Posts Tagged ‘islam’

It’s the Islamic version of Fat Tuesday today…

Posted: August 10, 2010 by datechguy in personal
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…as Muslims around the world feast in preparation for the fast of Ramadan.

After my post on the local mosque I picked up quite a few readers from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. To those new readers and to Muslims everywhere I wish a happy feast and a blessed Ramadan.

How do you fight insensitivity? With even more insensitivity

Posted: August 9, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Eugene Volokh echoing Joe Scarborough makes the legal case for the Ground Zero mosque, and it’s certainly an accurate one:

But the legal issue is open and shut. The Free Exercise Clause means that the government may not discriminate against an entity because of its religious denomination. The Free Speech Clause means that the government generally may not discriminate an entity because of what it says or teaches (and that applies to discrimination against religious speakers as much as to discrimination against secular speakers). There are some exceptions to the latter principle, but none apply here.

He goes on to make the legal case and concludes thusly:

These are basic principles of American free speech law, and of American religious freedom law. They help protect all of us, liberal or conservative, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or atheist. Carving out exceptions from them will jeopardize all of us. We shouldn’t sacrifice these basic American principles — principles that help make America free and great, and distinguish it from most other countries — for the sake of symbolism.

The memeorandum thread is here, on the legal issues he is undoubtedly correct however this doesn’t change that the Mosque is basically a radical Islamic victory lap and highly insensitive, so what is the best way to answer such insensitivity? Why with even more legal insensitivity:

I’m announcing tonight, that I am planning to build and open the first gay bar that caters not only to the west, but also Islamic gay men. To best express my sincere desire for dialogue, the bar will be situated next to the mosque Park51, in an available commercial space.

This is not a joke. I’ve already spoken to a number of investors, who have pledged their support in this bipartisan bid for understanding and tolerance.

As you know, the Muslim faith doesn’t look kindly upon homosexuality, which is why I’m building this bar. It is an effort to break down barriers and reduce deadly homophobia in the Islamic world.

The goal, however, is not simply to open a typical gay bar, but one friendly to men of Islamic faith. An entire floor, for example, will feature non-alcoholic drinks, since booze is forbidden by the faith. The bar will be open all day and night, to accommodate men who would rather keep their sexuality under wraps – but still want to dance.

Hotair’s prediction:

Media narrative on the GZ mosque: Shining beacon of liberal values bursting through the overcast skies of American intolerance. Media narrative on the GG gay bar: Dangerous provocation that needlessly inflames cultural tensions in the ostensible service of liberal values.

I’m not a big “gay bar” fan but I’ve certainly argued that the best answer to unpopular speech is more speech and brother this would speak volumes…that is if they let him live.

Memeorandum thread here, it should be a lot more interesting that the other one (sorry prof Volokh)

Update: I’m of course opposed to both projects but to those guys who decide to put a fatwa on Gutfeld, you might as well include me on it too. You come for one of us, you come for all of us.

Update 2: Hotair’s prediction finally gets some legs at Dissenting Justice

Update 3: Prof Darren Hutchinson says I’ve misread his post and he has no issues with the bar. That’s not how I read it but he’s a pretty fair guy and I take him at his word.

Raheel Raza and Tarek Fatah see what others try to ignore

Posted: August 9, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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Rush Limbaugh has called the ground zero mosque “planting the flag of victory“. It has been suggested that to oppose the mosque is an act of bigotry. CNN’s Fareed Zakaria returned an award from the ADL for opposing it saying in part:

That is why I was stunned at your decision to publicly side with those urging the relocation of the planned Islamic center in lower Manhattan. You are choosing to use your immense prestige to take a side that is utterly opposed to the animating purpose of your organization. Your own statements subsequently, asserting that we must honor the feelings of victims even if irrational or bigoted, made matters worse.

Today at the Ottawa Citizen. Raheel Raza and Tarek Fatah of the Muslim Canadian Congress put the lie to Zakaria’s nonsense.

New York currently boasts at least 30 mosques so it’s not as if there is pressing need to find space for worshippers. The fact we Muslims know the idea behind the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation to thumb our noses at the infidel. The proposal has been made in bad faith and in Islamic parlance, such an act is referred to as “Fitna,” meaning “mischief-making” that is clearly forbidden in the Koran.

