[MD] Theocracy, Secularism, and Democracy

[X Acto]

Horse said:
However, I was just wondering why, in a country that, apparently, prides itself 
on a constitutional right to freedom of religion, and the practice thereof, 
there should be so much opposition to establishing a mosque in close proximity 
to the 9/11 site. I could understand it if it was an Al Qaeda recruitment centre 
but it appears to be no more than what it is. A place of religious worship. 
Can't stand these places personally, be they Islamic, Christian, Jewish or 
whatever as places of religion - they're sometimes OK in architectural/artistic 
terms but that's about it.
And a mosque is for the use of Moslem folk to come to worship in a similar way 
that Christians and Jews have their places to worship. Would the same people who 
object to this mosque object to a Japanese cultural centre in Hawaii, a German 
travel agency in Israel or a church in Jerusalem? Or perhaps the Catholic church 
should dismantle and recycle their churches where there have been practising 
paedophile priests (although that would probably leave very few Catholic 
churches standing).
It seems to me that there is a degree of hypocrisy on display here in the way 
your fellow Americans view and treat the Islamic faith when compared to the way 
you treat the Christian and Jewish faiths. The vast majority of Moslems had 
nothing to do with 9/11 and so, in fairness, should not be penalised for the way 
in which a very few Moslems belonging to Al Qaeda have behaved. That just seems 
reasonable to me.

Ron:
I believe what has quite a few of us yanks up in arms about the Mosque issue is 
the 

Theocracy issue. I believe the Mosque is rejected on political grounds not 
religous ones.

Being a particularly complex issue, one that has it's basis in the paralysis 
koan RMP
mentions, a deeper look at what values are being exercised would shed a bit more 
light
on the situation.

One must be careful to distinguish between theocracy and religion, we are not at 
war with
a religion but we are at war with a political ideal.




Cheers