Last week, the entire brain-enabled world was dumbfounded when the Anti-Defamation League, breaking with its stated traditions of being against defamation, came out against the Cordoba Center, also known as the so-called "Ground Zero mosque." In a statement, the ADL made its position clear: "freedom of religion" is "a cornerstone of the American democracy," that definitely included the rights of Muslims "to build community centers and houses of worship," that "appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion" -- including those of Cordoba House opponents -- were to be "condemn[ed]" and "categorically reject[ed]," but just this once, the ADL is willing to avert its gaze and allow the policies favored by a tiny rump of bigots to be instituted.
Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain - unnecessarily - and that is not right.
More...
0 comments
Post a Comment