on the planned mosque and cultural center

debate is raging over this proposed mosque and islamic cultural center, and for good reason.

building a mosque near ground zero, no matter how peaceful the developers' intentions may be, is a slap in the face to the victims of 9/11 and their families. i'm not some bible-thumping, ultra-conservative, but i agree with a lot of the conservative views on this subject. i respect the constitution and unwaveringly support the right to practice religion freely, but this move is obviously a publicity stunt designed to spark fierce debate. and that's disgusting.

the goals of this project are laudable: encourage american acceptance of the islamic faith and improve relations between america and the muslim world. but they're going about it all wrong.

let's turn this around. in iraq, one of the most memorable moments of the war was pulling down the statue of saddam hussein that stood in the center of baghdad. imagine if, a few years after its demolition, christian missionaries erected a huge crucifix or a statue of jesus.

even that doesn't parallel the current situation. to do that, a group of christian fundamentalists would have to blow up some important international building in a country like turkey, massacring thousands of innocent civilians. after non-stop media footage of seemingly average americans and other western citizens screaming "death to turkey" and burning turkish flags, a group of "nice christians" would have to go in and propose a new christian center right across the street from where the tragedy took place. wonder what the muslim response would be? do you think prime minister erdogan or president gul would call for equality and religious freedom? doubtful.

comparing turkey (and sadly but truthfully, much of the muslim world) to america is impossible, not to mention a cop-out. but as an exercise in comparisons, it was necessary.

now let's compare this to another current scandal that's getting a lot of media attention: dr. laura "n-word" schlessinger, and the hypocrisy that is surrounding this debate.

on august 10, schlessinger used the n-word a few times, i think the count is 10 or so, on her radio program talking about race relations. i think she's an idiot, and i disagree with what she did. so does new york times columnist charles m. blow, whose weekly column is witty and very fun to read, but often one sided. his opinion of schlessinger's outburst was spot on. in a recent column, justin bieber for president, was pretty critical of her actions, as he should have been. i'm sure mr. blow understands the constitution, which protects schlessinger's right to say whatever she wants on her show, but he knows it's wrong. she can do it, but she shouldn't, because doing so is an abuse of her rights.

now to the mosque. uh oh, mr. blow, looks like you've backtracked. a few days ago on twitter, blow started a discussion of the proposed mosque and community center, saying, "What i find ironic is that the most religious ppl in America (Repubs) are opposing religious freedom, while the group with the most non-religious ppl (Dems) are fighting for it."

wait a minute! so it's ok for schlessinger to be attacked for abusing her right to free speech, but it's not ok for the american public to criticize the cordoba initiative and the american society for muslim advancement (mosque and cultural center investors) for their blatant abuse of religious freedom?

i think schlessinger is wrong. no one should say the n-word. but no one - muslims, christians, buddhists, atheists, anyone - should take advantage of american religious tolerance.

i have the right to be a christian, a right i very much enjoy. i have the right to publish my opinions on this blog, another right i love to have. i've been in china where people don't have these rights, and as much as i appreciate chinese culture and the time i've spent over there, i couldn't imagine living in a place where i wasn't free to express my opinions - political, religious, social, et cetera. but, there are boundaries to what we can reasonably say and do, and when those lines are crossed, bad things happen. no matter how obscene or inappropriate schlessinger's comments were, we can't demonize her for abusing her rights while praising the developers of this mosque for intentionally pressing america's most tender bruise. few people would object to a mosque and cultural center being built somewhere else - i would support that 100%.

this, though, i can't and won't support.