Mosques, Book Burnings, Collectivism and War Worship
By Anthony Gregory • Wednesday September 8, 2010 9:55 AM PDT • 36 Comments
The Cordoba House Islamic community center, scheduled for construction on private land within a few blocks of where the Twin Towers once stood, has drawn ire from many Americans, many of whom have provocatively called it the “Ground Zero Mosque” and have condemned it as offensive, and many of whom have called on the government to step in and prevent the center’s construction, in violation of both the private property rights of the owner of the land as well as the principles of religious toleration that make America a great country.
Defenders of the construction project have pointed out that the building is not a mosque, but a community center — essentially a Muslim version of the YMCA. Opponents have snapped back that the building will in fact have a mosque in it.
But according to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is spearheading the project, the center will also include separate places of prayer for Christians and Jews. And while some have said the project’s backers should instead give money to a 9/11 memorial, the Imam says the center will also have “a multifaith memorial dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.”
Some have pointed out the supposed bad taste of building any sort of house of Muslim prayer near Ground Zero, but this assumes that Islam was the culprit on 9/11. It wasn’t. And even moderate defenders of the “Ground Zero mosque” will try to differentiate between radical and moderate Islam—but radical Islam is not really the reason behind the 9/11 attacks, either. The motivation was revenge for U.S. foreign policy, and although that certainly doesn’t excuse the atrocity, there is nothing unique about Islam, fundamentalist or not, that is needed to explain this act of revenge. As Robert Pape’s extensive research decisively shows, even the particularly gruesome spectacle of suicide bombing has little to do with religious extremism per se—many suicide bombers are not Muslim and even secular—and much more to do with resistance against a foreign occupier.
When Americans went to war after 9/11, revenge was a motivator there, too. But Americans’ religion had little to do with it. When Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006, this too was likely an act of revenge (or as some would claim, self-defense) against Hezbollah. The fact that the Israelis were mostly Jewish was not the major factor. Geopolitics and war in the region, as well as in U.S. conflicts with the Muslim world, do relate to religious questions. But it is not Islam, or Christianity, or Judaism, that is responsible for these acts of violence.
The Lebanese seem to understand this distinction, as they appear to support the reconstruction of a synagogue that was destroyed in the Israeli invasion of their country in 2006. Lebanon’s own “Ground Zero” synagogue is a good example for Americans of how to distinguish between belligerents that attack your country and the religion they happen to belong to.
Newt Gingrich bellowed that so long as Saudi Arabia doesn’t allow churches or synagogues, Americans shouldn’t tolerate a mosque near Ground Zero. As though this should be our standard. But in any event, while many Muslim nations are quite theocratic, a few do allow relative freedom for Christians and Jews. Sharia law does not bind non-Muslims in Kazakhstan, Turkey and Mali. The world’s Muslims are not a monolith, and if the Lebanese don’t hold Israel’s belligerence against their small Jewish minority—as they shouldn’t—then neither should Americans hold the violence of some Saudis and Egyptians on 9/11 (all hailed from these nations, our allies) against our much bigger Muslim minority. Nor should we hold it against the Muslims in the rest of the world—in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran or Pakistan—who have nothing to do with 9/11 at all.
Meanwhile, some Americans are planning to burn the Quran on 9/11 this year. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and General David Patraeus are right that this is an incendiary act—far more intentionally offensive, it would seem to me, than the mosque building—and that it could motivate more Muslims to hate Americans. But as Ron Paul points out, such U.S. officials are ignoring the real American-caused incitement of anti-American violence and terrorism: U.S. foreign policy. It is foolish, offensive, ugly, stupid and probably immoral for Americans to burn the Quran in such a display of religious animosity. But on the other hand, at least these Americans are planning to destroy their own private property—the U.S. military and State Department, as a matter of course, loot and destroy the private property of other people, Americans and foreigners alike. Worse, U.S. wars have killed hundreds of thousands of foreigners in just the last decade or so. This is by far the bigger problem, and Hillary and the general should focus on what they can do to reduce anti-American hatred. Burning the Quran is terrible. But bombing and burning foreign mosques and killing women and children would seem to me much worse, by practically any moral standard.
