This post recycles a post I made last October -- almost a year ago.

Since this blog now has more eyes on it than it had in the past, I think it might be nice to repost some stuff from the archives on occassion. Long time readers can skip it...as can short time readers, but that's another issue.

I tend to do only occassional longer posts that sort of get stuff off my chest before then going on with shorter pointer-style entries that assume the reader is grounded in what I've said before -- obviously not always the case. In light of the below two posts on Mitt Romney, I thought this would be a good one to dredge up...

Thoughts on the Mosque

[originally posted Oct. 9, 2004]

I wanted to say a few more things about the Boston Mosque situation (most recently posted about here). It seems to me there are a few things that I might be taking for granted, but probably bear laying out.

Primary among those are the answers to questions like: Why does it matter? What business is it of anyone's? Why care? Why pay all this attention to the construction of a new Mosque, but not a new Synagogue or Church - or Buddhist Temple for that matter?

Starting from the last question first - because Buddhists, Jews and Christians aren't responsible for most of the world's terrorism, and because those groups aren't having their members arrested around the country for hatching terrorist plots. Those things concern me.

The Islamic World, and in particular the Arab Islamic World, is rife with some of the most hateful Judenhass (Jew-hatred) seen since the 1930's. And not by some fringe group. It is mainstream. It is commonplace. It is peddled on TV. It is peddled by Government and in newspapers. And it is peddled in Mosques.

I know what many people think, seeing people identifiably Jewish raising these questions, they're thinking, "Don't bring your Arab-Israeli conflict here. It's not our problem."

It's your problem. It's not just about Israel, and it's not just about the Jews (who are, need I remind, Americans, too) - it's about all of us. It's not just about Judenhass, but anti-Western and in particular anti-American hate and contempt. This is all of a kind. The people selling books "revealing" the ways in which Jews use the blood of gentile children to bake their matzoh also know that it's Uncle Sam pulling the Jew's strings.

I think we have a right, even a responsibility of prudence to check into what's happening in our community. I think we have a right to ensure that none of the above is riding in on the coattails of some folks' good intentions, and our own tolerance and inclusiveness.

Mayor Menino has stated that there are many fine people associated with this Mosque project. I believe him, in fact, I'm sure that's the case. I'm sure a great many, even most, of the people anxious for this edifice to be built are apolitical, nice folks one wouldn't mind having as a neighbor.

But those are not necessarily the people who are going to stay in control once this place is built. There's an old saying, "He who pays the piper calls the tune." If there are connections in people or cash coming in from places like Saudi Arabia - and there are - there's nothing good that can come from that in the long term. The good folks in the Mosque may be being used for a small group of bad people to hide behind and use as cover. This is an oft-repeated pattern. Build the structure, use Western tolerance and a front of good folks as cover and a defense against criticism and then slowly subvert and radicalize it from within. There is no Vatican of Islam. Mosques set their own agenda. How long before the nasty folks start driving the moderates to the sidelines? It has happened before.

It also does not engender a lot of confidence when even the so-called major mainstream Muslim groups like CAIR issue stock, boilerplate condemnations of terror but then when you get down to specifics, such as, "Do you consider groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad to be terrorists?" they suddenly get a frog stuck in their collective throat. Or the fact that they spend more time railing against the War on Terror, advocating non-cooperation with the authorities, and pointing the "racist" finger, rather than acknowledging that the questions and concerns I've laid out here are legitimate and deserve fair answers and openness - not stonewalling.

The Mosque project has been tied to individuals with terror connections and radical preaching. It has been caught using a radical's endorsement in its literature, and then when criticized, removing the endorsement in English, but keeping it in Arabic. It is being said that its headquarters housed radical hate literature and videos.

I believe in the Constitution and the free exercise of religion. I have remarked before about the seeming incongruity of so many atheists and non-Jews supporting Israel. That's because the conflict we find ourselves in today is not about religion. It's about human freedom, and that freedom includes the right to believe as one will and practice religion (or not) as one chooses. That goes for everyone - Muslims included.

But there are legitimate concerns that what often emanates out of the Arab Middle East carries with it more than just belief. I think we have a right to be concerned that those things - things that support people committing terrible acts - don't come here, too. Support for terror, even moral support, is not just a legitimate difference of opinion.

Even the preaching of run of the mill hate and intolerance I might be forced to accept from a legal, Civil Libertarian perspective. But I have the right to speak against it, and I certainly have a right to expect it's not going to be supported on the government dime - as in the case of massive discounts for land, for instance.

Christians and Jews have a long, long history in this country and have little left to prove, while an influx of large numbers of Muslims is a relatively new phenomenon. I don't think it's unreasonable or unfair, given what we can see going on in the world today, to ask questions, and feel that, along with the Rights we all enjoy, there is an understanding that there come Responsibilities - among them that we be assured that the new edifice being constructed is intended to be, and will remain, a contributing, positive part of our community.