If the sacred ground of the defunct Burlington Coat Factory is replaced by a community center rather than new strip clubs, the terrorists win! Right? Uh, not exactly. As it turns out, terrorists have said all along that American commitment to religious freedom and tolerance was nothing but lip service, and now it seems that the people crowing about the protests over the construction of Park51 aren't limited to Fox News.
The supercharged debate over the proposed center has... has become the No. 1 topic of discussion in recent days and proof positive, according to some of the posted messages, that America is indeed at war with Islam.
"This, unfortunately, is playing right into their hands" ... "Extremists are encouraging all this, with glee.
Who would have guessed that blatant discrimination and massive hypocrisy might have consequences? Other than anyone paying the least bit of attention.
As it turns out, treating the most moderate Muslim citizens as if they are terrorists is helping to radicalize some portion of young Muslims in the country. Of course, our only option now is... crack down harder on Muslims! That's means no more mosques, anywhere in the nation. Certainly not so close to Ground Zero as Tennessee.
A new Islamic center is going up near Nashville, Tenn., and as in New York, the proposal has fractured the community along a divide over religious freedom.
Recently hundreds of protesters marched around the town square in Murfreesboro, Tenn. They carried signs that read, "Enough Is Enough" and "Stop Terrorism."
After all, it's not like they're building synagogues in Mecca and why should the United States be one bit more free than Saudi Arabia?
In making comparisons between religious freedom in the United States and those in the most repressive regimes around the world, those working to limit religious freedom here are giving extremists exactly what they want, and behaving exactly as the most radical have long predicted.
All this controversy and vitriol are not only encouraged; they're welcomed. Extremists and radical clerics posted a stream of "I told you so" messages: After years of telling followers that Islam was under attack by the West, the harsh reaction to a simple community center seemed to prove it.
Since many of those protesting the community center at least claim to be Christians, here's a small bit of advice that's also been around for a long time. It's not only good spiritual advice, it's good policy. If you want to claim that the United States is based on Christian principles, why not start there?
For the moment, these protests are the best thing that ever happened to some of the worst people among the radicals.
"Over the past nine to 12 months, Anwar al-Awlaki has tried to promote this notion that the West, and particularly the United States, will turn on its Muslim citizens," Fishman said. "And some of the anti-Islamic tone that has been going around the country in connection with the mosque debate feeds into this notion that people like Anwar al-Awlaki can take advantage of."
(A grateful tip of the hat to Dina Temple-Raston and the folks at NPR News for this well-reported story. Go read the whole thing.)