Professor Marc Gopin is the Director at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) with the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. You can follow his work by visiting www.MarcGopin.com. He has focused a lot of his work around interfaith conflict resolution, which is why we asked to speak with him about the controversy over the proposed construction of the Cordoba Mosque in lower Manhattan. Right after we scheduled the interview, news broke that peace talks among Israel, Palestine, and the United States would resume in September. This is an issue that Professor Gopin has been deeply involved with for a very long time now, so we included that in our line of questioning.
Highlight clips with partial transcripts and the full 40-minute interview below the fold...
They better not build that mosque down by Ground Zero, we're being told, not just because it's insensitive, but because we have no idea what they'll be up to down there.
I mean, where did the money come from?
Who does this Imam hang out with, anyway?
And, at a time when our Nation faces more threats than ever, why would we let these Muslim madmen situate their "terror command posts" anywhere?
Well, I don't know about all of that...but I do know a place where lots of these Islamic terrorists go to obtain the equipment and supplies they need to support their particular craft, and I decided to make a bit of an undercover visit to the spot, so that I might "observe and report" on what goes on at this specific location.
So put on your dark glasses...and let's go see what we can find out.
So over the past several days here on this blog I have documented that within a three-block radius of the area called Ground Zero there are at least two strip clubs, plus a number of bars (one popular with lesbians). This morning through googling I found a lingerie and porn video shop about two blocks south of Ground Zero that a reviewer calls "grimy" and "sleazy." Those establishments have existed in close proximity to Ground Zero lo these many years, and no one seemed to care.
Here's a typical example of "sacred ground" narrative cited at Mahablog, from Jennifer Rubin, who writes for Commentary:
The left continues to feign confusion (it is hard to believe its pundits are really this muddled) as to the reasons why conservatives (and a majority of fellow citizens) oppose the Ground Zero mosque. No, it's not about "religious freedom" - we're talking about the location of the mosque on the ash-strewn site of 3,000 dead Americans.
Geeze, I know conservatives think public employees are worse then useless, but it's been nine years already. Look ma! No ash! Not even in the strip clubs!
The more you look at it, the more this ginned up rightwing outrage starts to look like the destruction of ACORN, the forced resignation of Van Jones and the character assisination of Shirley Sherrod. What they all have in common--in addition to their rightwing origins: They're all HOAXES!
There are at least five major aspects of the rightwing narrative about the Manhattan mosque that are patently false and misleading, all contributing to a completely false presentaiton of the factual situation:
(1) It's not a mosque, it's a cultural center, including a mosque as just one part of it.
(2) The people involved in establishing the mosque are not just opponents of terrorism, they are ideological enemies of the terrorists.
(3) The 9/11 victims, as well as first responders included Moslems.
(4) As indicated above, there has been no special attitude of "sacredness" applied to the area where the cultural center is being built. Other structures in the area include bars, strip clubs and betting parlors.
(5) Finally, there is no special opposition to the cultural center from 9/11 survivor families. The only pre-existing family organization to take a stand endorsed the center.
