Reg Henry Is Far Too Silly

I read this piece about the Ground Zero Mosque by Reg Henry of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Henry laments that the late Graham Chapman of Monthy Python isn't around to dress up as that British colonel to tell everyone who opposes the construction of the Ground Zero Mosque that they are being far too silly. Yet after reading Henry's article I must conclude that he has no peer when it comes to silliness:

They are -- splutter, splutter, shudder -- Muslims. They are all the same, you know, just as back in the woeful day the Catholics were all the same, and the Jews were all the same, before we knew better -- before we knew how stupid and destructive such group thinking was.

So to honor the dead, we must insult the intelligence of the living by insisting that these Muslims, no matter how different they are from the extremists who are the real terrorists, must not pray to their God "in the shadow of the World Trade Center."

But if it was just plain anti-Muslim bigotry at work here then why wouldn't there be opposition to the construction of any mosque in the United States be it in New York or Pittsburgh or anywhere else? Surely there have been mosques built in this country since the events of September 11, 2001 without incident.

Henry asserts that the Muslims involved in the planning of the Ground Zero Mosque are different from those who attacked the World Trade Center. Yet this remains an open question. Why did Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf state the United States was an accessory to the September 11th attacks? Why won't Rauf call Hamas a terrorist organization? Why won't Rauf tell us who is funding the Ground Zero Mosque? If the Saudis are financing the construction of the Ground Zero Mosque isn't a Wahhabist interpretation of the Koran sure to follow? Make no mistake. It was the Wahhabist interpretation of the Koran that was the driving force behind the deaths of 3,000 people.

Now if Rauf were unequivocal in his condemnation of the September 11th attacks and Hamas and was transparent about his plans then I suspect the opposition to the the construction of the Ground Zero Mosque would be lessened considerably. But if that was the case I suspect Rauf would have never entertained the idea of building in the vicinity of Ground Zero in the first place.

Henry writes, "On my vacation, I briefly visited New York City. It is the most diverse place in America, where nobody bats an eyelid at anything." I think Henry might want to spend a little more time in The Big Apple before assuming that New Yorkers don't bat an eyelid when it comes to anything connected with September 11, 2001. It doesn't sit well with New Yorkers when the man behind the construction of a mosque but a hop, skip and a jump away from the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil publicly states the U.S. is an accessory to the murder of innocent civilians. The manner in which has the Ground Zero Mosque has been planned has thrown mud in the eyes of New Yorkers who are none too happy that Mayor Bloomberg has taken such an ardent stand in favor of the mosque.

Too bad Graham Chapman wasn't alive to walk in on Henry as he was typing out his article.