Sunday, August 22, 2010

Ground Zero mosque

For many years I have watched the first world countries being victims of their own self-imposed righteousness. In particular, when it comes to issues of religion, the governments of these countries staunchly and blindly stand by their constitution, even though the world at large plays by a different set of rules.

Take for example the issue of the proposed Ground Zero mosque. Muslims in America want to build a big mosque near the site of the former World Trade Centre, which was destroyed by the Muslim terrorist group Al-Qaeda. Despite strong condemnation from her own people, the government insists that they have the right to build the mosque. US President Obama and New York Mayor Bloomberg (himself a Jew?) signalled that they will not stand in the way.

Many things are wrong here. Firstly, Obama and Bloomberg only operate by the constitution but not as leaders of the people who placed them there. The people might as well have elected Hal (the supercomputer in Space Odyssey) to run the country. As leaders, Obama and Bloomberg fail to listen to the people they lead. The constitution is written by men and continuously revised by men. Let the people decide if they want it changed and put this up for debate.

Secondly: uneven playing field. While the US government allows the Muslim population to have equal rights, Muslim nations play by a different set of rules. At best, non-Muslims in these countries are subject to discriminatory laws. At worst, they are persecuted and face the severest penalties for no crimes at all.

Thirdly: tunnel vision. Though the US has superior military intelligence, it fails to see that it is not drawing the battle lines right. While it is fighting physical battles, it has forgotten what a Trojan horse can do. Perhaps they are just simply too scared to talk about it.

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