Jonah Goldberg posted a defensive bit today at The Corner, proclaiming, "Here's Some Religious Intolerance for You." He then pastes in the sad story of an Ahmadiyya Muslim who was killed in Pakistan because of his religion.
That does sound like religious intolerance. You got me, Goldberg! But what is it in response to? There was no context for the post -- the only national debate I can think of right now about freedom vs. intolerance vis-à-vis religion has to do with the Islamic cultural center slated for construction two blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood.
Another post from his colleague, Andy McCarthy, indicates that, yes, that's probably the debate inspiring Goldberg's protest-too-much tone:
It would be interesting to ask imam Feisal Rauf [the imam who wants to build the center] whether he really thinks Muslims commit atrocities against the Ahmadis, just as Sunnis and Shiites often slaughter each other, because of American foreign policy, which allegedly humiliates them and makes them 'feel the need to conflagrate.'
Is there, instead, just a teeny-weenie chance that they do it because mainstream Islamic doctrine, endorsed by influential clerics like Yusuf Qaradawi (much admired by Rauf for his mastery of sharia), teaches that departures from core Islamic beliefs constitute apostasy, and that the punishment for apostasy is death?
The implicit charge here is that this is real intolerance, and the type that would disallow a perfectly legal Islamic center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero isn't intolerance in comparison. The two seem to be instituting a pretty high bar, saying that, because we don't kill people simply for their religion, we can't be accused of religious intolerance.
But in fact, Muslims are attacked and nearly killed for their religion in the United States: Michael Enright, 21, was charged with felony attempted murder as a hate crime after allegedly stabbing a New York City cab driver, Ahmed Sharif, because he was Muslim.
According to the Taxi Workers Alliance, Enright was friendly when he first got into the cab, asking Sharif where he was from, how long had he been in America and whether he was Muslim.
Police confirmed that Enright inquired about Sharif's religion.
After his initial flurry of questions, Enright grew silent for several minutes before suddenly attacking the unsuspecting Sharif in Murray Hill, according to the union.
So, there's some religious intolerance for you.
-- Monica Potts
