Finley trots out the going straw man that, if Muslims own the land and qualify under the zoning ordinances they have a right to build their mosque, as if any serious person has argued otherwise. But he goes beyond that.
“Tossing aside the Constitution to block it would expose us as being as ignorant and hateful as the repressive Islamic regimes that spawned the 9/11 terrorists. And it would also set a dangerous precedent; deny a mosque today, and tomorrow it could be a temple or church.”
Finley’s vision of clustering the world’s religions into southern Manhattan is a bit odd. Dearborn actually has something like that “holy mall,” in a slightly more suburban setting. You’ll find it on Altar Road just north of Ford near Evergreen. There is a line of religious structures stretching from the Warrendale Community Church at the west end to Mother of the Savior Lutheran Church on the east, sharing the one access road. Since 2005 the beautiful St. Clement Orthodox Church has had its sunrise blocked by the Islamic Center of North America, whose minarets now tower above every structure on the horizon, religious or secular.
We aren’t like them, and we aren’t close to being like them: and it’s not only the First Amendment that keeps us from being like them. There’s more to American goodness (yes, goodness) than the Bill of Rights, and there’s so much more to the evil and savagery of jihadism than a simple lack of the Founders’ ideal of free exercise of religion.
Funny how that turned out.
It is amusing to see the media blame the Cordoba Mosque conflict as a setup by Conservativesread the whole thing...
....who's really been politicizing Ground Zero?
The mosque's biggest supporter, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, had aggressively tried to politicize Ground Zero back in 2005 with the International Freedom Center, with George Soros and the ACLU pushing exhibits on Islamophobia and the loss of civil liberties in America. Governor Pataki shut down the IFC's plans to politicize Ground Zero over Bloomberg's loud protests. Meanwhile the current plans for exhibits commemorating 9/11 at the site are being attacked by liberals complaining about a "lack of context", which is their way of saying that they want to politicize the site by suggesting that America was to blame.
The New York Times has added its voice to the chorus of complaints about "politicizing Ground Zero". But in 2005, the Times editorial complained that Campaign America's call to refrain from politicizing Ground Zero is Un-American. The cynicism here is virtually unbelievable.
The entire "Politicizing Ground Zero" talking point is a response to the fallout from Obama's own attempt to politicize Ground Zero by pandering to a Muslim crowd. When the polls number turned red, the media rushed to attack Republicans for politicizing Obama's own politicization of the issue. They claimed that Obama had just been functioning as a Constitutional law professor, delivering an abstract lecture on law at a White House event aimed at pandering to Muslims. The transparent ridiculousness of this excuse is almost lost in the clamor of self-righteousness, as the biggest supporters of the IFC suddenly discover a heartfelt desire not to allow politics to intrude on Ground Zero.
