Let Us Protest Ignorance

It was astonishing to see the headline of nytimes.com today: “Battles Around Nation Over Proposed Mosques.” What? I had heard of Sarah Palin ludicrously leading protests against the potential mosque near Ground Zero, but the words “around nation” took me completely by surprise. What other mosques could possibly be causing debate? What is happening in my homeland?

Protests are occurring in New York, Tennessee, California, and Wisconsin (and surely in other states as well) over the possibility of new mosques being built. One protester asserted that Islam’s goal is to get into Congress and the Supreme Court in order to impose Shariah law. That particular statement conjured up an image in my mind from Madeleine L’Engle’s children’s novel A Wrinkle in Time, where a giant brain ruled a world, commanding the people what to do and when. This woman spoke as if there is a giant brain of Islam, decreeing people to take over the U.S.’s judicial system. No, ma’am, actually the goal is for Congress and the Supreme Court to accurately represent the population of America, all religions and ethnicities included. Islam is a religion, quite separate and autonomous from extremist and terrorist groups. Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists… we’re all people, trying to make a living. Crying, working, makin’ love, sleeping, cheating, eating. Being a Muslim does not equate being a terrorist, just as being a Christian does not equate being a crusader, being a German does not equate being a Nazi, and being a sorority girl does not equate being a coke-head.

Now do we really want to delve into a literal translation of religious texts? I’m no Biblical scholar, but for example, the Book of Leviticus (Old Testament) says a woman must be kept in complete isolation for a week during menstruation and a man must sacrifice two turtle doves after ejaculating, not to mention that all homosexuals must be killed. The point is not to make jabs at the Bible, but to show that ancient religious texts need to be taken in context.  (Fareed Zakaria published an excellent article in Newsweek which touches upon modernizing Islam.)  Non-Muslims who have never studied the Koran and its implications in the modern world should not be given the microphone to speak out nationally on the perceived “danger” of mosques and the presence of Islam in America.

Again, I am no scholar, but let us look at the goal of an act of terrorism. The actual act itself is nearly inconsequential – it is the aftermath that counts. Frenzy in the media, crazed people in the streets, fear stricken into the hearts of the citizens. The goal of terrorism is to instill terror, thereby leading people to make rash accusations and premature decisions. The goal of terrorism is to cause a nation to tear itself apart. These groups that are protesting the building of mosques are playing into the hands of terrorist organizations. As a nation, we should band together to protect all citizens, rather than creating unnecessary divides.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City said it best:

On Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked, "What God do you pray to? What beliefs do you hold?" … We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked.

Fear is not an excuse. If you want to protest – protest ignorance. If you want to fight – fight injustice. If you want to speak out, then speak out in the name of love and tolerance, and let us work together toward a country that is founded in equality.


Reading List:
The NY Times article
Mayor Bloomberg’s speech in support of the Mosque
Fareed Zakaria's thoughts and his subsequent return of his ADL award