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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/11/flogging-global-outrage-saudi-arabia-silent
These are the words that warrent a public flogging, jail time, and a quarter of a mission dollar fine:
Blog post by Raif Badawi:
Coinciding with the painful terrorist September eleventh events,
which killed more than three thousand innocent people, the Muslims in
that stricken city are demanding to build an Islamic center containing a
mosque and community center in the same area where World Trade Center
collapsed over the heads of those who died that painful day.
What hurts me most as a citizen of the area which exported those
terrorists (without honor them, of course), is the audacity of Muslims
in New York that reaches the limits of insolence, not taking any regard
of the thousands of victims who perished on that fateful day or their
families.
What increases my pain is this (Islamist) chauvinist arrogance which
claims that the innocent blood, which was shed by barbarian, brutal
minds under the slogan ‘Allah Akbar’, means nothing when compared with
the act of building an Islamic mosque whose mission will be to re-spawn
new terrorists and demanding even that the mosque be constructed near
the same area. This is a blatant affront to the memory of American
Society in particular and humanity in general, none of whom accept in
any way that scene of mass murder.
The question that I ask myself first as a human being and also as a
citizen of that area which exported those terrorists is “what is this
haughtiness to humanity?” And “What is this racial discrimination with
regards to human blood?” Suppose that we put ourselves a little in the
place of American citizens. Would we accept that a Christian or Jew
assaults us in our own house and then build a church or synagogue in the
same area of the attack???? I doubt it.
We reject the building of churches in Saudi Arabia not having been
assaulted by anyone. Then what would you think if those who wanted to
build a church are the same people who stormed the sanctity of our land?
Was not what happened on Sept. 11 an assault on the sanctity of the
land and the homeland? Of what land and what country? It is America.
Furthermore, we have not asked ourselves how it is that America
allows Islamic missionaries on its territory, and how it is that we
reject under all circumstances the freedom to proselytize within our
Kingdom’s land. We can no longer hide our heads like an ostrich and say
that no one can see us or that no one cares. Whether we like it or not,
we, being a part of humanity, have the same duties that others have as
well as the same rights.
As others respect our differences with them, we should respect the
differences that others have with us and recall the great humanitarian
sense of Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz who called in his famous and
great initiative for “Interfaith Dialogue”. Let us all live under the
roof of the human civilization.
Therefore we are not surprised why the king’s “Interfaith Dialogue”
initiative found such acceptance by the whole world, even until King
Abdullah became an international model and example. It is only by using
our minds that we can keep pace the world that is evolving every day.
It requires courage to respect others’ views, to appreciate others’
beliefs and choices along with their right to believe them. Thus, we
feel that we fail with regards to all Islamic, faithful and humanitarian
principles when there is a group of us calling for the construction of a
mosque in the same area which, to understate it, has become a heavy
burden in the memory of Americans and all honest people around the
world.
The the United States respects the beliefs of others, their religious
freedoms and the various religions’ places of worship, whether they be
Abrahamic and even non-Abrahamic. That fact should inspire us to respect
and appreciate the feelings of the victims’ families and to say with
courage that a mosque should not be built at that particular site. The
territory of the free land of America is wide and accepts everyone, thus
they can build that mosque at a different site.
Finally, we should not hide that fact that Muslims in Saudi Arabia
not only disrespect the beliefs of others, but they also charge them
with infidelity to the extent that they consider anyone who is not
Muslim an infidel, and, within their own narrow definitions, they
consider the Non-Hanbali Muslims as apostates. So how can we be such
people and yet be able to build a human civilization and normal
relations with six billion humans, four and a half billion of whom do
not believe in Islam.
Written by: Raif Badawi
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