Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mosque Rancor Playing to Extremists

Mosqueteering is playing into hands of extremists, according to an NPR report. Of course it is. Behind the "debate" on the mosque is hatred of Islam and the assertion that Christianity is "the way." Plain and simple. It's not a complex issue to understand. From the conservative Human Events email pitching a book:
When terrorists strike at home or abroad, and PC propagandists rush to assure us that jihadist terror doesn't reflect "true," "peaceful" Islam, they're not only wrong, they're dangerous -- because they lull America and the West into letting their guard down against their mortal enemy.
Human Events, Palin, Newt, Rush... they're the ones with the propaganda. For them, it's all about a war against Islam. Asserting Obama is a Muslim plays into that. Their fear mongering is working because many Americans don't know much about Islam. We've lumped all Muslims together. Frankly, it's disheartening that so many fellow Americans are listening to haters. It seems we're going backward. But maybe that's because that's all that the media serves up-- hate, hate and more hate. Hate with your morning, afternoon, evening and internet news. Instead of learning what a smart person thinks, someone who is trying to bridge divides, working toward understanding, the media has to tell us what Sarah thinks.
We have to put ourselves in the shoes of a Muslim American, one who's enlisted in the military, one who works with you, your neighbor. If you were a Muslim and heard all the rancor over the mosque, would you feel a wave a hate? It's not a fun time to be a Muslim in America. It's giving Hispanic immigrants a temporary reprieve. What a sad state of affairs.
The supercharged debate over the proposed center has attracted the attention of a quiet, underground audience — young Muslims who drift in and out of jihadi chat rooms and frequent radical Islamic sites on the Web. It has become the No. 1 topic of discussion in recent days and proof positive, according to some of the posted messages, that America is indeed at war with Islam.

"This, unfortunately, is playing right into their hands," said Evan F. Kohlmann, who tracks these kinds of websites and chat rooms for Flashpoint Global partners, a New York-based security firm. "Extremists are encouraging all this, with glee.