In My Opinion

The content of recent blogs has been rather heavy and this week I fully intended to lighten things up a bit. But with all the play the “Mosque at Ground Zero” is mustering, I’m compelled to offer my view of the whole sordid mess. And don’t think for a moment this issue is cut and dried regardless of what side of the fence you’re on. What makes me such a goddamn authority concerning this sensitive issue? It’s not so much that I’m an authority; rather, I have some academic background in Foreign Relations as well as Middle Eastern History. This allows me to opine with a slightly different perspective to this very emotional issue.

To set the record straight, the Taliban are fucking assholes, not everyone who practices the Muslim religion is. There seems to be a misconception here. For analogical purposes, let’s say the population of the United States represents the total population of everyone in the Muslim global community. The population of Montana would represent the Islamic extremist portion or Taliban if you will.

The U.S. Government is partially responsible for making the Taliban what it is today. Way back in 1979, the U.S., under the direction of Jimmy Carter, thought it was a good idea to arm the Mujahideen, the radical Muslim guerrilla fighters, in an effort to ward off the advances of the Soviet Union when they invaded Afghanistan. Today, we call this fighting group of radical Muslims the Taliban. How do I know this? I was the first person in the United States to examine documents from the Jimmy Carter Library pertaining to the 1980 U.S. Olympic boycott due to the invasion of Afghanistan.

The Muslim religion is not a violent one. That’s like saying Catholicism is a violent religion based on the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades. As a matter of fact, Muslims don’t care what you call your God as long as you believe in God. The dreaded “infidel” is the godless person to whom the Koran refers, not one who follows capitalism. The members of radical Islam believe the people of the United States have substituted capitalism for God. This is what has their panties all in a bunch. This is why they call us a godless society because they believe we worship wealth above all else. We won’t get into what a bunch of hypocrites the members of the Taliban are, that’s a given for any religious nut cases.Christ! If those bastards only knew an atheist was writing this, they’d do a live televised webcast of my beheading.

I had friends whose father’s helped build the World Trade Center. I’ve eaten at Windows of the World. At the highest point on Shunpike Road, Gary Eckert and I used to sit atop his garage, get stoned, and at night gaze at the lit Twin Towers off in the distance. My former brother in-law was fortunate to get out before the Towers crumbled. Each year I fly my flag on 9/11, never forgetting, unlike many of my neighbors. My emotional response to having a mosque within several blocks of Ground Zero is that I find it appalling. But I like to think I’m a rational human being not to be included in the seventy percenters. And then there’s the government…

They seem to be able to fuck up anything they collectively stick their noses in. I hear this claim of religious freedom. I hear references that that’s what this country was founded on. I say bullshit. While religious outcasts found a home here; settling the U.S. was without a doubt a money seeking venture. Our society grants religious freedom, yes; but we shouldn’t at the expense of others.

The Taliban are not rational people. They would claim a victory for Allah if that mosque is allowed to be housed so near what they perceive to be the site of their greatest triumph against the infidels. The Taliban would perceive it as a sign of American weakness. So let’s throw out all that constitutional bullshit for this one.

While the irrational people claim allowing the mosque “on” Ground Zero, -which it isn’t - is like putting a monument to Hitler at Auschwitz, or a memorial to the Japanese at Pearl Harbor (both asinine statements), all they’re doing is showing the rest of the world that their brain waves are as short circuited as members of radical Islam. What it would be is a slap in the face to those that died in the tragedy, and to those who survive them. Let’s show the Taliban we can all come together on this issue just like we did when the catastrophe occurred. That’s to whom we have to make a point. We don’t have to make a point to peaceful Muslims in this country. They already know what America stands for, that’s why they’re here.

I have Muslim friends. They are not members of the Taliban as far as I can tell. Their children are as American as they come because they were born here. They exhibit love toward me every day. They thank Allah for the opportunity to live in this great country. They are embarrassed by the actions of a demented group who give Islam a bad name. Yet, they are derided just because of their religion. Hell, it’s not like they’re Mormons or anything.

So let’s do the right thing by everyone involved. Let’s make the building an historical landmark. Move the mosque to another part of Manhattan. Let the Muslims who are complaining use the magnificent mass transit system New York offers to get to the alternate site. If the few whining Muslims don’t like it, tough shit, the rest of us will. But that’s just my opinion.