Watch And Learn

Just in case you were thinking that the whole mosque idea was just an exercise in tolerance -- think again. This was never about fostering tolerance. This was never about bringing about some sort of understanding. If it were, then the mosque would be far away from Ground Zero. This is about currying favor with our enemies and avoiding another attack. Those who want the mosque blocks away have no understanding, nor a willingness to be understanding concerning this:

"It's simply wrong for Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin, public figures who frequently reference their Christian values, to malign all Muslims by comparing this cultural center and mosque with a radical ideology that led to the horrific attacks of 9-11," said Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, a national lobbying group that advocates Catholic social justice. "We fail to honor those killed by terrorists when we betray the bedrock principle of religious freedom that has guided our democracy for centuries."

Catholic social justice? Would this be the Catholic social justice of the Crusades? Would this be the Catholic social justice of the Inquisition? Are we talking about the same Catholic social justice that shuffled molesting priests from dioceses to dioceses to keep them from being prosecuted? We're not maligning Muslims. We're simply saying that putting up a mosque blocks away from where professed Muslims flew planes into buildings killing approximately 3,000 civilians. Three thousand civilians. Three
thousand people who had no axe to grind against Muslims; who ended up being on the wrong flight at the wrong time. Where's the Catholic justice for the victims? I personally find it disturbing that Sister Simone seems to believe that the bedrock principle of freedom of religion trumps pre-meditated murder. I wonder what her stance on abortion is. She seems to be willfully ignorant of the fact that the conspirators met at mosques and used the buildings to recruit. I'm more concerned that Sister Simone seems to hold the 'Christian values' of Gingrich and Palin as if they were separate from her values. They might be. This is not about Christian values – even Christ commands us to defend ourselves. This is about subversion.

If they're so serious about fostering understanding – make Cordova House completely open to any and all faiths. House a synagogue, a chapel, a mosque, and a Hindu shrine in the building, all within easy walking distance of each other. Let it be a place for open discussion. If the only purpose for this building is to allow understanding about Islam – let's have other faiths there to compare and contrast. Another question: if this is a place of understanding, why are you naming it after an Islam caliphate in Spain? It's like naming a Holocaust museum the Nuremberg Haus.

Remember -- the cornerstone of our society is the idea that the majority rules. People – particularly those in authority – who are in the minority about this are trying to ram this through for their own egos. This is not a plan for understanding. This is a recipe for another attack.