Imam Faisal Rauf's Own Words

By Semperpapa

I do not get the New York Times as I do not have a bird cage to line and my puppies are already house trained, so I want to thank my friend Stan in Florida for sending me the text of imam Faisal Rauf op-ed that the NY newspaper published recently.

As I was reading the piece, I could not help praise the convolution of words, obviously aimed, in a masterful way I guess, to confuse and swindle the minds of those Americas who Mr. Rauf considers the uneducated masses.
Certainly Mr. Rauf understands that the same uneducated masses do not read the trash that the NY Times publishes, but this may remain a contentious point.

I am going to analyze some excerpts from Rauf’s op-ed, confident that those who may really be interested in the whole piece will be able to easily find it on-line.

…We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community, government at all levels and leaders from across the religious spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right thing to do for many reasons…

On this point, Rauf is absolutely correct. Every level of government in the City of New York has willingly accommodated the imam in his pursuit of the project. And he is also correct that many ultra-Liberal leaders across the religious spectrum have blessed the enterprise. But is that a real indication? After all these religious leader have been willing to pass on the issue of abortion on demand when they openly supported the candidacy of Obama, in direct violation of the precepts of their faiths (i.e. Catholics, Jews and other Christian denominations).

Rauf continues,
…Above all, the project will amplify the multifaith approach that the Cordoba Initiative has deployed in concrete ways for years. Our name, Cordoba, was inspired by the city in Spain where Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existed in the Middle Ages during a period of great cultural enrichment created by Muslims. Our initiative is intended to cultivate understanding among all religions and cultures…

The multi-faith approach that Rauf is championing sounds really heartwarming, until one does a little research about the reality of what the imam is trying to mask about Cordoba.
It is true that the period of history Rauf is alluding to is called the Golden Age of Islamic domination of Spain, a period that went from 756 to 1031 called Ummayyad Dynasty. It was a period in which the Muslim occupiers were somewhat tolerant of Christians and Jews, but there were some defined restrictions that these groups were subjected to.
For example, Christians and Jews were forced to live in special locations or ghettos; although allowed to practice their faiths, they were restricted in public observation of their religion; they were allowed to work, in some cases even in civil affairs, but mostly they were relegated to those professions deemed “unclean” and below Muslim status.
Christians and Jews were “allowed” to live in the famous Cordoba Mr. Rauf feels so proud of, as long as they acknowledged Islamic superiority, accepted Islamic power, paid Jizya to Muslims (some sort of ransom) and higher taxes. They also had to wear special badges (where did I see this before?) and could not carry weapons (that takes care of the 2nd Amendment!). Christians and Jews were facing restrictions on the building of churches and synagogues, could not testify in Islamic courts or marry a Muslim woman, although the reverse was allowed.
But at least they could contribute to the cultural scene and they were not forced to convert of die according to the provisions of the Quran.

…I am very sensitive to the feelings of the families of victims of 9/11, as are my fellow leaders of many faiths. We will accordingly seek the support of those families, and the support of our vibrant neighborhood, as we consider the ultimate plans for the community center. Our objective has always been to make this a center for unification and healing…

For some reason, the assertion of sensitivity for the families of the victims of the 9-11 attack gets lost in the fact that if such sensitivity really existed, as the growing opposition to the project is manifested, Rauf should be quick to acknowledge it and respect it. Only the apologists will truly get a warm feeling out of the statement.

…the wonderful outpouring of support for our right to build this community center from across the social, religious and political spectrum seriously undermines the ability of anti-American radicals to recruit young, impressionable Muslims by falsely claiming that America persecutes Muslims for their faith. These efforts by radicals at distortion endanger our national security and the personal security of Americans worldwide. This is why Americans must not back away from completion of this project. If we do, we cede the discourse and, essentially, our future to radicals on both sides. The paradigm of a clash between the West and the Muslim world will continue, as it has in recent decades at terrible cost. It is a paradigm we must shift…

It is convenient to address the minority that is in actual support of this project, while discounting the majority, about 70%, who Rauf labels as radicals on par with the Islamic radicals. So, if one wants to follow the logic, the vast majority of the American people are radicals. That is why there are thousands of mosques across this Nation; that is why there has been no noticeable surge of anti-Muslim hate crimes even following the 9-11 attacks; that is why the only controversy is based on the location of Rauf’s mosque and not on his freedom to build one.
If Mr. Rauf is so “dedicated” to the building of inter-faith bridges, I would expect that he would publicly come out and call on the royal Saudi family to allow the construction of Churches and Synagogues in that country. But he cannot do so, leaving him to only call for “tolerance” in the country that is already tolerant enough to allow him to do so. And I am not at all convinced that “tolerance” is imam Rauf’s real goal, except for the “Cordoba type” mentioned above.

…From those who recognize our rights, from grassroots organizers to heads of state, I sense a global desire to build on this positive momentum and to be part of a global movement to heal relations and bring peace. This is an opportunity we must grasp…

This is somewhat disturbing, as the man’s mention of globalism is perfect harmony with the actions of the current administration, who has, for the last 20 months taken striking steps to surrender the sovereignty of our Nation to outside entities.
Moreover, it fits perfectly with the declared mission statements of terror organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the creation of a new global Caliphate under Islamic law. The history of Cordoba and Rauf’s mention of it is indication that the only way to have peace for the representatives of the Islamic religion is to subject all other to their interpretation of healing relations and tolerance.

…I therefore call upon all Americans to rise to this challenge. Let us commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 by pausing to reflect and meditate and tone down the vitriol and rhetoric that serves only to strengthen the radicals and weaken our friends’ belief in our values…

Finally, I find it reprehensible that the imam would be using the 9-11 to even mention radical Islamist, as it was just that sort of Islamists who came to kill 3000 innocent people on our soil. And it is mildly amusing to hear Rauf accuse those who oppose the Cordoba project of vitriol as we are treated to images of unhinged behavior on the part of some of the followers of the religion of peace.

I am unfortunately convinced that the words written by imam Faisal Rauf will get some traction among the self-proclaimed elitists in the anointed circles of American Progressivism.
Fortunately, I, as part of that overwhelming majority of Americans who are not privileged to be part of the Progressive elite, find the words of Rauf cunning and offensive.
Oh well, I guess I will be getting my Christian badge soon.

Just my thoughts!