Islam

I continue to be impressed by how thin the case against Faisal Abdul Rauf is. You'd have thought that by now the staunch defenders of liberty crazies would have found either a smoking gun or a ticking bomb. To be fair, Pamela Geller* certainly thinks she has found evidence that he's just as bad as his critics would have us believe. Or maybe even - and this may make your (my!) weak dhimmi-flesh creep - worse... But, actually, all she has unearthed from a 2005 talk Rauf gave to, of all places, the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, is evidence that Faisal Abdul Rauf could be considered a neoconservative. That is, he shares a central neoconservative insight: How many of you have seen the documentary: Fahrenheit 911? The vast majority - at least half here.

Jeffrey Goldberg reports on a speech Faisal Abdul Rauf gave at a memorial service for Daniel Pearl. It's worth reading. Secondly, here's the Imam giving a TED talk last year on the religious backdrop of compassion. Not really my kind of thing but perhaps it is yours. I must say that he doesn't come across as a dangerous radical but that doubtless makes the disguise all the more cunning. Now, sure, some opponents won't be swayed by any of this but there must be some for whom it does matter. Right?

Whither American conservatism? Well, there's the path trod by Reihan Salam, Josh Barro and Ross Douthat, each of whom have produced sane and humane pieces on the Burlington Coat Factory Community Center otherwise known as the "Ground Zero Mosque" or you can hitch your wagon to Newt Gingrich's caravan and cheer when this self-styled man of ideas splutters: “Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the holocaust museum in Washington,” This is at least admirably clear and eliminates any requirement one may feel to give Gingrich the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't even have the excuse that any of his family were murdered at the World Trade Center. (Though as Matt Zeitlin says a stupid and ugly thought remains stupid and ugly even when delivered by a 9/11 relative.

According to Sarah Palin, it's now the "9/11 Mosque" because, you know, of course it's planned as a tribute to al-Qaeda and of course it's perfectly reasonable to suppose that all muslims are really just the same and we know what that means don't we? Of course we do... So, these were probably Barack Obama's best words in god knows how long: Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities – particularly in New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders.

Yes, when I first read about plans for a mosque "at Ground Zero" my initial reaction was to wonder why, whatever the merits of an Islamic Cultural Centre in Lower Manhattan, such a project had to be built in such a location. It seemed likely to cause offense even if none were intended. The reaction to the Cordoba House initiative, however, has changed my mind: I now think not only is there no reason not to carry on with the project but that, contra its critics, it now must be built a couple of blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center. The people responsible for changing my mind are those Republicans and cultural conservatives most opposed to the plan.