"Ground Zero Mosque" Debate is Utterly Un-American

For a country that prides itself in our Constitution and points to it as a blueprint for others searching for a fair system of government, for a city which proudly houses and boasts about the Statue of Liberty, it’s a shame that we’re even having this debate. It’s something that should scare us all, because once you start to chip away at the basic rights of one group it sets a dangerous precedence that will be hard to stop.

Despite depictions on the news, in movies and in the media, all Muslims are not potential terrorists, and should not be held responsible for the actions of a few terrorists who happened to be Muslim - just like all whites are not responsible for slavery, and all Germans are not potential Nazi’s. The assertion is absolutely absurd.

What’s more offensive is the assertion that the Muslims in New York who want to build a community center where they can go to take classes, meet one another, and yes pray, are insulting the memory of those who died on 9/11. How soon we forget that Muslims died on 9/11, Muslims helped heal the community in the aftermath of 9/11, and many Muslim nations mourned with us when they heard of the tragic attacks.

There is, understandably, much sensitivity and emotion surrounding anything remotely related to 9/11. But to allow emotion – and emotion that discriminates against a group because of their religion no less – to override our Constitutional rights would be the most un-American act of all.

Legal arguments aside – because we all know that those who want to build the Islamic community center are well within their rights and are not breaking any laws – the implications of this debate are huge. Many of us proudly call the U.S our home precisely because of the many freedoms that are guaranteed to us. If we now become a nation that wants to dictate to people what to worship, how and where, we will become the same as the many dictatorial nations we so condemn.

There is no doubt that this debate has been chosen by politicians as an election year issue. That this issue is one which comes in a stream of anti-Islam fervor sweeping the nation is obvious – the fact that so much time is spent on debating whether President Obama is Muslim or not is testament to that. That this is all coupled with the U.S. occupying two predominantly Muslim nations in the Middle East and talks of attacking another, says so much more.

The terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 along with other Muslim fundamentalists are fueled by anti-American sentiment. They believe that Americans hate Islam and all it stands for. The fact that so much time and energy has been spent on debating the building of this Islamic center has given them more ammunition, and provided those who may be on the fence an opportunity to see eye to eye with extremist groups. In short, we are shooting ourselves in the foot, acting as the best recruitment machine for Islamic extremist groups. Coupled with the needless, callous, deadly and downright sinful wars we have waged in predominantly Muslim Middle Eastern countries, this should give us all cause for concern.

The Immigrant Divide: Are Some Immigrants Tolerated While Others Targeted?

I have written about this in the recent past and will likely write about it again soon because it is SO IMPORTANT. It’s crucial that we understand what’s going on and why, rather than just follow the rhetoric of politicians who only want to get us angry enough about something so they can have our votes in November and beyond.

So…earlier this week, my colleague Robert Rooks and I wrote a piece for the Grio (theGrio.com) about a case of serial stabbings that started in Flint, Michigan where a white man was roaming town targeting African American males. For three months this had been going on without much ado from national media and no major alerts put out to warn the community about protecting themselves. Later we learned that he’s a suspect in Virginia and Ohio as well. Yesterday, an Israeli national, Elias Abuelazma, was picked up and charged with the Michigan stabbings and is currently being investigated for the incidents in other states.

I was waiting for my friends and contacts who so avidly support the new wave of anti-immigrant policies that are sweeping our nation to pick up this cause and add it to their list of why immigrants are bad for this country. But not a peep. I don’t get it; if the argument is that immigrant communities contribute to more crime and create terror and unsafe conditions here in the U.S. then what more do we want than a citizen of another country having stabbed 18 residents in 3 states across America. (Think about what the reaction would have been if this guy was an Arab, Iranian, Iraqi, or Afghani…just think!)

Let’s assume he wasn’t “undocumented,” – sine that’s the new target of the anti-immigrant movement, though nobody has discussed having checked his papers, but still. Here’s a clear case of violence by a non-citizen immigrant in the U.S., and unlike all the abstract talk about immigrant communities creating more crime, this was a real case.

The reality is that immigrant communities do not engage in more crime, most do work and contribute to society, and they come here because we hire them. They come here for a better life, for work, to reunite with their family, and because America promises them equality.

These are the majority of reasons why we all came here…and I mean WE ALL – because as I always say, unless you are a Native American, you are here because you are an immigrant or your parents or grandparents were. So let’s realize and accept this anti-immigrant fervor for what it really is:

1) Bait used by politicians to stir up emotions and win votes
2) A scapegoat for all the economic and social ills that we are not willing to invest in fixing
3) And yes, in some cases, racial animosity in one of its ugliest forms - because let's face it, white immigrants are usually safe

The best way to keep a society calm and keep the status quo in place is to divide and pit people against each other. And believe you me, if you think you and I are safe because the focus seems to be on the Latino and “other” brown communities for now, just wait. Who do you think is going to be the next target once things heat up with Iran, as the current course of events guarantees will happen? We didn’t learn our lesson right after 9/11, but it’s not too late.

The time is ripe to destroy the walls that have been put up between immigrant communities and realize that unless we work together to keep all of our communities safe we are all sure to be future targets of anti-immigrant fervor. That is a promise that U.S. history guarantees.

Lucky for us, the U.S. Constitution guarantees a path to change that history and follow a new direction. But we must be willing to work for it; we must be willing to work for it together.