The 9/11/2001 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon was the first enemy attack on US soil in sixty years. The shock of realizing that the US could no longer isolate itself from global violence had dramatic impact on the American psyche. Americans who previously rejected torture, extrajudicial killings and preventative war came to accept them as necessary and common place occurrences. This year’s 9/11 observance combined with announcements of the planned construction of an Islamic community center near the WTC site and “Burn a Koran Day” by Pastor Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center brought issues and tensions of freedom speech and freedom of religion to the foreground.
When I was in Amsterdam a few years ago, I visited the Anne Frank house which has been converted into a museum and memorial to this courageous young girl. One of the exhibits was an interactive display that at the time was exploring the tension between freedom of speech and prohibition of offensive and hate filled speech. Using video news clips, visitors, after identifying their nationality, were asked their opinion as to whether or not the speech should be prohibited. It was interesting to observe that Americans generally came down on the side of freedom of speech whereas Europeans generally favored restrictions. This difference in mind set is reflected by America’s strong backing for the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights and many European countries making such speech as Holocaust denial a crime punishable by prison sentences.
But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should. Should Pastor Jones burn 1000 Korans? In my view, burning books is a really bad idea. In reality it is not the books that are being burned, they can be replaced. What are really being destroyed are ideas and opinions. As Nazi Germany demonstrated in the 1930’s, it is not a long journey from burning books to burning people. Fortunately Pastor Jones seems to have seen the light.
Should Imam Abdul Rauf and the Cordoba Project build the Islamic Center? In my view, absolutely they should. The construction of an interfaith center dedicated to religious understanding and cooperation is not a desecration of “sacred ground”. It is an affirmation of the values that define us as Americans when we are at our best. After a number of years of showing the world that we honor our values more in the breach than in actions, it is time to start showing America at its best, even in a time of stress and anxiety.
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