News and Notes
By George Kane
Two stories of religious strife between Christians and Muslims in America played out in September. First came manufactured Christian outrage over the approval by New York City planners of a Muslim culture center down a side street two blocks from Ground Zero. Presidential hopefuls Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich demanded that the “Ground Zero Mosque” be stopped, as it was an insult to the people who died on September 11, 2001, and a triumphal celebration of Muslim conquest. When President Obama pointed out that New York City Muslims have a right to build a mosque on property they own, opponents of the project were dismissive. “Of course they have the right to build the mosque,” lectured Jay Sekulow, Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice. “That’s not the point.”
Two stories of religious strife between Christians and Muslims in America played out in September. First came manufactured Christian outrage over the approval by New York City planners of a Muslim culture center down a side street two blocks from Ground Zero. Presidential hopefuls Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich demanded that the “Ground Zero Mosque” be stopped, as it was an insult to the people who died on September 11, 2001, and a triumphal celebration of Muslim conquest. When President Obama pointed out that New York City Muslims have a right to build a mosque on property they own, opponents of the project were dismissive. “Of course they have the right to build the mosque,” lectured Jay Sekulow, Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice. “That’s not the point.”
The Red River Freethinkers held an enthusiastic conference in Fargo on September 18. The conference, called “Project 42”, attracted an overflow crowd at the downtown Hotel Radisson. The name was taken from the novel The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, where 42 was the ultimate answer to everything. Attendees came from six states and two Canadian provinces.