The Man Behind the Mosque

The construction of a $100 million mosque is in the works in New York City, just blocks from the site of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. A mosque, for those of you who may not know, is a religious center for people who follow Islam. Islam, for those of you who may not know, was founded by Muhammad, a thief-turned-religious-warrior who married a nine year old girl... who married a nine year old girl. The group wanting to build the mosque is led by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, whom you may remember for his interview on 60 Minutes after September 11, 2001, in which he asserted the "United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened."

The latest hurdle-clearing by the group came in the form of a unanimous nod from New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission, who were challenged with a fairly weak argument to protect the nondescript building the mosque will replace. Mayor Michael "Which Party Am I Now" Bloomberg hailed the decision, gushing:

The World Trade Center site will forever hold a special place in our city, in our hearts... But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves, and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans, if we said no to a mosque in lower Manhattan.

The man who has never said no to a promised political backer didn't explain what part that "best part" is, but it must be sitting somewhere near the NAZI Party Memorial we built at Auschwitz.

Non-Muslim supporters of this project warn that if we ban its construction we run the risk of stepping all over our tradition of religious freedom in this country. In the current political environment that is absolutely true. How can we claim to be a free society if we deny this religion rights that other religions enjoy? How indeed.

There is a way out of this conundrum, however. Now, I'm going to have to be very delicate with this next part due to the sensitive nature of the subject at hand:

Islam is a cult

Yep. As simple as that. Islam is a cult. Now you say it: Islam is a cult. It's really not that difficult. Now, everyone say it... and you, too, Uncle Sam. In fact, it's most important for you to say it:

Islam is a cult

If the government would merely declare Islam to be the cult that it is, our troubles would be over. No one would dream of allowing a cult the same freedoms as other legitimate religions, so if the government officially declares Islam to be a cult, we can stop the construction in its tracks. I know that there are some of you out there who are saying, "But Edward, the government can't declare a group to be a cult, and besides, the Muslim faith is not one." To this I have a two word reply: Waco Texas.

The government declared the Branch Davidians to be a cult and subsequently burned the compound and all of the people left in it right to the ground. Regardless of your feelings about how and why all of that happened, does any one argue that the Branch Davidians was not a cult? The government claimed it was a cult based upon the fact that:

• Pedophilia was not only encouraged but practiced by the group's founder
• Members were compelled to stay within the group or face dire consequences
• Weapons were being stockpiled
• There was a desire to become the dominant and only True religion of the world
• Prophesies within the church called for wars and a violent end to the evil outsiders

Gee, sounds a lot like Islam to me.

I'm not suggesting that every Muslim in the world is a violent nutball who deserves to die, any more than I'd suggest, for instance, everyone who was at Jonestown, Guyana in November 1978 was a bad person and deserved to die. But that opinion doesn't change the fact that both groups consist of followers of a dangerous cult. There is no place for a mosque in New York City or anywhere else within the United States. Should the Federal Government fail to step up and defend the sacrifices of the soldiers it continues to order to kill and die for this country, I think the people in the neighborhood - be they residents or contractors - should make sure that there isn't a mosque at Ground Zero.

To those of you I know who follow Islam, I'll say this:

Convince me I am wrong. Tell the world openly and publicly that if Muhammad truly meant that Muslims should go out into the world and destroy any and every individual who does not follow Islam, he was wrong. If he was married to a nine year old he was wrong. If he advocated hatred, despotism, slavery, and murder, then he was wrong. For my part, I will state the same thing about Jesus... and with a clear conscience.