Mosque at Ground Zero
There is a growing ruckus in the US over building of an Islamic center and mosque near ground zero in New York City. The site already has a building which has been a center of cultural activity for Muslim population in the city for decades. The proposed building of this mosque has now become a rallying point for the political right in the US, trumpeted by the Tea Party. Only eight months back there was no controversy on building of this mosque. Even the right wing conservatives did not see anything wrong in building of this mosque. However things changed diametrically, when a far right conservative blogger Pamela Geller who has devoted herself in demonizing Islam raised this issue through her blog characterizing the proposed mosque as Monster Mosque to be built at Ground Zero and painted it as a victory symbol for Muslims. The site however is two blocks away from Ground Zero where the Twin Towers once stood. Pamela Geller is the founder, editor and publisher of AtlasShrugs.com, a person so unhinged that she once suggested that Obama was a love child of Malcom X (a prominent and fiery civil rights activist from 60s). She is also the executive director of Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and of the Freedom Defense Initiative (FDI), and is a regular columnist for Andrew Breitbart's blog, another right wing blogger whose edited video post was the primary reason behind firing of Shirley Sharrod. She also promoted an extremely offensive advertising campaign carried on buses in the New York City urging Muslims to leave Islam and constantly hammered on the mosque issue. Her demagoguery with the undertone that Muslims are going to take over the US (very similar to the right wing Hindu propaganda in India) got the conservative newspaper Washington Examiner following and publicizing the issue and then it spread like wildfire. Her blatantly communal and offensive tirade against Islam was given space in the mainstream media. CNN conducted an opinion poll according to which 70 percent independents, 54 percent Democrats and 82 percent Republicans opposed the mosque plan. Suddenly something which was a non-issue a few months back snowballed into a national issue with media playing it over and over and giving ‘fair’ space to opponents of the construction of mosque.
The Islamic Center in question has been a center of peaceful cultural activities and its Imam and his wife have resolutely and routinely condemned terrorist activity of any kind. Still, even with the peaceful history and affiliations, the construction of the proposed mosque became so fiercely debated that President Obama issued a statement quoting the US constitution for religious freedom for one and all in the country. However the following day, bowing to the political backlash, in a typical gesture, President Obama rephrased his statement saying that he was commenting on religious freedom, and not the exact location of the mosque. Apologist Obama continues to pander false right wing hysteria on issue after issue and this turns out to be no exception. His political calculations have prevented him from taking clear stand on any issue. With looming elections for Congress this year, he is too cautious to take any stand on issues which the right wing portrays as offensive to ‘mass’ sentiments. He is unwittingly digging his own political grave by giving in to crass conservative propagandists whose bigotry have now led more than fifty percent of Americans to think an Islamic cultural center should not be built on "hallowed ground." It is an astounding victory of the propaganda perpetrated by the right wing bloggers. Never before had the right wing blogosphere exercised such an influence over administration’s actions and national debates. The timidity of Obama who had one rare historical opportunity of pushing the progressive agenda (as in 30s) given the material conditions in the country has proven to be a serendipity for the far right who were quick to fill this political vacuum of inaction and reneged promises.
