I’ve been writing in favor of Park 51, the so-called Ground Zero mosque, because ethics demands that we treat others as we would be treated, and because religious freedom is a precious American birthright.
But sometimes the ethical thing is also the best strategy. Fareed Zakaria, one of America’s most insightful political commentators (and an Indian-born, Yale- and Harvard-educated Muslim) writes in this week’s Newsweek that encouraging groups like the one behind Park 51 is part of a “lasting solution to the problem of Islamic terror.”
Zakaria has been tagged by New York Magazine as a possibility to be the first Muslim Secretary of State. All his columns are worth reading, but this one is a must for understanding the national security reason for supporting Park 51 and other efforts by moderate American Muslims.
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Tags: ethics, Fareed Zakaria, Ground Zero mosque, Islamic terror, national security, New York Magazine, Newsweek, Park 51, religious freedom
Ethics Bob 
August 18, 2010 at 8:35 am |
In other words, Americans citizens who are Muslim are not “first class” citizens, only “second class” Where have we heard this before in our history about efforts to make some citizens “second class,” not because of whom they worshiped, but based on the color of the skin or their national origin ?
August 27, 2010 at 11:04 pm |
The Irish were second class, then the Italians, then the Chinese, the japanese, and the Mexicans. The African-Americans were worse than second class, and now the Muslims are considered some kind of “other.” Our glory is that we overcame most of these attitudes; our shame is that we still have a way to go.