Racism and Bigotry Alive and Well in America

Written by Ralph E. Stone. Posted in Culture, Opinion, Politics

Published on August 23, 2010 with 1 Comment

Post-9/11 Islamophobia

By Ralph E. Stone & Judi Iranyi

August 23, 2010

Lost in the shuffle about the protests of building a cultural center near Ground Zero is that a number of Muslims died at the towers that day — not just the nut cases in the planes — and that nearly all Muslims adamantly opposed the actions and events that took place on 9/11, and denounced them strongly, saying the Islamic religion in no way condones it.

The controversy has been inaccurately dubbed the “Ground Zero mosque.” Actually, the building will function as an Islamic cultural center, not a mosque. It will include a prayer room, but not a single-purpose house of worship for Muslims. Furthermore, the cultural center will not be built at Ground Zero. It will be near Ground Zero.

“Eminent” politicians are jumping on the anti-mosque bandwagon. Sarah Palin called it a “stab in the heart of the 9/11 families.” Senators Johnny Isakson, Olympia Snowe, and John McCain called the cultural center “insensitive.” Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani — the 9/11 saint — called it “offensive.” And New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio called Iman Feisal Abdul Fauf, the Iman behind building the cultural center, “a terrorist-sympathizing Imam.” And that right-wing spokesman, Rush Limbaugh, called the President “Iman-a-bama” for supporting the cultural center. Unfortunately no one remembers the stately speeches given by President Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Rubens Bloomberg.

Racism and bigotry are alive and well in America.

Everyone is invited to the “International Burn a Koran Day” hosted by a nondenominational church in Gainesville, Florida, scheduled for the the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Bring the whole family.

Makes one proud to be an American.

Ralph E. Stone

I was born in Massachusetts; graduated from Middlebury College and Suffolk Law School; served as an officer in the Vietnam war; retired from the Federal Trade Commission (consumer and antitrust law); travel extensively with my wife Judi; and since retirement involved in domestic violence prevention and consumer issues.

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1 Comment

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  1. There is no proof whatsoever that Muslims were involved with 9/11: read David Ray Griffin or Elias Davidsson.

    Writing like this help keep people bigoted and uninformed. We are clearly shown who we should hate (and suggested to about who we should love). I do not see any deep concern for Muslims moreover.

    I would classify this article squarely in the category of “left-gatekeeping”. We are kept in the dark about the real cause of the false flag attack on America on September 11, 2001.

    We are led to believe that we are the reasonable thinkers who do not fall for “nutty conspiracy theories.” And how is it done? By describing ourselves as more enlightened and unprejudiced… and by scapegoating easy targets. Those targets are as culpable as the heros who mouth all the words we want to hear! We are killing people in Afghanistan now because of lies about 9/11.

    I am so incredibly bored with this nauseous propaganda which seems designed to misdirect our indignation, and to wear us down and keep us from thinking.