Build More Mosques-"The worst way to fight terrorism is by being terrified."

[babylonsister]

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=build_more_mosques

Build More Mosques

Integration has always been the American body politic's best antibody against the virus of radical political ideology.

Adam Serwer | August 26, 2010 | web only



Build More Mosques


When it comes to Islam, the GOP is letting the folks in the tinfoil hats steer the ship. Discarding the Bush-era "religion of peace" rhetoric that helped draw socially conservative Muslims to the GOP, Republicans have settled on a political narrative that implies any religiously observant Muslim is a potential domestic threat.

The resistance to the proposed Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan is hardly an exception. Protests against proposals for Muslim religious buildings are happening across the country, fueled by conservative writers intent on convincing their audience that Muslims are secretly plotting to end the American way of life and replace the Constitution with Taliban-style Sharia law. By treating all Muslim Americans as potential terrorist sympathizers, anti-Muslim conservatives strengthen the extremist narrative that the West is at war with Islam and further isolate Muslim citizens from American society.

These fears couldn't be more overblown. A 2007 Pew Study on Muslim Americans found "them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world." Not only are American Muslims better integrated than their European counterparts, the possibility of America suddenly tossing out the Constitution in favor of Sayyid Qutb's greatest hits is as likely as President Barack Obama publicly converting to Scientology to prove once and for all that he isn't a Muslim. Integration has always been the American body politic's best antibody against the virus of radical political ideology.

Still, the political benefits for Republicans in demonizing Muslims and forcing Democrats into the uncomfortable position of defending them are obvious. Americans as a whole have very negative views of Islam. According to a recent Pew poll, the number of Americans who view Islam favorably has gone down 11 points since 2005, from 41 percent to 30 percent. A plurality of Americans, 38 percent, now see Islam unfavorably. Americans' deepening suspicion of Islam likely has multiple causes, including the emergence of Islamophobia as a political tool and its ongoing association with long and unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

snip//

More mosques wouldn't just help deter terrorism. Americans' negative views toward Islam aren't just the product of opportunistic political demagogues and Islamophobic conspiracy theorists; they're a reaction to the fact that Americans don't really know many Muslims, and just about the only time they're hearing about Islam, it's in the context of terrorism and violence. According to a recent TIME poll, only 37 percent of Americans know any actual Muslims. The construction of more Muslim religious institutions in the United States would provide opportunities for building relationships between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans and go a long way toward mitigating the ignorance that fuels Islamophobic rage.

Nevertheless, acting out of fear almost always produces the opposite of the desired outcome. The protests against proposed mosques and community centers are blocking one of the most useful tools for preventing homegrown radicalization. The worst way to fight terrorism is by being terrified.

[WhiteTara]

1. it's like walking down the street and seeing

a dog in a yard...do you flee in fear or do you check him/her out? Is there foam at the mouth? Hair at the back of the neck raised? Is his/her tail wagging? Do a little checking it out before killing the dog.

amusing typo changed.

[aquart]

2. "a dog in a yard"? Charming.

Lotta Muslims in this country just living their lives and bothering nobody.

And then there's this bunch that wants to build a big showplace to the glories of Islam with a gym and cooking school. Personally, I see a difference.

[WhiteTara]

3. well...I'm scared of dogs, you see

and instead of reflexively fearing them all, I check to see their signs.

I love the Sufis and I think the whole mosque bruhaha is horrifying and I love the idea that the old Burlington Coat Factory will have a new life as a community center.

Sorry, I sounded like a dunce with my dog thing, but I think of reflexive fear sort of on those lines.

[babylonsister]

4. Can you tell me about this big 'showplace' devoted to the

glories of Islam? I've heard they haven't even raised the necessary funds for it yet.

And what if it is a big showplace? Have you ever seen a big Baptist church?

[DavidDvorkin]

5. No. Build fewer mosques, churches, synagogues, etc.

And work at getting rid of religion, one of the greatest sources of evil in history.

[babylonsister]

6. That's not going to happen, and who are you to tell other

people they shouldn't worship? And PS, how does one 'work' at getting rid of religion?

[DavidDvorkin]

9. I see it as an evil force

Wanting to see it go away is the natural reaction.

[polmaven]

7. Good post!

Thank you for the find....It is absolutely correct. The brouhaha going on now is, I'm willing to bet, delighting the Taliban and Al Quaida. I can almost hear the proclamations ...."Look at that ! We won!!!!"

When will people learn that Islam did not attack the US on 9/11/01? TERRORISTS DID!

[babylonsister]

8. Thanks, I thought it was good, too. nt