There is no doubt that Islamophobia is on the march. In New York, opponents of a Muslim community center and mosque are trying to stop its construction near the site of the 9/11 attacks. They are hatemongers. Just a reading of their statements and speeches show that they are closet fascists.
The Slate writes, "There's that telltale phrase again: a mosque. It's the same phrase Gingrich used a week ago: "It is simply grotesque to erect a mosque at the site of the most visible and powerful symbol of the horrible consequences of radical Islamist ideology." The same phrase Sarah Palin used: "To build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks." The same phrase Rudy Giuliani used when he called it "a mosque that's in exactly the wrong place." The same phrase Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican presidential aspirant, used this weekend: "I'm strongly opposed to the idea of putting a mosque anywhere near Ground Zero.""
Promotion of hatred and xenophobia is a crime against humanity. Not only do such crimes prepare the groundwork for persecution of the targeted group, in so doing they also rob the very persecutor of its humanity. It is a loss-loss proposition on all sides, and must therefore be stopped before its caustic effects create serious problems in the society.
America cannot afford Islamophobia or any form of prejudice to win. Let's stop the promoters and merchants of xenophobia from winning the 2010 election, and enable voices of reason and plurality like Mayor Bloomberg to win.
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