Four Debates about Mosques and Islam

I have been speaking to my Muslim and non-Muslim friends about the ground-zero mosque debate(and the current "Burn-the-Qu'ran-Day" that's being touted by some moron, which has its foundations in the same cultural distrust). I used to have an opinion on the matter, but I find that the more I speak to people, the more I have to re-examine things. Frankly, I just don't know any more. I collected (and pieced together) the debating statements below from about fifteen different people over the last three weeks. These are the things floating around in my head about all this:

I. Putting a mosque there (near ground zero) is not going to change people's minds, it'll just make them madder and paint an invisible bulls-eye on the building for some tea-party types to take aim at, endangering the lives of Muslims and non-Muslims, too. It's not about doing the right thing so much as making the right decision. Also, why the appeasement of building the mosque so close to ground zero? Why not elsewhere?

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II. Muslims have brought this upon themselves because they believe the Qu'ran is the absolute word of God and not open for interpretation, which makes the Qu'ran very different (and in their eyes, superior) to the Bible, Torah, or the Bhagavad Gita. Add to this the fact that they refuse to assimilate into mainstream America as well as the militant stance prescribed by the Qu'ran against unbelievers and you have the perfect storm.

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III. Why do we continually appease Muslims without taking a strong stance and seeing their faith as equal to all others? People burn Bibles but they're not going to get killed for it, people burn the American flag but that's not illegal, people burn Torahs and Bhagavad Gitas, and although it is in bad taste, they have the right to express themselves without fear of repercussion. But the moment a cartoonist or social commentator tackles Islam in a less than favorable light, they have to start fearing for their life. That's not fair.

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IV. Why should we put up mosques in our country or have to contend with a backlash when we opt not to build mosques in certain areas when Muslim nations forbid Churches in their lands? It's a terrible double standard for us to have to toe the politically correct line while others can flaunt their disrespect so openly. America is a predominantly Christian nation and so, as is the case with other countries, the faith of the majority of the population should be given some extra consideration while minority faiths do not have to receive the same treatment.

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IV. Several predominantly Muslim countries have Churches (Egypt , Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Indonesia, etc.) Ironically enough, it's Saudi Arabia, our biggest ally in the war against terrorism, that forbids Churches, along with a few other nations. The majority of Muslim nations have Churches. Also, America is a secular nation (not for long, but...) and was founded on principles that separated Church and State. The Arab nations, at least the ones with no Churches, were not founded on secular principles but on strict Islamic codes.

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