An Open Letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Well, actually it's not really. I was forming some thoughts on the matter in response to Mayor Bloomberg's support of the construction of a large mosque in lower Manhattan, a mere stone's throw away from Ground Zero of the attacks by radical jihadists on September 11th, 2001 which destroyed the World Trade Center and killed thousands.

Like I said, I was thinking about writing an "open letter" to Mayor Bloomberg, but as anyone who is familiar with this blog can attest to, there's really nothing special about my writing ability. Oh, I suppose I could cobble together a heavily footnoted criticism of Bloomberg's teary-eyed, myopic defense of his support of such folly. However, in reading other criticisms of such a patently stupid and short-sighted attempt at cultural suicide, it became clear that others were doing a better job at it than I could ever hope to do.

R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. brought up a few good points in his recent article on the subject. He mentions "People would know that when thugs intoning "Allahu Akbar" have slaughtered hundreds of innocent Americans on American soil, it is inappropriate to raise a mosque nearby. The majority of Americans alive today know this. Polling indicates that with them it is a nonstarter." In a sane world such thinking would carry the day, however this is New York City that we are talking about where over 67% of registered voters are listed as being Democrats (Read- Leftist Liberals) and reality is something that is obviously a bit subjective in their eyes. Mr. Tyrrell continues...

"There is nothing irrational or bigoted about thinking that a mosque does not belong at Ground Zero or at the Pentagon or on the Pennsylvania countryside where United Flight 93 crashed (See above photo). Americans traditionally raise on such sites monuments to freedom, to courage, to the sacrifices of those lost. Now the Ruling Class wants to place a mosque at the site of September 11. It is the only time I can recall the Ruling Class ever being in favor of placing a religious manifestation anywhere. Yet in favoring this mosque, the Ruling Class does put itself squarely in opposition to the Country Class, so it does have a logic to it."

That sort of cuts to the heart of the matter, doesn't it? Not to be outdone, the best article by far that I have come across concerning this topic is by Tawfik Hamid. Mr. Hamid wrote pretty much what I was thinking of writing to Mayor Bloomberg, but he includes some thoughts on the subject that I'm certain that I would have left out. Mr. Hamid basically boils down his argument to three main points...

"Allowing the erection of a Ground Zero mosque would enable jihadists to extend their narrative of success: "First our 9/11 attacks destroyed the World Trade Center, symbol of American power, and now the mosque symbolizes Islam's rise to power within America."

How is the public to know which side is correct? ...

One test would be to ask mosque leaders to request that Saudi Arabian leaders reciprocally allow churches and synagogues to be built in their country.

A second test would be to ask questions that would clarify if the mosque's proponents are truly moderates or in fact jihadist radicals disguised as moderates. Americans who defend the building of this mosque could ask the mosque's Islamic proponents to publicly post to the media and on their websites answers to the following questions:

1. Islamic law (Shariah) states that Muslims who convert to Christianity must be killed (Redda Law), women in adulterous relationships must be stoned to death, men can beat their wives to discipline them, and homosexuals should be killed.

Are you willing to recommend that these traditional Muslim practices be banned and to condemn countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran which accept such practices as religiously mandated?

2. Several Muslim texts declare that Jews are pigs and monkeys and that killing Jews before "end days" is a religious duty for Muslims.

Are you willing to declare that these texts must be changed and/or reinterpreted and that Islamic teaching of such anti-Semitic values must stop?

3. Muslim texts that are approved by all the schools of jurisprudence in Islam (Shafeii, Hanbali, Maleki, and Hanafi) state that Muslims must declare wars against non-Muslims to spread Islam and those they conquer must either convert to Islam, pay Jizya (a humiliating tax), or be killed.

Are you willing to declare that this belief, used in "Foutohhat Islameia," the early wars to spread Islam, and praised currently in much of the Muslim world, is un-Islamic and unacceptable?

Mosque leaders issue statements such as, "Islam is the religion of peace," "Islam respects freedom of religion," "Islam is the religion that gave them their rights," or "Islam is not anti-Semitic." Their answers to the questions above about Shariah teachings would clarify if it would be unfair to call these leaders jihadist Islamic radicals, or if in fact their statements about Islam are misleading propaganda.

Are Islamic Mosque advocates willing to declare publicly, in English and in Arabic, that their answers to these three questions are yes? If so, let the mosque proceed. If not, plans to build a shrine to Islam near the grounds of the World Trade Center are contrary to America's values [and] should be halted immediately."


I couldn't have put it any better than that if someone tried to pay me a million bucks to do so.