I'm back! I know it's been a while. I've been busy with my website, posting there, and so this blog has gotten kind of neglected. Right now, I'm saving this blog for stuff like rants and the like. And I have one today.
Since we are in the midst of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, I've picked a doozy. I'm sure you've heard of the controversy in NYC about the mosque/community center that is to be built two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center. While legal, it rankles many, including an association of family member of victims of the September 11th tragedy. New York's mayor has come out in favor of the mosque's being built, using a religious freedom argument, as well as the fact that the proposed building violates no laws or codes.
As reported by Reuters, President Obama endorsed it yesterday as well, during an Iftar dinner at the White House (Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims break their daily fast during Ramadan).
As an aside, does
Obama go out of his way to infuriate his critics while attempting to show us he's an enlightened thinker? Muslim clerics in the White House during Ramadan? Observing a Muslim custom? And all this while a distinct subset of Americans think all Muslims are inherently bad, not to mention that they also think that Obama is a "secret Muslim" and despise him for it? Where are his public image people, anyway? Now, don't get me wrong. I have no problem with a given religion, though I have problems with those in any religion that think killing non-believers is a good idea.
In any event, the President's endorsement of the mosque/community center led to the expected response from those entertaining wackos we've come to know and love as the extreme Right. A Tea Party spokesperson (name withheld to protect the ignorant) stated that the center would be used for "terrorists to worship their monkey god." (From the same Reuters article)
This comment is offensive on so many levels that I don't know where to start. First, calling Allah a monkey is one fatwa-ready statement. Second, Muslims don't even have a monkey god to begin with. The monkey god is Hindu. His name is Hanuman and he is a fierce warrior and protector against evil. Third, it is foolish to make pronouncements concerning something about which one is so ignorant. Fourth, it's an embarrassment to numbered among the countrymen of anyone who would make such a moronic statement. Fifth, just because words (such as Ramadan and Hanuman) sound a bit alike, it doesn't mean that they mean the same thing. Sixth, well, I could go on and on. Suffice it to say that individuals such as this bloviating spokesperson really shouldn't be allowed to trumpet their ignorance. If a clarification isn't forthcoming from the Tea Party, it confirms the worst fears many people have about that group.
I don't have a problem with the concerns and emotional reactions of the opponents of the mosque. They are understandable from a purely reactive, perhaps reptilian brain, stance. Lord knows we all have reactions like that sometimes. Just please don't use a spokesperson that is as ignorant of the relevant details as the day is long. You make all Americans look bad.
Finally: Dude! Lookit that big club-like thingy Hanuman has! And he looks pretty buff! You might not want to upset him!
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