Moreover, this whole notion that Ground Zero is “hallowed ground” is itself religiously offensive to me, and should be offensive to anyone who subscribes to Christianity or any other major religion. The U.S. government is not sacred. The lives lost on 9/11 were of course of infinite worth. But to single out a spot of blowback against U.S. wars—a spot that was jumped upon to launch ever more wars and the expansion of the U.S. government—and call it “hallowed ground” evokes religious imagery and feeling in a potentially blasphemous way. But in America, while Muslims pray in fear and even Christians, the majority, are harassed about their faith—where distinct minorities like fundamentalist Mormons and Branch Davidians are deprived of their families or even their right to live—worship of the U.S. government is the most protected “religious” freedom. Indeed, this is why we’re supposed to be completely enraged when foreigners burn the American flag, and yet not even bothered when American interrogators desecrate the Quran as they are conducting “enhanced interrogation techniques” against U.S. captives. It is why any disrespect of the U.S. Armed Forces is sacrilege in America, even as almost no Americans are aware that U.S. marines—the “best and the brightest”—spray-painted their motto “Semper Fi” onto the walls of the 4,000-year-old Ziggurat of Ur after they “liberated” the ancient Sumerian city, the Cradle of Civilization itself, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Religion might be part of the particular motivation of every major side in the wars and terrorism of today, but it is the secular religion of collectivism, the civic religion of statism, that is most philosophically responsible for all this violence, and that has allowed people to reject their own religious teachings not to kill the innocent for what they have convinced themselves is the pursuit of the greater good. Utilitarianism and materialism and the worship of the worldly, not the spiritual, are the main problem here.
Religious freedom is under attack. Property rights are a thing of the past. A baseline of civility is absent in the way so many Americans have continued to respond to the terrorist attacks nine years ago. And worst of all, the U.S. government has continued its orgy of mass killing—in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and into Pakistan and who knows where next—demonstrating that the most important lessons of 9/11 have yet to be learned.
UPDATE: The Florida pastor has reportedly canceled the book burning. Now if only we could cancel U.S. wars, which do far more to inflame anti-American sentiment and violence.
Tags: Afghanistan, American History, Imperialism, Iran, Iraq, Liberty, Middle East, Morality, Natural Law, Pakistan, Peace, Philosophy, Property Rights, War 
“... and killing women and children...”
Hate to pick at nits, but I see this phrase too often – why always “killing women and children” – what about the men killed – if they’re innocent civilians, don’t they count? Or do we unconsciously place a lesser value on them.
Jean Finet | Sep 8, 2010 | Reply
An excellent piece — I am in complete agreement.
jenkinsbrigade | Sep 8, 2010 | Reply
Thanks!
Anthony Gregory | Sep 8, 2010 | Reply
Great article Anthony! Thanks so much for your strong and powerful voice on these issues. Keep up the great work.
Sajid A. Khan | Sep 8, 2010 | Reply
Just been reading all the fuss here about some books being burnt ??
Well as long as whoever has bought them only burns their own book or books. Then i can’t see the problem ??
I believe there will still be more in plentiful supply and in circulation, so loads of replacement printed paper, materialistic books for everyone.
On the exact same subject too, still out there.
Or other books if they fancy burning a few other books also wrote by humans who want us to live and believe the way they do, they are out there and can be burnt too.
There will be some truth in all these books (hard to find though) amongst the dumbing down of the human race with stories.
But it’s the true ‘bits’ that win us all over, so we think... ”well that’s true, so....So the stories must be true too.”
We are so daft sometimes :)
Yet, if a human is killed. Well murdered in war...That appears to be OK ??
And even more so if they are playing for/in the opposing team, that then appears to make it even more OK?
Yet, that particular human was unique and cannot be replaced no matter which team they we’re fighting in, and the murderer didn’t even consider the family and friends left behind suffering (that applies to both teams who take part in war).
Naa....We are not daft.
We are all easily brainwashed and going more and more insane !!
COME ON PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONS.......
WAKE UP !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dave | Sep 8, 2010 | Reply
I couldn’t agree more—an excellent piece of analysis and commentary!
Michael Gillespie | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
Politicians always are looking for scapegoats for the problems the politicians themselves created. If they can tap into people’s prejudices, they are more than happy to do so.
Randy Hoheisel | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
Excellent article!
May God reward you for standing up for justice and truth.
Adil Imtiaz | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
Jean, of course killing innocent men is murderous too. And even killing male soldiers from the enemy side is wrong, if they are simply defending their country against aggression, which is the case in most of these wars.
