Our "Moderate Muslim" Problem

The New York Times, Oct. 19, 2001: "Imam Anwar Al-Awalaki, spiritual leader at the Dar al-Hijra mosque inn Virginia, one of the nation's largest...Is held up as a new generation of Muslim leader capable of merging East and West."
NBC's nightly news with Brian Williams, Dec 9, 2004: "It's the TV industry's newest experiment, Bridges TV," billing itself  the "American Muslim Lifestyle network." It's the brainchild of Aasiya Hassan, an architect, and her husband, Muzzamil Hassan, a banker, who are disturbed that negative images of Muslims seem to dominate TV,especially since 9/11.

The Boston Globe editorial, August 4, 2010: "The simple fact is there is nothing threatening about the proposed Islamic center, which is being spearheaded by Feisal Abdul Rauf, one of the most respected moderate Muslim leaders in the country."
        See where this is going?

Most readers probably know of Awalaki as the U.S. born Iman who presided over the mosque attended by two of the 9/11 hijackers, Awiaki also served as theological mentor to Fort Hood killer Nidal Malik Hasan, would be Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad.
President Obama has authorized to assinate Awlaki, now thought to be living in Yeman.

As for Bridges TV, the saccharine story told by Brian Williams and reporter Ron Allen (complete with scenes of the family's domestic bliss in their modest home in Buffalo, N.Y.) came to an abrupt end in February 2009, when Mr. Hasan beheaded his wife after she filed for divorce, evicted him from her home, and won an order of protection.

Now, we have the controversy over the Ground Zero mosque, opponents of which are being wildely braanded as bigots. The argument here is that Mr. Rauf really is a moderate, unlike Awlaki. That might well be so_by the the standards of his native Kuwait. But, a man who claims to condem all forms of terrorism yet refuses to call Hamas a terrorist group is not a moderate by American standards.
"Moderate Muslims denounce terror that's commited in the name of Islam, but, they deny that religion has any thing to do with it." By contrast, reform-minded Muslims denounce terror that is committed in the name of Islam  and acknowdledge that religion is used to inspire it.

When it comes to heralding the arrival of long awaited moderates, there's nothing more embarrassing than a case of pre-mature congratulation.

It's difficult to even concieve that New Yorkers will allow this to happen.  I'll bet on N.Y.