Ground Zero Mosque: a Tale of Two Obamas

If there's a single Obama statement rollback occasion that stands out among others, its' the presidents remarks in support of the proposed New York City Ground Zero Mosque. President Obama attempted to frame the argument as an issue of religious freedom on the occasion of a White House dinner marking the end of Ramadan.

But 68 percent of Americans oppose the Ground Zero Mosque, and believe the proposed project is the brainchild of a power-mad Imam who, in a book, praised the champions of militant Islam. Many victims and families of victims feel the project is insult to the victims of the 9-11 mass murder.

Most people recognize that Islam is a tree with many branches-some benign and others poisonous. In the White House dinner celebrating the end of Ramadan, the president voiced support for the proposed Ground Zero mosque in New York City. The respectful nod to modern, westernized Muslims may have been warranted but the President began coloring outside the lines when he drifted into the cloudy academic abstractions which have characterized his policies.

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable."

While there is nothing to argue with in the president's words, the statement conveys little empathy for victims of the recent 9-11 mass murder, and as little relevance. We are fighting in Afghanistan where the attacks were planned, and instead of defining the enemy, the president wants to blur distinctions and distract from his sagging popularity by sermonizing on American property and religious rights.

Americans do believe in property and religious rights (one wonders if the administration believes in the former), but no one can deny that factions of Islam have a military interpretation of jihad and a legal component which has the objective of replacing civil law with Shari'a.

Ground Zero mosque leader Imam Rauf has praised a number of militant jihadists in his book with its currently revised title, "What's right with Islam?" The original title was "Islamic Dawa (conversion) in the Heart of America Post 9-11." Among other anti-democratic polemics, Rauf calls for religious jurists who would guide the American civil judicial system to ensure compliance with religious laws. The man's a whack-job, and Americans can rightly question the imposition when some of the victims of mass murder on Ground Zero have yet to be found, and are likely floating in the air at the site of the proposed mosque.

Intellectual curiosity is a necessary thing in a democracy so it is fair to ask where the money is coming from. Unless one believes the moon is made of cream cheese, there was also a specific intent and meaning in selecting the Ground Zero site.

If "good will" toward the victims is the answer we are expected to believe, then it would follow to demonstrate some good will toward 68 percent of Americans who find the project repellent and offensive. There are plenty of other ways to demonstrate "good will" but the project's leaders prefer defiant struggle to a quiet nod of respect for an American tragedy which was wildly cheered in some parts of the world.

Why such brain-dead numbness from the president? Has Harvard dumbed down the academic requirements of its graduates or is it the return of the "absent-minded professor" syndrome? What motivated the President to speak out on an issue which must be resolved by private citizens, rather than by presidents who strike noble poses and deliver mass market slogans? This is not another Harvard Beer Summit, is it?

It seems now that the roof has collapsed on the White House. The president's political people have failed at characterizing the mosque as an issue dividing conservatives and liberals. Prominent Republicans like Florida's Charles Crist support the mosque, while opposition to the Ground Zero mosque is coming from every direction.

Florida's Democrat Senate candidate Jeff Greene has said that "...Obama has this all wrong and I strongly oppose his support for building a mosque near Ground Zero, especially since Islamic terrorists have bragged and celebrated destroying the Twin Towers and killing nearly 3,000 Americans." Further, there are moderates like Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, of the Middle East Forum, who say that the mosque is " an unnecessary act of provocation at best and a project with a dubious agenda at worst."

Now, the Obama spokespeople are out in force, revising the president's first remarks. The revisions involve the usual parsing of words, as the White House implies President Obama meant only to deliver a standard middle-school democracy lesson regarding freedom of religion. In other words, the earlier statement can be attributed to the other Obama, not the real one. So let's now drop the issue and head off to Florida where the president's cute kid Sasha made a hole-in one.