The Koran commands Muslims to, “Be considerate when you debate with the People of the Book” – i.e., Jews and Christians. Building an exclusive place of worship for Muslims at the place where Muslims killed thousands of New Yorkers is not being considerate or sensitive, it is undoubtedly an act of “fitna”

At least 30 mosques in NY? The horror, how will the community function without one more at ground zero? The local mosque in Fitchburg gets the whole “Be considerate” message. The people who are putting up the Ground Zero mosque reject it.

Worse than the builders rejection is the well traveled Zakaria inability to see what is in front of him. It takes a lot of education to be as ignorant as Zakaria is being. Of course he could be in denial, or just cowardly? Or maybe he and NY is operating under a double standard.

It goes without saying that everyone here should be prayed for.

“I’m sorry there is nobody authorized to talk to you”

Posted: August 9, 2010 by datechguy in abortion, catholic, local issues, local stuff, opinion/news
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A locked door and drawn shades

That was the answer of the guard as I knocked on the door of Planned parenthood at 391 Main street Fitchburg to see if anyone from the place would comment on their opening. The guard took my card and came out with the response. He had a gold badge saying “Crime Prevention Unit” but I didn’t see if the person was actually associated with any kind of law enforcement.

This was about 12:30 a.m on August 6th. Only a few of the protesters had showed up in the parking lot to this point. They were awaiting the others preparing for their day. I crossed the street to start my interviews when I noticed a gentleman in an Islamic cap heading toward the Mosque that had been on Main Street for many years.

As I never had been inside I wanted to get the views of the local Islamic community, as Catholic and protestant communities had already joined various protests. He invited me in and I ended up viewing the Islamic service and interviewing the Imam.

I’ve already told the story of that encounter but I will add after the service we talked for 45 minutes and I asked him the opinion of Islam on Abortion in general and of planned parenthood in particular.

According to Imam Bashir Uddin Mehmud Islam forbids abortion unless the choice is between the death of the mother and the death of the child.

He was unwilling to make a pronouncement on the behalf of the community but was willing to talk on behalf of himself. He talked about the changes in Fitchburg, the lack of modesty, the increase of drugs in the city and the coming of the gangs. He pointed to the strip club (the other side) on water street, and the fact that a lot of the services that the center will be offering are offered in schools and the colleges and readily available.

His point was Planned Parenthood was not so much the problem but a symptom of the bigger problem of our walk away from morality.

I left the mosque a bit after 2 p.m. and the protest was in full swing. Many familiar faces were already on the line, but the face that jumped out at me was my own pastor, Fr. Robert Bruso.

Fr Bruso of St. Anthony of Padua church picketing with the protestors

Fr. Bruso has issues with his legs but that didn’t stop him from marching for two hours in the hot sun. I greeted him and mentioned the Iman’s remark. He remarked that it really goes back to the Reformation where it was decided that Eternal Truth could be individually defined. From that point we have reached a state where people are unwilling to admit the existence of simple truth (let alone eternal ones).

Nothing slowed him down and he only paused twice when different gentlemen passing by stopped and spoke with some surprise to see a Catholic priest marching. It doesn’t seem odd to me, but it got me thinking that this is the real casualty of the scandals; that people expect and many a priest has, retreated from proclaiming truths to the world. Fr. Bob is not among them.

During the entire time I witnessed the protest new people came and other left, while the owner of the building looked on nervously from the second floor of the building. Only one or two people actually entered or exited the office itself.

After taking care of a personal errand I returned for the last hour of protest. Some had come and some had gone but a core group remained and new people came to join them continuing the vigil in front of the office and making their presence known.

Planned Parenthood on main street Fitchburg is now a fact. The imprimatur of the City Council and the cash of the federal government had made it so. What remains to be seen is if the protests against them and regular picketing by those who support life will also be a fact, if today and the regular smaller protests are any measure I would say they will be.

But I keep going back to the words of the Imam and the Pastor on how we as a society have reached this point. The answer comes from something I read today from columnist and classical author Victor Davis Hanson. Commenting on the state of the country he wrote:

If one were to survey the elite campuses around 1975 and talk to those in law school, poly sci, or the humanities, then imagine them 35 years later as our elite leaders in government, the media, the universities, the foundations, and the arts, one could pretty much expect what we now have.

The answer seems to be what it always is, we get the country, the society and the culture that we deserve.

Update: Fixed some grammatical mistakes.

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