Another interesting article...

Yesterday's NYTimes editorial by Ross Douthat was rather good, I thought. With the recent endorsement by the President for the mosque at Ground Zero, I thought the article rather apropos for discussion.

Defining a dichotomy between the ideal and the actual in American society today (and for all of our history), he shows the necessity of a measurable shift in Muslim attitudes towards American culture today.

I do feel that America is the sort of society, ideally and actually, that can embrace and absorb those of Islamic faith and tradition without sacrificing freedom or security. Denying the majority of a faith the same rights and freedoms because of the actions or sentiments of a minority is antithetical to America as I understand it. Surely, the fears and resentments that many Americans feel today is no different than than felt by the majority of Americans about the Mormons, or the Catholics, or the Jews in the past. All three of these faiths were persecuted (some violently) by "mainstream" Protestant America at one point in our history or another... and all brought "American" viewpoints to their respective faiths that allowed a greater and much easier assimilation into our culture.

Mormon persecution was violent enough to drive thousands of people across the continent in search of a "safe home" at a time when American expansionism was at its height and religious tolerance was actually quite high. Catholics (immigrant or native) were routinely denied rights and opportunities for no other reason than the "political" associations of the Pope, who still maintained a very secular presence in European geo-political circles. Jews were shunned here in America for the same ignorant reasons that they were being rejected (and persecuted) across Eastern Europe and the major cities of places like France, England and the Low Countries.

The combination of American attitudes of freedom and equal opportunity, however, helped foster similar attitudes in each of these faiths that brought a degree of "assimilation" that otherwise would have been impossible. The Mormons began to move away from polygamy, the Catholics began to distance themselves from the "secular" positions of Papal "rule" over central Italy, and Jews became the model of "separation" between faith and politics in America, living faith-filled lives at home, but making no such demands on those around them, to everyone's benefit... so much so that terms that in the past were labels of resentment and intolerance are now culturally "normal", like kosher, delicatessen ("fine eating" in High German, brought to America from Jewish immigrants to the eastern big cities), and chutzpah.

I don't have to imagine the day when we can see an integration of Muslim faithful into mainstream America, because the vast majority of our more than 4 million Muslims (estimates vary on the actual number of Muslims in this country from 1.3 million to more than 7 million... I took the middle road)... because it is already here. The vast majority of those already professing their Muslim faith are functional, tax-paying, law-abiding Americans, and are every bit as enthusiastic and proud of their country as non-Muslim Americans. To point at the rabid anti-American few who get so much coverage (or, worse yet, no coverage at all) does a real disservice to the demographic as a whole, especially since I think that there are Christian sects that are every bit as dangerous to "American society" as radical Islam (the congregation of one Rev. Jeremiah Wright, for example... or the increased popularity of neo-Nazi "churches").

Now, I do tend to think that the more moderate voices in American Islam who are against the building of the mosque at Ground Zero are probably right... the effort, successful or otherwise, can do NOTHING but bring trouble and misunderstanding down on the entire national community, with no appreciable gain to be had from actually building the structure. The Muslim community as a whole needs to work harder to build an understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims in this country, far, far more than the non-Muslim community needs to "embrace" and accept a faith that very, very few understand with any degree of certitude. Religious leaders need to focus on "ecumenical" growth and development... not politicians and elected officials.