-(Qur'an) Sura 2:111
Something to note here. Whether or not I agree with Islamic teaching has no effect whatsoever on the legal rights of these Americans. This should have nothing to do with religion. Unfortunately, it has become an issue that is almost entirely driven by religion and stereotyping. I don't agree with Islam, but that is completely irrelevant when dealing with the basic rights of these people.
First, let's clear up some common misconceptions.
1. It's a mosque
Wrong. It's a civic center. Even if it was a mosque, however, these people have the legal right to build there. They are American's who own the land. If they want to build a plane parts factory, they have that legal right. It is unconstitutional to deny them any building they please simply because they are Muslim.
2. The proposed building site is on the site where the World Trade Center used to be
Wrong. It's blocks away. There's another mosque already built that is even closer. Why do people care if Muslims build there? And even if it was on the site of Ground Zero, if those people paid for the land, they have the right to build whatever they choose. Again, even if it wasn't two blocks away, a legal right is a legal right, regardless of what religion these people are.
3. They are rubbing it in our faces
This is one of the most stereotypical things anyone can say. There is absolutely no reason to believe that the people trying to build this civic center had anything to do with the bombing nine years ago. When a group of religious zealots bomb an abortion clinic, you do not hold all Christians responsible for this. Likewise, when a terrorist group bombs a building, who are you to say that all Muslims must share the blame? There is absolutely no reason to expect that any of these people have any kind of anti-American wishes. It's blatant prejudice.
I speak against people who I feel do wrong and I support them when they are right, regardless of religion. If a Christian religious group wanted to build a church on a lot 200 yards from a bombed abortion clinic, they have that right. There is no reason to associate them with that particular act. The same applies to every religious faction. Any Christian who blames the builders of this civic center for 9-11 deserve to be blamed themselves to the child molestation from Catholic priests. If you feel like you shouldn't be blamed for that, then you have no right blaming all Muslims for any act a small group of them performed.
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| xkcd.com |
No, no you obviously have it all wrong. It says in the Quran, "Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war." -Qur'an:9:5. It says in their holy book that they must do everything they can to fight and kill nonbelievers. Therefore, all Muslims are responsible for this as it was done in order to kill nonbelievers.
ReplyDeletelinkinparkmsk, I'm not sure if you intended the comment to be sarcastic, though you bring up a mildly interesting point. If you are Christian, then read Exodus 21 and well as Leviticus 20. This implies that you should be blamed for all Christians who hurt or kill their children for disobedience, all slavery, and the murder of homosexuals. Your logic is flawed. If you are an atheist, then you are either severely prone to errors in reasoning, or this was sarcastic. It does, however, bring up a good point, though perhaps in a more extreme way than is applicable. While you cannot hold an entire group responsible for the actions of individuals, it is fair to say that, if there were no mild believers, there would be no extremists. This gets into the issue of "What's the harm of religion?" which I will cover in a later post. One potential harm of people believing and supporting various religious teachings is that it gives others the invisible support they need to perform actions as extremists. While is is wrong to say that all Muslims are directly responsible for 9-11, it is not completely wrong to say, "If there was no such thing as Islam, the towers wouldn't have been bombed." Likewise, the moderate believers of Christianity give people the illusion that the extremists' viewpoints represent that of the majority, because they are the ones that speak out. While this may not be true, it is true that laws are passed which would not otherwise be passed without religion, such as the various laws regarding same-sex marriage. In these ways, "weak" believers are responsible for the actions of the extremists of their religion, however guilt by association is not an adequate reason to legally persecute a group of people.
ReplyDeleteI'd just like to say that I actually agree with you on this.
ReplyDelete(switched accounts because the old one is giving me bs error messages, apparently a problem with aol? should have just gone with google from the start)
ReplyDeleteTwas sarcasm indeed. I was simply trying to illustrate by hyperbole some of the flaws in arguments that I have seen made.
ReplyDeleteAh. Thank you for your opinions, just try to be a bit more obvious next time, because non-obvious sarcasm in situations like that can make someone seem like a douchebag. Just be careful c:
ReplyDeleteI will remember that your Majesty the Reverend
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with this is a matter of fact. Look at the facts, and you can't argue it with logic.
ReplyDeleteOn a total side note, I'd really appreciate if you credited the images you put at the bottom of your posts. Like this one is from xkcd and the comic on "Basic Constituents of an Argument (How to Justify a Claim)" is from SMBC. You could link or something.
Good idea, I shall do so c:
ReplyDelete