On the front page of today’s Morning Call was an article on the mosque to be located near Ground Zero in NYC. Below is a video statement and transcript of those remarks. My comments were misinterpreted slightly, and I absolutely do not speak for all Muslims – just myself – but the fact remains the reporter just wasn’t able to fit in my full thoughts on the matter, so the below is mainly to elaborate.
In New York, several blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center, an Islamic center and mosque is being considered. As a federal representative, it is my duty to defend the Constitution and the natural right to religious freedom as protected by the First Amendment. This freedom has its roots in how America was first settled by European religious outcasts. (Photo courtesy Rosino)
Therefore my stance is that if built on private property and approved by the local authorities, the citizens building the center are perfectly free to do so. I am sure the builders realize the impact of their actions, and the careful, sensitive path they will realistically need to tread if they choose to continue.
However, due to some minor misinterpretations of my position in the front page article in today’s Morning Call, I would like to elaborate:
9/11 remains a great scar on America’s soul. However, the fact remains that the threat of suicide terrorism is enhanced – NOT lessened – by the conventional armies stationed abroad in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Suicide terrorism is not caused by religious “fundamentalism.” Instead, suicide terrorist groups have a secular and strategic goal in mind – to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from territory that the terrorists consider to be their homeland. Period. Religion is NOT the root cause, and is mainly employed as a tool for recruitment and highlighting differences with the “invaders” from the native community. (I highly recommend reading Dr. Robert Pape’s “Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” as academia’s best scientific study of suicide terrorism, see the video below.)
Again, Islamic fundamentalism was not the root cause of 9/11 or even suicide terrorism in general. This myth is just as nonsensical as blaming the religion and morals I was raised under, Catholicism, as the root cause of IRA (Irish Republican Army) car bombings in Northern Ireland. Even if the mainstream media has permitted this prejudice to pervade the public consciousness, this logic is nonsense.
For instance, Hezbollah’s first (and highly successful from their point of view) suicide terrorism campaign resulted in 241 Marine fatalities. This led to the rapid and complete withdraw of US Marines and French military forces from Lebanon in 1983. However, only 8 of the 38 identified Hezbollah suicide terrorists practiced Islam. The others either practiced Christianity or were secular. (Source: Pape’s book)
Specifically, Osama Bin Laden and his ilk follow Salafism which is a perversion of Islam. Al-Qaeda perverts the concept of jihad into a “holy war” that rationalizes the murder of innocent civilians. It is my understanding that those of the Shia and Sunni Islamic faiths in the United States peacefully believe in “jihad” as literally a “struggle” to maintain faith and piety in a greater sense, and in the right to personal self-defense when attacked in a lesser sense.
Of course, while speaking of the murder of innocent civilians, Americans must refuse the role of naive bystanders. We must realize hundreds of thousands of innocents have been killed in Iraq, and tens of thousands in Afghanistan. A huge percentage of these violent deaths were caused by our military. We must realize that the deaths of 5,642 American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan in unconstitutional, preemptive wars of aggression IN NO WAY compensates for the deaths of those that died on 9/11. Only the capture and trial of those responsible for 9/11 can in some way compensate for this tragedy.
The only effective and proper solution to defeat suicide terrorists is to capture the current generation and prevent the next generation from being created from collateral damage and blowback. Capture of the current generation will best be attained by small special ops forces acting under constitutional letters of marque and reprisal as explained here. Raising the reward for the capture of 9/11 criminals is also necessary, but also note that the American military believes there is less than 100 Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.
American soldiers are dying NOW in far-flung deserts and mountains EVERY DAY. These brave men and women have written a check for up to and including their lives to defend their country. These checks are being cashed out into coffins in what I believe to be a negligent and fruitless manner.
If we aspire to be a just nation ruled by laws we must resolve to never ask our military men and women to engage in unconstitutional warfare and nation-building missions.
I do not wish to see the day when not only essential civil liberties are revoked by the PATRIOT Act – as they are today, not only when more than 1 in 8 Americans are living on food stamps – as they are today, and not only when employment is crushed by the economic suppression of the federal government – as it is today, but religious freedom is also lost.
I saw firsthand the evils the lack of liberty brings when I lived abroad in communist China, and I’ll be damned if I do nothing to stop these very same evils in my home country.
