" traditions?
Rauf admits that he is the tip of the sword . . .
It is a demand to accept the Mosque or face the rath of refusal, from the uncontrolable mobs (that back him up). It is as close to a declaration of war as one can come (by all of Islam), apart from knocking down the Twin Towers and the United States Capitol.
It is this threat itself, as if pacing in front of a theater with a gas can, that needs to be repulsed, as it sounds itself like incitement to violence.
Americans are not listening to their 'betters' and that is about to drive them crazy. Maybe Chris Matthews and that sleazy, despicable Keith Olberman will work themselves into such a frenzy condemning and lambasting 71% of the American population that they will both blow a gasket and lose their voices---permanently.
Despite the fact that the vast majority of Americans oppose the abominable victory mosque, the 'elites' carry on like it's only a few muslim-hating radicals. They don't care what the American people think or want, they proved that with the health care debacle, the failed 'stimulus' plan, the bailouts. The Democrats announce their plans, the media shill for them, the American people express their opposition, and they do as they please. The media promote everything the administration wants and calls us stupid, ignorant, intolerant, etc. Our country is no longer ours; it belongs to the politicians and the media, all of whom know what is best for us because they are so much smarter, wiser, and more sophisticated.
The problem for Islam is that: the more the American people pay are forced to pay attention to it, the more repulsive Islam appears.
Slavery to any ideology is naturally repugnant to a Liberty-loving people.
Islam demands slavery to its retrograde, superstition-riddled, patriarchal, gay-murdering, intolerant, two-faced faith started by a slaveholding, mass-murdering, plundering warlord.
(How many slaves did The Buddha or Jesus or Lao Tse have? How many people did they kill? How many caravans did they plunder? How many wives of slain enemies did they rape?)
The more pople learn about the origins and intentions of Islam, the less they trust its apologists and promoters and useful idiots.
Islam would have done better to lay low and continue the effective Stealth Jihad and not throw insults in the face of the entire country by defiling Ground Zero.
The Sleeping Giant is rousing, to Islam's ultimate dismay.
And, without a Complete and Peaceful Reform, its inevitable destruction.
But they asked for it, and now, as more people grasp the goal of Mohammadism- a global gulag run by theocratic crazies- the more Americans are saying "Get the hell out of here! No frikkin' way!"
"...pay or are forced to pay attention..."
(Lost an "or" in the first sentence, above)
"A whole movement is needed to protest, demand and speak about the rights of Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Hindus and women in the Islamic societies."
Don't forget the Baha'is--people who practice a genuinely peaceful faith and who have suffered horribly at the hands of Muslims since their inception. Even female Baha'is have been tortured and executed for their faith in recent years, in Iran.
In fact, maybe we should amend the statement to read "A whole movement is needed to protest, demand and speak about the rights of women and non-Muslims in the Islamic societies."
This is not very hard to understand. A muslim is commanded in the Koran (muslims believe Koran to be the word of God) to follow MOhammed. The Only reliable example of Mohammed is found in the Sira and the Hadiths of Bukhari and Muslim (You can add Tabari to it if you wish). Outside of these texts nothing is known of Mohammed.
If a Muslim follows MOahmmed as per the commandment of the Koran than that individual male or female is a bonafide danger to the world. This muslim, devout and religious, is a good muslim and thus devoid of any humanity.
If a Muslim does not follow MOhammed than that muslim is a cultural muslim and therefore effectively an apostate from islam due to lack of adherence to Mohammed. This muslim is a good human and will have humanity in his or her upbringing.
Catch 22 situation is if Islam is considered a religion than we have 1.o billion potential savages to deal with. I am not saying that muslim are savages i am saying that muslim who follows Mohammed is a savage.
If We do nto consider Islam a religion than we have 1.0billion savages who would wnat to kill the rest of humanity for not believing in this fictional construct.
In either case we have to deal with a billion possible loose cannons.
Just saying the mosque will be built won't put the walls up. Our Muslim friends here don't understand the power of public opinion. The people don't want it and when the people get p.o.'d enough things start to happen. And things are definitely starting to happen.
Let's see how many people show up to the protest on Saturday. Many people are watching now and have a vested interest in the outcome. What Yusef, Islamic deludenoid and their gang of merry men don't understand is that we're not going to let it be built. No matter how much they whine.
This is a very good example of how the "moderates" and "extremists" work in tandem. Moderates say,"Hey, we hate violence, we are peaceful people, those terrorists are not real Muslims."
"But so sorry, they will kill you if you don't do what we want."
Are the "moderates" the "water-carriers" for the "extremists" or are the "extremists" the "water-carriers" for the "moderates"? Whatever, it seems they are useless without each other.
