I recently had the pleasure of reading the thoughts of an American Imam in Harlem on the national discussion regarding the building of the Ground Zero Victory Super Mosque and Cultural Center (GZVSMCS).One Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, Imam at the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood Inc. in Harlem had this to offer:
“The first thing we need to do is decode some of the language,” said Abdur-Rashid. “The first language that has to be decoded is “Americans.” That really means “white Americans.” That’s who’s uptight about this. It’s opposition that’s occurring in different parts of the country in reaction to the construction of mosques.
Sorry Al-Hajj, but you don't get to argue your side, and then tell me what the words mean on mine. If I oppose Islamists building a mosque, cultural outreach and fifteen story swimming pool at Ground Zero it is because of the shocking impropriety that such an action would be. It matters not at all what my racial heritage is, nor does it matter what the race of the people building the mosque is.
The effort to take over the argument by controlling the language, in this case in a rather awkward and clumsy manner, is typical of the left, and is the chief purpose of the political correctness movement.
This brought to mind a recent article by long time free speech proponent and outspoken critic of political correctness, David Warren, who was writing about the value of parables, and the need to speak of things honestly, even offensively, free of the restraints of fearful fault finders:
"Now, "liveliness" is in itself the enemy of the politically correct Left. Any incautious propensity toward truth-telling subverts their whole agenda; which is among the reasons I am in favour of doing that whenever an opportunity is presented."Love that.
Race may be an issue on the mind of Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid, even when discussing the 100 million dollar, Saudi backed Ground Zero Victory Super Mosque and Cultural Center. However, it is not a part of the discussion for me, and Mr. Abdur-Rashid is not granted permission to make it so.
With a hat tip to Coco Rico.
Hehe, thanks for the hat tip! I am so glad I was of use. And the more you analyze, the more I realize you're right. I just need to get out of So Cal more often! Haha.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Coco. Yeah, we're trying not to cede the language, as with it goes the argument. Plus, its just not straight. If their ideas are morally superior, then let them argue on legitimate footing.
ReplyDeleteBut they are not superior, thus they have to prohibit language that would otherwise describe them.