We must stop the endless debt and the endless wars. Yours in liberty,
Jake Towne
Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito. “Never give in to evil but proceed ever more boldly against it.”
The campaign’s stances on Veterans, the Iraq War, and the Afghanistan War in detail can be accessed from this page.
A video of Dr. Robert Pape talking about his research on the logic of suicide terrorism.
I think more facts are needed. How many religious buildings reside in the general area, break it down by religion. How many Islam Mosques already exist in the general area.
Have you researched Sharia? Sharia seems to be the capitalistic equivalent of multi level marketing, however, those that don’t join are instead vanquished.
Video and article link posted on Daily Paul:
http://www.dailypaul.com/node/142545
Thanks Jake!
Dear Alessandro -
These (# of religious buildings) can be left to the locals. DC already meddles enough in our daily lives, but I commented on this more or less to place the attention back on the wars and how to really stop suicide terrorism.
America once was, and I hope will become again, a constitutional republic of laws with democratic and special elections. It is easy to see why separation of church and state remains so important.
For immediate release
“As a federal representative, it is my duty to defend the Constitution and the natural right to religious freedom as protected by the First Amendment. This freedom has its roots in how America was first settled by European religious outcasts.
“Therefore my stance is that if built on private property and approved by the local authorities, the citizens building the center are perfectly free to do so. I am sure the builders realize the impact of their actions, and the careful, sensitive path they will realistically need to tread if they choose to continue.”
Towne pointed out that suicide terrorism is not caused by religious “fundamentalism.” Instead, suicide terrorist groups have a secular and strategic goal in mind – to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from territory that the terrorists consider to be their homeland. His solutions are included in the rest of his statement located here:
http://towneforcongress.com/individual-rights/ground-zero-mosque/
Towne is a chemical engineer who worked in the semiconductor industry and resigned his job to abroad in Asia to return home and run for office as an independent private citizen. Towne has promised to accept only the median household income and not enlist in the congressional health care or pension plans. The remainder of the $174,000 salary will be donated to local non-profit hospitals. He also champions sound money and a novel-yet-simple form of accountable and transparent government, “Our Open Office.”
August 17, 2010
Al-Qaeda Operative Says Ground Zero Mosque “Terrible” Location for Recruitment
http://wp.me/pIP1s-5w
Sorry, Jake but I have to disagree with you on this one. I do not see any random attacks happening against Muslims anywhere in the U.S. because you know that would be front page news if there were. Sure there is the right to build the mosque in that location, but what about the compassion for the 9/11 victims. It is amazing how many Americans have forgotten how they felt on that day. I know that there are the families of 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attacks that have not. The mosque being built at Ground Zero would be a slap in the face to those families.
Dear L –
Thanks for writing, and I definitely respect your opinion and compassion for the victims of 9/11. Please note that members of the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths all died on this day, here is the sad tribute I posted last year.
http://towneforcongress.com/economy/911-remembered/
Also remember the “Ground Zero” mosque is not actually at Ground Zero – 200 meters is a lot of real estate in Manhattan. This website appears to have done a little more research than most.
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/top_story/20100818_Behind_emotional__exploited_firestorm__the_facts.html
While I may question the wisdom of such a decision personally myself, as a federal representative I will defend the Constitution, and leaving this to the local authorities is the only proper recourse, esp. granted the information I have tried to share about Salafism vs Islam above.
The builders have a right to build what they wish on private property…. and anyone has the right to protest it on public sidewalks.
Jake, as I understand it, the site of the proposed mosque is on municipal land, and is also subsidized with various grants and development funding from Governor Paterson. Does that change your stance on the issue?
Dear Maria -
Feel free to send me the links. I did add qualifiers about private property and approval by the local authorities for with good reason.
Even if the group wanted to put in a corn field in the middle of Manhattan, I would say much the same.
Nice little establishment smokescreen for November as the top three issues that will impact American lives the most are the debt, the debt, and the debt.
You were quoted as saying,
“You talk to any Muslim family in the Lehigh Valley and they live under the fear of constant attack,”
Really?? How many have you actually talked to and exactly who do they fear is going to attack them and for what?
Your statement is absolute rubbish.