Anthony Gregory | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
The pretend Christians have turned ground zero into an idol and are worshiping it, IDOL WORSHIP opposed by the very 10 Commandments.
bogi666 | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
The minister Jones is getting paid for this distraction. This money should be donated to the 9/11 memorial fund, it would be the Christian thing to do but he’s a Christian pretender. Those funding him and putting Americans at risk, because their will be retaliation, should have donated their monies to the memorial fund rather than inciting thereby provoking retaliation and likely casualties.
bogi666 | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
Good piece until the very end, utilitarianism and materialism definitely are not the problem. Quite unrelated to anything this article talks about.
Joe | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
This article is outrageous! Don’t you know that America was an innocent superpower minding its own business when, out of the blue, crazed, jihadists, evil doers declared war on our way of life? There is an Islamofacist, jihadists, extremist conspiracy to impose Sharia law on the United States. They want to burn our churches, ban bikinis, and closed down movie theaters. They started this war on September 11, 2001. I know this because history began on that day. Nothing that happened before matters.
Tim | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
Hmmm, I would have thought it was American militarism that was the problem, that seems to be enough in itself to me.
Chris | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
I agree with the premise of this article. Thank you for helping put some sanity into the mix. When the Vietnamese were fighting the Americans to get the ‘occupiers’ out of their country it was the same thing as what the middle easterners are doing. We never branded Buddhism a terrorist religion even though the Vietnamese that were killing American GI’s were Buddhists (the hard core communists were non-religious, but the basic soldier was Buddhist). I’m not even sold on the whole main stream explanation of 9/11 yet. If one were to take all the evidence into a truly objective court of law, there would be plenty of room for reasonable doubt. Some day the truth may be known, but, that’s probably after America has declined to the point where the old powers that drive our current policies have been ousted and the USA ‘re-invents’ itself (to use what has now become a cliche’).
WeiWuWei | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
Excellent article. I wish such things get published in the main stream media. It appears that MSM is now regretting the monster of bigotry and Islamophobia it has created, but I do not know what can be done to undo years of intense propaganda. The phobia is very much needed to support the perpetual war and the war enriches those who get all those military contracts so they in turn hype the ‘Muslims are coming’ fear. Only God knows where all this will lead to but the signs are not good.
masmanz | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
An innocent superpower minding its own business? the USA? With Military bases in 117 countries, Going to war with the wrong country over lies and propaganda. One major being in Saudi Arabia, which started Osama wanting to attack the USA in the first place. That’s the problem in a Nutshell, You think you are completely innocent of any involvement. Who toppled the Shah? Who trained the Mujahuddin? Who gave Iraq Chemical weapons to use on Iran? Learn how blow back works.
Simon | Sep 9, 2010 | Reply
Like Chris and bogi666 said..
This all wasn’t started since September 11, 2001. It all started way back before..
The history didn’t begin on that day. All things happened before of course does matters.
One earthquake potentially cause another earthquake in another place in another time..
Even the 1st earthquake happened for a reason..
I couldn’t agree more with Anthony..
He made a well-balanced and crystal clear way of seeing issues up to root cause...
Please allow me to tweet this..
Mas telecom news freak | Sep 10, 2010 | Reply
Hey guys... Tim’s reply is sarcasm – guaranteed.
Anthony, always a pleasure to read your words. I hope your effort will result in changing the hearts and minds of more people.
Mike in Phx | Sep 12, 2010 | Reply
9/11 was a false flag attack, not blowback. The evidence of explosives in all three towers is overwhelming.
http://www.AE9/11Truth.org
This blowback myth only aids and abets the coverup.
Rich | Sep 13, 2010 | Reply
Jean is spot on – if we could grasp the compassion we tritely show for ‘women and children’ and give MEN it’s benefit, wars would be 10X harder to start and even harder to maintain.
The only saving element in it’s use here is that is does indeed inflame men’s hearts, in this case Muslim men, when their wives and kids are harmed. That is nothing to do with religion.
Still, it grates when one hears “100 dead, including 2 women and 1 child.” or such. As though the other 97% of the deaths don’t equal that?
Alan | Sep 13, 2010 | Reply
Good article for the most part but not perfect.
