Letter To The Editor, August 23, 2010
Archbishop of New York Joins the Bigots
Catholics in the past suffered from
severe discrimination. They should
now be more sensitive to the currently rampant Islamophobia and
anti-Arabism. Instead Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York joins those
who want the Islamic center moved, thus uniting with those bigots who
would make all Muslims guilty of the crimes of 9/11.
The Archbishop should pause to remember that when Timothy McVeigh, an
Irish Catholic, bombed the Alfred P. Murral Building, in Oklahoma City on
April 19, 1990, killing 168 people, there was no popular move against
building Catholic institutions near the crime site. No one was ready to
blame all Catholics for what McVeigh did.
Rejecting and thus insulting those who would institute a peaceful Islamic
center gives proof of American hostility to Islam and to Arabs generally.
Al Quaeda and the Taliban must be grateful to all who stigmatize and
insult Muslims in this country. It makes their recruiting job so much
easier.
Daniel C. Maguire