Heated confrontations have broken out in communities where mosques are proposed near far less hallowed locations than ground zero in New York City. Full Story »
Posted by Oliver Jones - via New York Times (Most Emailed), miker1717 (t)
This article completely lacks integrity. It gives way too much credit to people who are openly hostile to the values of the founders of this country, which they embedded into its constitution. See the first quote for the first example of misguided, Fox-ian "fair and balanced" treatment of a debased and un-American idea. Totally unsubstantiated, wildly paranoid ideas (quote 2) are entertained uncritically, and a "study by a group of academics," which concluded that American mosques deter militant thinking, is buried in the middle. Why didn't they just cite ONE legal expert who could condemn and invalidate all resistance to religious freedom in the United States in one sentence? The media should be ashamed of themselves for ... More »
These local skirmishes make clear that there is now widespread debate about whether the best way to uphold America’s democratic values is to allow Muslims the same ... More »
This story objectively describes confrontations around the US between Muslim communities and nativists; it makes sense of disparate approaches and points to ideological organization among the opposition. It would be better if it had more historical context.
During the first world war, German Lutheran Christians in the US were the targets of similar opposition, which escalated into violence on a couple of occasions. The response at the time was to emphasize that German-Americans were in fact Americans. Abandoning the German language in worship and displaying US flags in worship spaces are two of the abiding legacies of that era.
I initially got steamed at the content of this article, then read it more closely. under closer reading it appears to be highly anecdotal and unnecessarily unflamatory. the implication is that intolerance towards muslims is on the rise. which it may well be. but quoting a few nutcases in a very small handful of local disputes only serves to make the nutcases seem much more powerful than they are, and the rest of us hysterical about the loss of traditional american acceptance of difference. as I said: maybe the trend is actually happening. but one can't tell from articles like this.
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