My Sunday column is about “ground zero mosque” that of course isn’t precisely a mosque and isn’t at ground zero. I argue that the proposed Islamic Center in lower Manhattan can be force for moderation — but, more important, that opposition to it from some Republicans feeds into the jihadi narrative that America is at war with Islam.
"Most of the debate within America has focused on the religious freedom issue. Do Muslims have a right to build a mosque near where other Muslims took thousands of lives?
But in international relations and security circles, the debate has focused more on the question of how this domestic debate affects the battle within Islam.
As I argue, it seems pretty clear that Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders agree with Republicans in opposing the Islamic community center and are delighted to see the furor erupt over it. One of the key recruiting themes of Al Qaeda in seeking disaffected Muslims in America and Britain has been that the West will never treat Muslims with equality and dignity, that we are caught ineluctably in a clash of civilizations that can be resolved only with guns and bombs. This article quotes Awlaki as saying:
Today, with the war between Muslims and the West escalating, you cannot count on the message of solidarity you may get from a civic group or a political party, or the word of support you hear from a kind neighbor or a nice co-worker. The West will eventually turn against its Muslim citizens! In his lair in Yemen, Awlaki must be cheering the Republicans on as they demagogue against the mosque and feed into his terror recruitment narrative."
read more:
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/when-republicans-and-jihadis-agree/
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