Have we learnt nothing ?
beN | 26.09.2005 12:49
The International Freedom Center Content and Governance Report was released last week, fleshing out plans for the IFC's cultural facilities at Ground Zero. Not surprisingly, the controversy is only getting worse. For instance, before Ground Zero visitors experience the "tragedy of September 11" (as if it wasn't an atrocity), they will be forced to walk through an exhibit about the world's perspective of 9/11 -- presumably minus the perspective of the Palestinians who danced in the street. And in addition to MLK, the Greatest Generation and Soviet gulags, there will be exhibits about the South African Constitution and Gandhi, too, all tied to 9/11 yet not distracting from that hallowed ground.
Yeah, right. I became distracted just reading about it. The IFC report is full of reasons why the IFC should not be built at the World Trade Center site but one contradiction stands out above the rest.
The IFC has repeatedly claimed that the center's purpose is to present mankind's "ongoing struggle for freedom," yet nowhere in the report nor in past statements can I find anything about the ongoing struggle against Islamism, the fundamentalist, anti-freedom ideology that motivated the Taliban to oppress Afghanis and harbor al Qaeda murderers, that motivates Saudi Arabia to deny women the right to vote, that motivates Iranian mullahs to hang homosexuals and sponsor terrorists, that motivates Palestinian suicide bombers to slaughter Jews, that fuels a global jihad, and -- most relevant to Ground Zero -- it's the ideology that motivated the 9/11 terrorists. Here's as close as the report gets:
While the motives behind the September 11 attacks were complex and criminal, by responding with an institution dedicated to freedom, we will create a fitting legacy for generations to come.
"Complex and criminal"? As somebody pointed out to me, that describes a bank heist not an ideological movement that has declared war on us, killed thousands and forced us into a global military conflict.
If the IFC can't even get that right, if they can propose to be critical of Communism and Nazism yet never utter a word about the evil of radical Islam, how can they be trusted to honour those who were murdered on 9/11? In short, they can't.
Yeah, right. I became distracted just reading about it. The IFC report is full of reasons why the IFC should not be built at the World Trade Center site but one contradiction stands out above the rest.
The IFC has repeatedly claimed that the center's purpose is to present mankind's "ongoing struggle for freedom," yet nowhere in the report nor in past statements can I find anything about the ongoing struggle against Islamism, the fundamentalist, anti-freedom ideology that motivated the Taliban to oppress Afghanis and harbor al Qaeda murderers, that motivates Saudi Arabia to deny women the right to vote, that motivates Iranian mullahs to hang homosexuals and sponsor terrorists, that motivates Palestinian suicide bombers to slaughter Jews, that fuels a global jihad, and -- most relevant to Ground Zero -- it's the ideology that motivated the 9/11 terrorists. Here's as close as the report gets:
While the motives behind the September 11 attacks were complex and criminal, by responding with an institution dedicated to freedom, we will create a fitting legacy for generations to come.
"Complex and criminal"? As somebody pointed out to me, that describes a bank heist not an ideological movement that has declared war on us, killed thousands and forced us into a global military conflict.
If the IFC can't even get that right, if they can propose to be critical of Communism and Nazism yet never utter a word about the evil of radical Islam, how can they be trusted to honour those who were murdered on 9/11? In short, they can't.
beN
