ABC News posted a story today on some statements made by Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, described in the story as "a Muslim imam behind a proposed cultural center two blocks from New York's Ground Zero." OK, right there I have problems. The landing gear of one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center buildings fell through the roof and the building in question, causing it to be condemned. Doesn't that make it part of Ground Zero? Next, cultural center? What culture is that? Is that the moderate Muslim culture or the Wahabi Muslim culture? How do we know?
The article quotes Imam Rauf:
"If we move from that location, the story will be that the radicals have taken over the discourse," Rauf told CNN. "The headlines in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack.
"There is a certain anger here [in America], no doubt," he said later in the interview. "But if we don't do this right, anger will explode in the Muslim world. If we don't do things correctly, this crisis could become much bigger than the Danish cartoon crisis [over images depicting the Prophet Mohammed], which resulted in attacks on Danish embassies in various parts of the Muslim world. And we have a much bigger footprint in the Muslim world."
This is a truly amazing statement. It sounds remarkably like a threat. Also in the interview, Imam Rauf voiced his displeasure over the Florida pastor who is burning the Koran, saying it would feed into the radical Muslims in the world. Does anyone else see the road we are going down here? If the Bibles are not burned because of fear of the 'Muslim street' and the Mosque is not moved because of fear of the 'Muslim street', are we not setting a precedent? Notice that the Imam has no fear of American reaction to building the Mosque at Ground Zero.
I hope both the Pastor in Florida and the Imam will reconsider what they are doing. Both actions create unnecessary strife. If either one of these people truly wants to advance their (stated) cause, they need to reconsider their actions. Both actions are a slap in the face to many innocent people who deserve better.
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