The auther is article is than convict warcriminal and record is being correctedf by mzake change to his record. We cannot allow mod rule in America so Robert Spencer is than convicted hater of many hate crime. The Mosque will be built in spike of mod rule wehich is illegal in itself.
I remember mod rule back in early Sixties England. We rode Lambretta's, wore Levis, loafers and parka's and listened to the best American blues and soul music.
All in all, not so bad DoI.
PJG, are you a "water-carrier" for "rifle-slinging" "double-quote abusing" "hillbillys"?
I live in Manhattan and I support the mosque. Americans outside Manhattan should concern themselves with their Nascar, six packs or whatever it is they do out there. Allow me to add a little poll data:
Extrapolating from a Quinnipac poll on July 1, 2010 you could reasonably guess that the profile most in opposition in NYC might be something like:
55+ aged no college conservative republican Hispanic Catholic or Jew woman in Staten Island who does not know any Muslims personally, with an "unfavorable opinion of Islam", and that "thinks that this is an insult to 9/11 victims families".
Most supporting in NYC would be:
18-34 aged college liberal democrat black Protestant (maybe Baptist) man in Manhattan who knows a Muslim personally, with a "favorable opinion of Islam", that "understands that this will foster understanding and teach people that not all Muslims are terrorists".
Poll details:
- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1302.xml?ReleaseID=1473
P.S. This is a local issue, most agree. In Manhattan only, 46% support, 35% oppose, 16% don't know. I am from Manhattan and I say that all you 55+ aged, no college, conservative republican, Hispanic, Catholic or Jew women from outside Manhattan should go worry about your local school's PTA and mind your own damn business.
If you don't live in Manhattan, then mind your business. If you do, then fine, lets chat. The uncontrollable mob does not back him up as you say. The Imam is on our side. I know its hard to believe, but true that someone that doesn't watch Nascar (I am assuming) and doesn't need sunscreen can be on our side.
The Imam did not say the words that he is the tip of the sword. You attributed that title to him. Hmm. Why did you do that? Could it be...? I won't say it.. yet.
You would not do that to Petraeus I am sure. Would you? Would you say that Petraeus is the tip of the Muslim sword for what he said about not burning Korans? When he said that, did that send a chill up your spine that this Muslim-loving jellyfish Petraeus is handing this country to the Muslims on a platter? Hmmm? Probably not. Why? What's the difference between Petraeus and Rauf? I think I know what the difference is in your mind. Correct me if I am wrong. Petraeus is on our side and the Imam is not. Is that right?
Sorry to upset your prejudices, but I have Muslim friends and I tell them what I think, which is that I hate Islam, and they still like me, apparently. Maybe they have doubts, or maybe they think I'm cute, who knows?
Never mind, everyone; Fernando says it's just a "local issue." (Didn't Obama say that?) Manhattan isn't part of the USA, so just mind your own business and move along. Oh, and he also says "Imam Feisal" is on "our side." So, if you're a muslim supremacist, that's great news! OK, gotta' get back to NASCAR, belch...
I'm a 46 year old Australian matron with 2 degrees and four children and *I oppose this abomination of a mosque*.
A local issue?
Nonsense.
67 British souls, 41 Indian souls, 11 Australian souls, 10 Italian souls, 28 S Korean souls, 24 Canadians and 24 Japanese, just for starters, say that what happens at Ground Zero - where their ashes are mixed with the ashes of the twenty seven hundred American citizens who were mass-murdered by allahu-akbaring jihadist thugs - is an INTERNATIONAL issue.
Feisal Abdul Rauf was the son of Egyptian Imam and Sunni scholar Muhammad Abdul Rauf (1917–2004) who was related to Muslim Brotherhood jihadi Abdul Munim Abdul Rauf who attempted to assassinate Nasser in 1954. As a result the Brotherhood was made illegal in Egypt. Following this Rauf and five other Brothers were executed, and four thousand Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested. President Nasser would be exposed to three more assassination attempts before he died of a heart attack on September 28, 1970.
Great article! So True!!
We need to enact jihad hate crime laws. Jihad crime (to convert, subjugate, murder and plunder in the name of Islam and to enforce Sharia law) is NOT a protected right under our Constitution or Bill of Rights or any state law. Freely believe what you want, but you have no right to impose Islam or enforce Islamic law on non-Muslims in the U.S. Sharia law claims worldwide jurisdiction, so we need to have legislation opposing Sharia law outright and making it a crime to commit jihad crimes against non-Muslims.
Contact Nancy Pelosi and tell her you need it stopped.
She is very sympathetic