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

Jesus and the Burka

Well, I am not an expert on French politics or the fine print of weapons purchases. Every now and then I feel obligated to point out something good that happened in the country of my passport (the US) and examine something unfair or bigoted in another country (in this case, France, altho I would really like the French approach to food--fresh!--to take root in the States).

Also, I did not grow up in an Abrahamic faith (Christianity, Islam, Judaism), so forgive me if I make mistakes in some terminology in this post.

After the embarrassing news coverage that US soldiers carry guns with Christian scripture on them (the now-infamous Jesus Rifles), will now have the scripture removed. I think this is a very good step forward. I think its pretty inappropriate--in terms of our constitution, the structure of our military AND especially in terms of our current two wars. If we're 'winning hearts and minds' and 'engaging with the Islamic world' and trying to 'support moderate Islam,' then then we need to also not be (or perceived as) radical Christians. So bravo to the US government for making some progress on separating Church and State.

Now, on the other side of the Pond and this conversation. A French parliamentary panel recommends that France ban burka/burqa (the veil that a Muslim woman can choose to wear across her face to be modest before God) in public places (hospitals and schools), but not in private buildings or on the street (which would be even a more gross violation of a person's religious rights. What's next? Removing a nun's robes? The Pope's garb? Tell Orthodox Jewish women to wear miniskirts? I feel like this is a double standard poorly masking a bigoted bias against Muslims. Are the veils harming anyone? I know plenty of strong-willed, independent Muslim women who choose to wear the veil, or the hijjab...sometimes from families who were very moderate and were surprised their daughters chose that path. I think these women should be allowed to wear what they want--plenty of people wear offensive clothing all the time without fear that the government will not allow them to wear it into hospitals...

Radicalizing religion does not help. Neither does abusing human rights and choices.

Best,
Alena