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<p class=MsoNormal>Courtesy of the “Letters to the Editor” section
of today’s (August 21, 2010) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with a special
thanks to Dr. S.M. Ghazanfar<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>-----------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Obama's mosque support<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Contrary to the Islamophobia rampant in much of the land, it
is refreshing to see the editorial in the Daily News ("Obama stands up for
American ideals with mosque support," Aug. 17). The Muslim community is
grateful. I know many non-Muslims also appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Given the mass hysteria, the Cordoba House project as
planned may eventually be moved, yet the principle of religious freedom is
sacred. Religious persecution elsewhere, and thus religious freedom,
constituted the founding of this nation, and that's what Obama emphasized recently.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>As the editorial suggests, "much of the hatred comes
from ignorance," and from mass fear pumped up by the likes of Sarah Palin,
Newt Gingrich and others. One can disregard Palin, for she is what she is, but
"scholar" Gingrich's ignorance is most appalling. Indeed, such
"learned ignorance" is reminiscent of the Crusades propaganda. And
the phenomenon is not just random - it seems well-planned.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Incidentally, some other mosques near ground zero have
existed for years. And the proposed Cordoba House (a community/interfaith
center, not just mosque) is at least four blocks away, invisible from ground
zero. Indeed, the name Cordoba tracks the Spanish city that was the center of
learning, pluralism and tolerance during Islamic Spain, where eminent scholars such
as Averroes (Ibn Rushd, d.1198) and Maimonides (Moses Ben Maimon, d.1204)
flourished.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Further, at least 60-plus Muslims also perished in the 9/11
tragedy. Many victims' families have declared support for the project (see
www.peacefultomorrows.org/), as have many Christian-Jewish groups and the
scholarly community. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>As for Imam Feisal, of this project, he has been serving for
years, both under Bush and Obama administrations, as U.S. emissary to Islamic
countries to "win hearts and minds." Yet, the rabid Islamophobia does
the opposite, by perpetuating hate/violence; it feeds directly into the psyches
of those "uncivilized" monsters, the bin-Laden/Taliban types.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>S.M. Ghazanfar<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Moscow<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>-----------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Seeya at Farmers Market, Moscow.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>"I never
will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of
inquiry into the religious opinions of others." <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>- Thomas
Jefferson</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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