Anti-Defamation League Continues its Journey to Irrelevance by Embracing Ridiculous, Racist Mosque Protests
Joshua Holland
Alternet
July 31, 2010
I guess the once-important ADL is admitting that it’s an organization dedicated not to combatting hatred and bigotry, but simply another organ pushing far-right, Islamophobic conspiracy theories.
Note the many caveats they’ve inserted in the following release:
We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths – to build community centers and houses of worship.
We categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry.
Given that there is no reason to oppose the mosque — I shouldn’t say that; it’s a community center that houses a mosque — other than ignorant bigotry against Muslims, that should be the end of this press release.
However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site. We are ever mindful of the tragedy which befell our nation there, the pain we all still feel – and especially the anguish of the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001.
Just a personal word here: I lost friends in the 9/11 attack, and nothing causes me greater pain than the casual, socially acceptable and utterly despicable racism against Muslims that those attacks unleashed in the United States. New York being what it is, I’m sure that a relatively small minority of those who lost someone in the attacks are in fact right-wing bedwetters. New Yorkers tend to have some grit that is sorely lacking within the wingnut set.
The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process. Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of New York would be better served if an alternative location could be found.
So, as long as the bigotry is honestly held, then we’re cool with it. Principles? What’s a principle? We all know that, at least on the Right, core American values don’t apply to Muslim citizens.
In recommending that a different location be found for the Islamic Center, we are mindful that some legitimate questions have been raised about who is providing the funding to build it, and what connections, if any, its leaders might have with groups whose ideologies stand in contradiction to our shared values. These questions deserve a response, and we hope those backing the project will be transparent and forthcoming. But regardless of how they respond, the issue at stake is a broader one.
Translation: we’ll just throw in a bit of unfounded fear-mongering from unhinged wingnut bloggers in here for effect.
Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right.
How about that for some intellectual contortion?
The thing that’s most pathetic about this is that the ADL is headquartered in New York. Only brain-dead out-of-towners could possibly confuse a building two whole blocks away from Ground Zero as one constructed on the 9/11 site. People who have been to New York understand just how small Manhattan is. And they’re not making more real estate.
Alternet
July 31, 2010
I guess the once-important ADL is admitting that it’s an organization dedicated not to combatting hatred and bigotry, but simply another organ pushing far-right, Islamophobic conspiracy theories.
Note the many caveats they’ve inserted in the following release:
We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths – to build community centers and houses of worship.
We categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry.
Given that there is no reason to oppose the mosque — I shouldn’t say that; it’s a community center that houses a mosque — other than ignorant bigotry against Muslims, that should be the end of this press release.
However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site. We are ever mindful of the tragedy which befell our nation there, the pain we all still feel – and especially the anguish of the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001.
Just a personal word here: I lost friends in the 9/11 attack, and nothing causes me greater pain than the casual, socially acceptable and utterly despicable racism against Muslims that those attacks unleashed in the United States. New York being what it is, I’m sure that a relatively small minority of those who lost someone in the attacks are in fact right-wing bedwetters. New Yorkers tend to have some grit that is sorely lacking within the wingnut set.
The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process. Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of New York would be better served if an alternative location could be found.
So, as long as the bigotry is honestly held, then we’re cool with it. Principles? What’s a principle? We all know that, at least on the Right, core American values don’t apply to Muslim citizens.
In recommending that a different location be found for the Islamic Center, we are mindful that some legitimate questions have been raised about who is providing the funding to build it, and what connections, if any, its leaders might have with groups whose ideologies stand in contradiction to our shared values. These questions deserve a response, and we hope those backing the project will be transparent and forthcoming. But regardless of how they respond, the issue at stake is a broader one.
Translation: we’ll just throw in a bit of unfounded fear-mongering from unhinged wingnut bloggers in here for effect.
Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right.
How about that for some intellectual contortion?
The thing that’s most pathetic about this is that the ADL is headquartered in New York. Only brain-dead out-of-towners could possibly confuse a building two whole blocks away from Ground Zero as one constructed on the 9/11 site. People who have been to New York understand just how small Manhattan is. And they’re not making more real estate.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 9:19 AM
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