Dear Pete -
Like I alluded to at the start of this post, I was misquoted/misinterpreted slightly by the newspaper. “Any” should have been “some”, and fear of constant attack is not necessarily physical attack.
Please refer to the statement above for my stance on this issue, and thanks for writing!!
Jake
Thanks Jake – Great Article!
Also, THANK YOU for saying this:
“Nice little establishment smokescreen for November as the top three issues that will impact American lives the most are the debt, the debt, and the debt.”
Whenever I hear people talk about the whole Mosque close to ground zero thing(which has been lingering in the media waaaaaaayyyyy to long), I can’t even really comment. I don’t even care enough about it to listen much or research the actual facts of the situation. What the MSM is doing with this story is would be the equivalent of ESPN giving extensive coverage of a tee ball game when the World Series is going on. Thanks for bringin it back to something relevant.
There has been a lot of anger over this issue which I don’t understand why. This is an issue that New Yorkers and the local law can figure out.
Jake, I appreciate your defense of private property/religion/and local control, but I guess I don’t think its that big of a deal at least not where I am from anyway.
I agree with jonnymuffin and Tim: way too much energy is going into this non-issue. Jake makes a good stance based on private vs. public property, and that’s that.
Jake – I think the world of you – but you are wrong. Islam is a doctrine of conquest. The word “Islam” itself means “submission”. The values inherent – built into the structure if Islam ITSELF are the polar opposite of the values you assert. The beleives of the West – the fallen, degraded place once known as Christendom, are completely irrevocably incompatible with the values of Islam.
To those of you writing “This is in New York” etc – New York is only 80 miles away! You are mind-bogglingly niave, and astonishingly ingorant of history. You should be defending your culture, and your nation.
I have no problems with Muslims, as indivivual people – but Islam has NO place what-so-ever, in the West. Mulsims need to LEAVE. And we need to leave their lands alone. your “tolerance” is nothing more than suicidally self-indulgent vanity. Hubris, at it’s very, very worst.
Nemesis always follows Hubris. Always. Do you know what this means? Yo’d better learn fast.
P.S. – there are NO indiviual rights in Islam. It’s all about who is willing to shoot their way to the top.
@Ciaran – I may have missed your point in the disjointed xenophobia you’re pushing as wisdom and a worldly, learned view. “Astonishingly ignorant of history” and “mind-bogglingly naive,” indeed. Good grief. Hopefully my useless post to the discussion cancels out yours.
While we have religious freedom, it has to be within our laws. Utah was not allowed to enter the Union unless they stopped polygamy,even now they are arrested for this act. Yet, we don’t place any restrictions on this polygamous religion called Islam.We allow them to build Mosques without defining their religious marital guidelines.How convenient,perhaps the next step is legalizing polygamy? We state that this country will oversee that this Mega Mosque and we will not allow it to be a recruiting station for the fanatics,but the FBI continually allows Saudi Arabian supplied books to be given to the Muslim American schools.They state that it is the right of every Muslim to convert the Christian or the Jew, if not you have the right to kill these pigs.I believe Mr. Towne you have taken a long snooze when it comes to current events and facts.Even in secular Muslim countries like Turkey or Egypt, a Christian has to learn Islam or they will not graduate.New Churches can not be built and need permission to repair themselves.In England,Sharia Law is legally practiced among the Muslims,now they want to exercise Sharia Law throughout all of England.Perhaps it is because a Christian convert from Islam was going to be deported for execution, but requested that the English gov’t stop that order because he is no longer a Muslim.Under Sharia, conversion is punishable by death.We will never learn from history until it is too late,while the Muslims grow in numbers like in England and become a real threat.
Dear Ann -
Thanks for your comment. I favor a constitutional republic and believe from what I have seen that many aspects of sharia are unjust and opposed to individual rights, such as gender and religion biases. That said, other countries are free to do as they wish, we as Americans instead need to act here in the USA to restore the rule of law. A good place to start is the CIA assassination programs and PATRIOT Act violations of civil liberties.
Therefore I do not support sharia, but as a US taxpayer, I am forced into supporting during our nation-building adventures overseas. Take a close read of both the Iraqi and Afghanistan constitutions, which were written with heavy US gov’t oversight. Based on your comment, I think we can at least agree on this point.