Daisy Khan, wife of faux-moderate Imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, said that opposition to the Cordoba mosque goes, “beyond Islamaphobia.”  In a statement that is guaranteed to earn her a podium finish in a competition for the year’s most ironic statement, she went on to liken opposition to  “a metastasized anti-Semitism.”

 First of all, let me say that, for people who refuse to denounce HAMAS, the claim to suffer from anti-Semitism is ludicrous.  Secondly though, I have to say that I agree that opposition to the mosque – at least in my case – is definitely beyond Islamaphobia.

 To blame my opposition on Islamaphobia would be to imply that my opposition is based on fear, and that I fear what I do not understand.  Nothing could be further from the case.  It is my understanding of the mosque and what it represents that informs my opposition.  That understanding is based on a master’s degree in Mid East Studies and more than 20 years of experience with the Middle East, Islam, and the Arabic language.  I oppose the mosque precisely because I understand that it will be a monument to the system that perpetuated a violent attack that killed nearly 3,000 innocent human beings.  I oppose the mosque because it represents a further incursion into the Land of the Free by a system that is determined to strip us of our freedoms and impose upon us laws and customs that are completely incompatible with the Constitution.  I oppose the mosque just as I would oppose a monument to Shintoism erected at Pearl Harbor – not because I would deny anyone the right to worship as they see fit, but because their right to worship does not include the priviledge of crowing over a victory that would, among civilized people be the cause of profound and abiding shame.