The new iman of the so-called Ground Zero mosque and Islamic cultural center, Abdallah Adhami, advocates retribution for those who leave the faith, reports the New York Post. He advised that those who preach about apostasy should at least be jailed, as “Many [Islamic] jurists have said they have to be killed.”
That led Jordan Sekulow, a lawyer at the Pat Robertson-founded American Center for Law and Justice, to question why the mosque project would choose a leader who advocates retribution for those who leave the faith. He remarked, “To be in the United States of America and to tell former Muslims to ‘keep your mouth shut’ is against the Constitution.” The Robertson-affiliated center is suing to stop the Islamic center and mosque from being built.
The iman also addressed the issue of homosexuality, holding forth that “An enormously overwhelming percentage of people struggle with homosexual feeling because of some form of violent emotional or sexual abuse at some point in their life.”
That led Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, to respond that “When a religious leader of his standing opens up his mouth and spews this kind of ignorance and hateful statements, it does put his greater judgment into question.”
I believe that those who have legally secured ownership to property should be able to build a religious center, no matter how intolerant they are—whether Iman Abdallah Adhami or Pat Robertson. But that is different from celebrating such a center (when it is of the Islamic variety, of course) as a tribute to “diversity” and the multiculturalism of the Big Apple, as some have done.
6 Comments for “Islamic Right vs. Christian Right (with Gays in the Middle)”
posted by Tom on
“To be in the United States of America and to tell former Muslims to ‘keep your mouth shut’ is against the Constitution.”
And the guy who said this is supposed to be a lawyer? The 1st Amendment prohibits the government from abridging the freedom of speech, not private individuals or groups, and certainly not religious groups.
posted by Jorge on
Semantics.
The point is that Imam is stating that in Islam you jail or kill people for saying that. It is all but an endorsement of bringing Sharia law to the United States.
A pity Pete King’s hearings on Islamic extremism are only about terrorism.
posted by Houndentenor on
I continue to be amazed the Christian fundamentalists fail to understand that undermining the freedom of religion of others will one day come back to bite them in the ass. Once that freedom is gone they lose their own Constitutional protection, but no amount of reasoning has ever helped me convince a relative or acquaintance that defending religious freedom protects their own freedom.
posted by BobN on
I find the NY Post reporting of his comments on apostasy to be oddly constructed. They seem to be a description of what he finds the Koran to say. I suspect I could come to the same result and I certainly don’t personally believe in punishing anyone for leaving any faith.
As for his comments on homosexuality, they’re not much different from Pat Robertson’s positions, with the notable exceptions that the imam does acknowledge homosexuality in other species and allows for at least a tiny minority of gay people to have gotten gay by nature. Granted, it’s still sad that any religious leader would still think his thoughts. On the other hand, the Park51 mosque is running away from his statements and is committed to a facility that is open to all and subject to New York City’s stringent anti-discrimination laws regarding both public accommodation and employment.
Call me when Pat Robertson’s organization meets the same standards. In the meantime, I’ll work against both sets of religion-based and religious bigotry.
posted by Throbert McGee on
Wow, mark the date — I agree with BobN!
posted by BobN on
Now, now, Throbert, it’s not that amazing. After all, we will always have frottage.