The idea that the guy in Florida looking to burn the Quran would be committing a MORE inflammatory act than building a mosque near ground zero is reverse-discriminatory PC bullshyt. These are exactly equal and opposite versions of the same thing. A mosque at ground zero is fine because it would mean we chose freedom and speech and religion over a few people’s feelings (however justified). Burning the Quran in Florida is fine because it means we chose freedom of speech and religion over a few people’s feelings (however justified). That this article condemns one and supports the other effectively invalidates its whole existence.
When you choose PC over fact and reality you effectively serve no purpose. The author presents a point then, in kowtowing to the sensibilities of the day/his readers/pop culture/the Obama-nation, presents an exactly identical point and draws the opposite conclusion.
Note to all wanna-be intellectuals and those of you who fancy yourselves journalists because you have a blog. ANY DICK WITH A KEYBOARD CAN CRAP OUT WORDS. Making a POINT is the key thing, one the author of this dungpile felt was not necessary. If anyone can explain the point of presenting a fully logical argument then following it up with an exactly equal argument resulting in the opposite conclusion, I’d love to understand. Because TO ME it just looks like an idiot with more blog space and time than sense and logic.
Let me also note 2 factual errors. The author points out that all 19 9/11 hijackers were from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This problem is that this point is both right and wrong. The 19 NAMES on the list of hijackers are definitely people from Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Problem is 4 of them are still alive and well in Saudi Arabia, 3 of them being pilots for Saudi Airlines. A perfectly verifiable fact (though the FBI also remains in denial about it, keeping them on the list of hijackers, and refusing to draw any further attention by actually finding the VERY ALIVE people and questioning them). You can easily search and find post 9/11 interviews with one of them. But again the author chooses the path of least resistance, co-opting a lie to make the same point that he later contradicts, all in the interest of badmouthing Americans. He also, as is commonplace, makes every effort to indirectly deny the fact that the Quran DOES specifically promote the killing of any enemies of the religion. IT DIRECTLY AND CLEARLY STATES THIS. This doesn’t mean you can accuse ALL followers of Islam of this, but it does mean that when people murder in the name of Islam, YOU HAVE TO BLAME ISLAM. Period.
People, wake up. Professional thought-makers know you are fleeing the big 2 parties. They are not above calling themselves Libertarians or Independents, and re-framing their message to suck you back in to their false reality. However, the one constant you can rely on to recognize these shysters-in-disguise is that they will try to distract you from the facts. The facts here are this: Freedom of speech provides equal rights to the Quran burners as it does to Ground-Zero Mosque builders. The mosque builders shouldn’t be scrutinized when so many facts about 9/11 are blatant lies, specifically 4 of the hijackers who are alive and well with watertight alibis on 9/11/01.
As a homework assignment, I defy you to produce one frame of photo or video clearly showing an American Airlines plane making the first strike on the WTC. This in contrast to the many documented first-response news stories where multiple observers at differet viewpoints consistently swear it was a military plane.
Seek only the facts, not the eloquent and emotional presentation of non-facts. Then your world will quickly come into focus. Otherwise you’ll stay locked in contradictions and distractions that keep you occupied while your wealth and freedom are picked from your pocket.
Dubls | Sep 13, 2010 | Reply
I have to agree with Mike. Anyone who couldn’t tell that Tim’s tongue was planted firmly in his cheek has his head firmly planted in a less sanitary location.
Messianic Theocrat | Sep 13, 2010 | Reply
Yes, my remarks were intended as sarcasm but I can understand why some may not have immediately identified them as such. They’re remarkably similar to the utterances of David Horowitz and Newt Gringrich.
Tim | Sep 13, 2010 | Reply
Women and children hearken back to an pre-feminist pre-equalitarian time. Using headlines, it seems to me that the sinking of Titanic signified the end of an age. It was at that general time the progressive ideology began to take hold. Specifying “women and children” is pure nostalgia.
Salt | Sep 13, 2010 | Reply
Funny. I submitted a post pointing out that Pastor Jones has the same right to burn Qurans as Muslims have to build a mosque at Ground Zero and for the same reason. despite being 100% true the post was deleted probably because it destroyed one of the authors main points.
If you are seeking truth and wisdom from a person who censors posts that however factful challenge his omniscience then you are helpless. STOP looking to smooth talkers that you can cling to for ‘truth’ or a message. our collective failure to accept and require accountability from ourselves and others is the single reason behind all of our nations woes. How much time did YOU spend gathering facts after 9/11? To the one you believe what you were told out of convenience? Here you are doing it again....
Deuce | Sep 13, 2010 | Reply