COLUMN: Islamic center a monument to America, not Islam

Some of my own ancestors likely came to America to escape religious persecution, having been part of the Quaker settlements in early Pennsylvania. Seeking the freedom to practice their faith, thousands of people fled to this nation in its early decades. We teach that with the story of the Pilgrims each November.

So it is a deep part of the American legal, social and political culture that we respect the right of others to practice their faith as they see fit without government intrusion. It was that ideal that George Washington addressed in a letter to a Jewish congregation in Rhode Island in 1787:

“It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens.”

There is no question in a legal sense that those behind the Islamic center in New York have the right to construct their building. Even critics of the center have acknowledged that the government has no authority to use its power to thwart construction on the site based on religious objections.

Yet for many who follow these matters, allowing a shrine to Islam so close to the hallowed ground where 3,000 died on 9-11 in the name of Islam is repugnant. Many see the effort as little more than an “in your face” act by those who practice Islam to salute their “victory.”

What is especially galling about this Islamic center is that the major purveyors of Islam in the Middle East would never allow a Christian church or Jewish synagogue to be built near their own hallowed grounds. Can you imagine a synagogue in Mecca?

While Americans might be tolerant of Islam, it doesn’t mean we have to like it or agree with it.

Islam is not just another religion within a larger secular society; it is a social, cultural, legal and political system all wrapped into one that flies under the protective banner of “religion.”

But it is a distorted culture, one that thrives on seeing itself as a victim and has a deep hatred of the West. The result:

--A culture where many Islamic nations lack the most basic human freedoms found in the West.

--A culture where women are systematically abused in ways that is inherently wrong; the denial of education; mandatory dress; low legal status; toleration of “honor killings;” constricted travel; toleration of family violence.

--A culture that celebrates the use of suicide bombings to kill civilians in the name of Islam.

--A culture that largely condones the use of violence to silence those critical of Islam.

The truth is, many of the values of the West are in direct conflict with the values found in much of the Islamic culture. That the West, especially America, has tolerated this clash without itself resorting to domestic religious violence is the real story here. (Imagine the reaction if Jews had crashed an airplane into Mecca. Would the Islamic nations of the Middle East have been as tolerant?)

In the end, the New York Islamic building won’t be a monument to the values of Islam; it will be a monument to the West and to how this nation values liberty, tolerance and freedom.

So let them build their Islamic center near Ground Zero.

What an ironic contrast that will make: An Islamic center on one side of the street that reminds the world of the strength and goodness of American values; on the other side of the street where the Twin Towers stood, a reminder of what Islamic values stand for: Bigotry, violence, hatred and death.

Mike Buffington is editor of The Jackson Herald. He can be reached at mike@mainstreetnews.com.