I found a couple really interesting articles here and here about Islamophobia and 'Ground Zero Mosque' (nice moniker, btw, and untrue, but what if it were really a mosque? Do we or do we not have religious freedom here? And I also believe the politicians are really good at making this an issue so we'll ignore our tanking dollar, economy still in the toilet, hungry children, and trillion dollar wars that are killing innocents, bringing our troops home with PTSD, and putting us further in the deficit hole. Nah, much easier to focus on one Sufi Muslim building the Muslim equivalent of a YMCA in an abandoned building where his group has already been praying for at least a year. Yes, that makes so much sense.)

Frankly, I'm disturbed, upset, and yes, even a little angry about the terrible things that have been said and done to and about Muslims on behalf of America. I am sad that, as mentioned in second article, Muslims have to wonder if they belong in America. This should not be happening. "Yes, Saintly Nurse," you may say, "but wasn't it Muslims that flew those planes into the buildings?" Saintly Nurse responds, "No, it was not Muslims. It was twenty Muslims if you count the guy that didn't make his flight. It was not these Muslims and if we cannot separate American Muslims who have lived and worshiped in this country for years/decades/generations from Mohammed Atta, then we are a sad lot indeed."

I've been heartened by people who've stood with Muslims and against prejudice and hate. I'm heartened to see people of all stripes who've demonstrated that those who harbor hatred of 'the other' do not speak for us all. I don't believe anyone should have to question whether they belong just because they may not be white, may not speak English, or may not worship the way the majority worships. Are you kidding me? Does this not smack of the same prejudices practiced against the Japanese citizens of this country during WWII? If we do not stand up for hate whenever and however it manifests, then we do not live up to the standards set for us as a nation, nor to the standard to which the Christ calls us (if we are Christians).

A caveat - the first linked article is by Michael Moore, and I'm not generally a fan of his, but overall I like what he had to say here.