Another Perspective on the Cordoba House

Dear Readers,

Now, I thought this article, "Andrew Jackson's America" by Ta-Nehisi Coates, was a bit all over the place, but the last paragraph really caught my eye.

"The prospect of Muslims assimilating will not subdue them. To the contrary, the last thing they want is their kid competing with yours. Their hypocrisy is stunning: These are the ghosts who burned black Wall Street, who pilfered the "Five Civilized Tribes," who recoil at gays attempting to build family. And so on. They claim to fear the immigrant clinging to his language. No. What they fear is the immigrant learning theirs. Much like Barack Obama scares them more than any New Black Panther, Cordoba House is more terrifying than any iteration of radical jihad. In Obama's case, it shows how well blacks know America, how essential we are to the thing. In the case of Muslims, it shows how well they have caught on."

Personally, I have no problem a house affiliated with any religion being built anywhere in the world. I also think that how the US handles its inter-religious, inter-ethnic debates is very telling for our past and our future.

What do you think?

Best,
Alena

The Tamils and the Sinhala...no one won.

Dear Readers,

Well, most of you are probably familiar with Sri Lanka's 30 year civil war, full of hyper-nationalism, guerilla warfare, rape and violence. If you're not, this article gives an oversimplified summary of the past and important current events. Hindu against Buddhist, with Muslims caught in the middle. All on a tiny island with some of the highest education, literacy rates and equality for women in South Asia.

Well, hopefully this is the beginning of the end. All the best to the people of this beautiful place.

NMRK.
Alena