Video: More Revelations About Rauf

"We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than al Qaida has on its hands of innocent non Muslims.You may remember that the US-led sanctions against Iraq led to the death of over half a million Iraqi children. This has been documented by the United Nations. And when Madeleine Albright, who has become a friend of mine over the last couple of years, when she was Secretary of State and was asked whether this was worth it, said it was worth it."
Imam Rauf

From Atlas Shrugs.
At some point the questions she raises have to be addressed.




We can expect that there will be those who will stand up and explain what Rauf said--what he meant, what he felt and what he really thinks. These proponents of the mosque will go all out to defend what Rauf said, even as they reduce the argument against the mosque to racism and the refusal to recognize first amendment rights.

At some point, the collection of Rauf quotes--whom he condemns and whom he refuses to--will either lead to a more open debate on the real issues, or the yelling and bad feelings being engendered are only going to get worse.

Rusty Shackleford writes:

Once again, this is not evidence that Rauf is an extremist wolf in moderate sheep's clothing. For Muslims, the idea that US foreign policy is hostile to Muslims and that Americans don't care about the deaths of innocents is widely held. By definition, this makes Rauf's opinion mainstream in most majority Muslim countries. On other issues, Rauf would be considered quite liberal in the Muslim community. But to equivocate between the intentional killing of civilians by al Qaeda and the unintended killing of civilians by the US is worse than wrong -- it is evil. Yes, we kill civilians sometimes. That is truly one of the many sad realities of warfare. When al Qaeda kills civilians they not only do it intentionally, but they also celebrate it. No one in the West praises the Predator drone operator who accidentally blows up a wedding party. We think of such acts as the regrettable but inevitable outcome of war. But in many parts of the Muslim world 'The Magnificient 19' -- the men who carried out the 9/11 attacks -- are praised as heroes and martyrs. (Hat tip: Jim Geraghty)

Some will say that this is the whole reason for the Ground Zero Mosque to begin with: dialog and creating understanding.

If so, then the first step is surely to show understanding by moving the mosque.

Technorati Tag: Ground Zero Mosque and Imam Rauf.