Here is another example of why I distance myself from the Christian Far-Right in this Country.
A person by the name of Bryan Fischer over at a Blog named Focal Point at the American Family Association writes the following:
Permits should not be granted to build even one more mosque in the United States of America, let alone the monstrosity planned for Ground Zero. This is for one simple reason: each Islamic mosque is dedicated to the overthrow of the American government.
Each one is a potential jihadist recruitment and training center, and determined to implement the “Grand Jihad” of which Andy McCarthy has written.
Here is the strategy, in their own words, in the words of “An Explanatory Memorandum” circulated by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1991 which outlines “the General Strategic Goal” for the Islamic movement “in North America.”
He proceeds to quote the following:
Read it and shudder:
Muslims “must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions…It is a Muslim’s destiny to perform Jihad and work wherever he is and wherever he lands until the final hour comes, and there is no escape from that destiny…” (emphasis mine)
Here is where Mr. Fischer goes astray; he is quoting from The Muslim Brotherhood, A Muslim extremist group, who has been banned in other Muslim Countries. What he is doing here, is something that is common in Far-Right, Conservative Christian circles and that is the use of collectivism; assuming that ALL Muslims believe exactly the way that the Muslim Brotherhood believes. The question is, does the Muslim Brotherhood speak for all Muslims? The Muslim Brotherhood might believe that they do; but the question is, do they actually speak for the entire Muslim Community? Some would say that Fischer is a bigot, I will not assume that, I do not know Mr. Fischer’s heart. But, I will say that the attitude that this man is portraying here is the same attitude that was displayed towards the black race in the south during the Jim Crow era.
Fischer continues:
Because of this subversive ideology, Muslims cannot claim religious freedom protections under the First Amendment. They are currently using First Amendment freedoms to make plans to destroy the First Amendment altogether. There is no such thing as freedom of religion in Islam, and it is sheer and utter folly for Americans to delude themselves into thinking otherwise.
Ask the Hutaree Christian militia how much good it did them to plaster Bible verses all over their website while plotting attacks against government officials. They are currently pondering the limits of the First Amendment, as they should, from the inside of a jail cell. The First Amendment cannot be used as a cloak for subversive activity.
Again, Mr. Fischer is assuming that all Muslims agree with the Muslim Brotherhood, which again is a faulty reasoning.
Another point I would like to make here. It is a point that I am sure that Mr. Fischer most likely did not think about. The idea of the United States Government banning the new construction of Religious building is not a smart one. The reasoning is this; that whole idea can be a two-edged sword. The same United States Government that would tell Muslims that they could not build Mosques —- is the same Government that could suddenly decide that new Churches should not be built either. Do you see where I am going with this? The less that the United States Government gets involved with the Religious affairs of America, the better. We have that first amendment for a reason; and I, as a Fundamentalist Baptist Christian, would prefer if it stayed that way!
This whole idea, that we have to treat Muslims different than any other religion is flawed on it’s face. Yes, I know that Islamic terrorism is an issue. If and when the Government finds these people, we should arrest them. But it is the Muslim community’s job to insure that extremism is rooted out of it’s ranks. Not the United States Government’s.
If we being to allow the Government to exercise any sort of control over ANY aspect of ANY religion at all, we will be putting ourselves unto a slippery slope that we will never be able to reverse.
