Reza Aslan is pissed off.
Video.
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Transcript
DAVID GREGORY: I want to talk the economy, but I do want to talk about 9/11 and this tumultuous week, a surreal week in many ways, with the threats from the Florida pastor and this ongoing debate about what's going on in lower Manhattan. And, and we look at this, the views of Islam in The Washington Post poll, unfavorable now at 49 percent. Look at that, eclipsing even the unfavorable rating in October of 2001. And you look at the, the flag burnings, some of the reactions that we've seen to the debate we've been having here going on in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, burning flags, you see this kind of thing. This is a hearts and minds campaign that General Petraeus is waging in Afghanistan and elsewhere in Pakistan, and there are setbacks to it.
Reza, you wrote this as part of an NPR commentary at the end of the summer, "The fear is that this [Islamaphobia] may lead to the same kind of radicalization among Muslim youth in the U.S. that we've seen in Europe. It has already played into the hands of al-Qaeda, which has for years been trying to convince American Muslims that the unfettered religious freedoms they enjoy is a mirage. ... Are we in danger of proving al-Qaeda right? I am a liberal, progressive, secularized American Muslim. But when I see that bigotry against my faith - my very identity - has become so commonplace in America that it is shaping into a wedge issue for the midterm elections, I can barely control my anger. I can't imagine how the next generation of American Muslim youth will react to such provocations." What's behind this?
REZA ASLAN: Well, look, I think part of it has to do with the controversy surrounding the Islamic community center in lower Manhattan. And while it's true that there are those who oppose the project because they do believe that it will disturb the sensitivities of some 9/11 victims--though I, I, I do want to remind everyone that in this country we do not define our constitutional rights by how they disturb people's sensitivities--you only had to spend a few minutes at Ground Zero yesterday and to take in this international cabal of anti-Muslim zealots that had gathered together to spout the most vile racist bigotry to know that this is about something more. Anti-Muslim sentiment in this country is at unprecedented levels. We all know this. But what's truly disturbing is how mainstream it's becoming with politicians on both sides--and I would have to include the former mayor in this, in this category--openly and explicitly associating American Muslims with al-Qaeda. I mean, what I'd like to know from, not just the former mayor but from, you know, the people who, who keep talking about this Islamic community center, is that what is it that this multifaith, multistoried community center being led by an American imam that two presidents, Republican and Democrat, have used as a--as an ambassador to the Muslim world, cultural ambassador to the Muslim world, what does that have to do with al-Qaeda? The answer is kind of simple, actually: Islam. But let's call a spade a spade for a moment. If you are painting 1.5 billion people with the same brush of violence and, and, and extremism, you're a bigot. And I think what's, what's disturbing is the way that that's become part of the, the, the natural discourse now.
"[I]nternational cabal of anti-Muslim zealots that had gathered together to spout the most vile racist bigotry"?
Wow.
Aslan doesn't hesitate to paint those at the protest in opposition to the Ground Zero mosque with the same brush. He's not drawing any distinctions.
No, he has no problem calling all the protesters bigots.
Furthermore, Aslan doesn't have a problem insinuating that bigotry underlies most any opposition to the Ground Zero mosque.
He wants to call a spade a spade. OK, let's call a spade a spade.
Is this "Islamic community center in lower Manhattan" that Aslan talks about really a "community center"?
That implies it will be a place where ALL in the community are welcome and accepted. Can Jews and Christians and other infidels freely use the facilities without restrictions? Will they be allowed to freely roam ALL the spaces in the center? Will it be like the Y?
Aslan also doesn't acknowledge the views of those behind the project. For example, Feisal Abdul Rauf is on the record as being unwilling to label Hamas a terrorist organization.
Some Americans are uncomfortable with that.
Then, there's the issue of funding. What's the source of the money to build it? Will it come from terrorist groups or groups that bankroll terrorists?
Especially when we're talking about Ground Zero, those are legitimate questions.
I think Aslan is being disingenuous or he's blinded by his own zealotry.
Either way, it's bad.
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