Howard Dean: Politician He's taking the pragmatic way of defusing the lib perception that all Conservatives are morons or bigots. Hearts and minds, folks. Since this debate has taken a different element, I think everyone needs to step back, count to 10, and cool the **** down.
Muslim, Hindu, Black - some sort of minority. Canada has lots of Muslims. Why does population density matter? The U.S. isn't over steaming with Muslims. I can understand that argument in regards to illegal immigrants from Mexico - but Muslims? Are you kidding me? Those places are less diverse and yet they are more tolerant. That's a good lesson for us here.
If 65% of Americans don't think it's a good idea to build a mosque near Ground Zero - that doesn't make them a bigot at all. But for whatever percentage that thinks Muslims are terrorists and that this will be used to promote terrorism - then yes, those people are bigots.
Australia recently had riots where natives murdered multiple Indians in cold blood. Lets just say if you're Indian it was a bad time to even step out of your house. Not to mention in many parts there are anti-asian sentiments due to a perceived loss of jobs. No idea how you concluded anything about Hong Kong when its almost entirely Chinese. Canada is fine for the most part but that's 1 country.
Because the closer you are to other people, the more you're forced to deal with them and maybe know a little more about them. The countries in Europe that have the biggest problems with integrating Muslim immigrants are primarily because the ethnicities and classes are stratified and isolated in their cultural enclaves. So even if you're the same countrymen, you could still harbor the same misconceptions about Those people. Then you'd freak out when you discover that They are closer than you thought they were. But if there's enough space for everyone without anyone airing their cultural laundry, then everything looks peachy keen on the surface.
Wait - what's the pragmatic way here? That whenever a bunch of people get irrationally angry and stomp their feet enough, we should indulge that anger and screw over people that weren't doing anything wrong? That's a great lesson and just encourages people to yell and scream the next time something they don't like happens.
Dean's recent interviews scream of typical Democrat backpeddling, but the quote itself (below) to me seems like he's trying to scrub that condescending douche impression some Conservatives have when they deal with liberals because I think he took that to mind in the aftermath of Kerry's presidential campaign.
[QUOTE The people that committed those terrible acts of terrorism are NOT Muslim, and nor should be considered as such.[/QUOTE] If they were not Muslims, who were they?
I am not sure if liberals have been claiming this mosque has peaceful intentions, but if they have this might throw a kink in their argument: Link I guess I will wait to actually hear the tapes to pass judgment, but my guess, from listening to other things this Imam has said, is that it's accurate.
I don't know, those descriptions sound like they aren't so much shocking revelations as much as possible misunderstandings, taking things out of context, or blowing things out of proportion. For example, I might defend wahhabism in a specific context, but I'm certainly not a radical Muslim. Many rational people believe a single state solution is the best solution without being anti-semitic, and it is entirely conceivable that the "defense of Bin Laden's violence" wasn't actually a defense at all but rather a commentary on cause and effect as we already know that Imam has commented on. Given the source, I'll remain skeptical until I hear or read actual tapes or quotes with their full context.
You might be right. I am not familiar with the source (the dude or the website). But if it is true that he defends the attack on 9/11, then I would guess the number of people who think the mosque should not be built would go up about 10-20 percent (I am terrible at guessing what people will think politically).
I think that if there was real evidence that he sympathized with Al-Qaeda on any concrete level, all the support for the mosque would vanish. But instead what we are and will continue to get is half-baked evidence that is just enough to convince people who are already leaning towards distrusting them but not enough to convince those who want to give the benefit of the doubt.
Probably doesn't help the "he's evil" argument that the Bush administration made this guy one of their representatives of moderate Islam and sent him around the world (Obama continues this) as part of their initiative to show the rest of the world the model of how Islam is practiced in the US. Nor does it help the "he's evil" argument that he consults with the FBI on counter-terrorism stuff. By all legitimate accounts, he's everything people claim Islam should be - reaching out, renouncing violence, supporting US efforts, etc.
BIO Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf Imam, American Muslim leader, teacher, commentator, author Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is founder of the ASMA Society. A leading Islamic thinker and author of "What's Right with Islam: a New Vision for Muslims and the West.", he is the imam of Masjid Al-Farah in New York. The ASMA Society, founded in 1997 in New York City, is an Islamic cultural and educational organization dedicated to fostering an American-Muslim identity and building bridges between American Muslims and the American public. ASMA's philosophical objective is to strengthen an American expression of Islam based on tolerance and on cultural and religious harmony and to foster an environment in which Muslims can thrive within a pluralistic society without compromising their essential values and beliefs. Born in Kuwait of Egyptian ancestry, Imam Abdul Rauf was educated in England, Egypt, Malaysia and the United States, and is a graduate of Columbia University in New York. He speaks Arabic, English and Malay/Indonesian. Imam Abdul Rauf is also the architect of the Cordoba Initiative, an offshoot of the ASMA Society dedicated to improving relations between the Muslim world, the West, and America. He is a member of the World Economic Forum and has appeared on CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, and the BBC. He is the author of "Islam: A Search for Meaning," in which he defines Islam as the universal religion that goes beyond the cultural settings of the Prophet Muhammad, and "Islam: A Sacred Law, What Every Muslim Should Know About the Shari'ah." Imam Abdul-Rauf is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Center of New York, and of the Interfaith Center of New York. He lectures regularly at Synagogues, Churches and Mosques, and on radio and television programs in the United States and abroad. Learn More About Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf Visit the website of the ASMA Society
That justs make Bush wrong (and he is still unpopular anyways). It does not make the Imam (and by association the mosque) peaceful and not radical.
