Freedom of religion is the very first guarantee in the Bill of Rights: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
How, then, can we possibly deny the right of Muslims to worship as they wish? This question has been bothering me for quite a while.
Here’s an interesting observation by Andy McCarthy (in his book, The Grand Jihad) that I hadn’t thought about:
… though Islam aspires to be much more than a religion (it is an all-encompassing legal, political and social system from which the spiritual elements are indivisible), it is given the label of “religion.” [link]
This raises an interesting—and not entirely hypothetical—question: Do the American people have the right to divest themselves of their first amendment rights?
You might want to ask the Canadian people, who enjoy these Fundamental freedoms in Part I, Section 2 of their Constitution:
Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:
(a) freedom of conscience and religion;
(b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication
Now talk to author Mark Steyn, who is currently being prosecuted—in Canada—for statements critical of Islam in his book, America Alone.
I got to thinking about this today when commandos from the Israeli Defense Force—the IDF—tried to stop some “peace activists” from delivering “relief supplies” to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Israelis were attacked with pipes and knives, and ended up killing nine of their attackers. (You may not have heard that this all happened after the ship refused an Israeli offer to escort the ship to port, inspect its cargo, and then allow it to proceed. They do this to prevent arms from being delivered into a highly volatile region.) I suppose it’s just a matter of time before the UN condemns the Israelis for having the nerve to defend themselves. And since Obama is the first citizen of the world he’ll have no choice but to, sadly, go along. (Dare I say, a fellow traveler?)
Anyway, back to the subject I never really left…
If Muslims themselves consider Islam to be more than a religion then it would seem apparent that we have the right (obligation!) to just say no! Isn’t it just a bit odd that Baptist pastors are threatened by the IRS if they endorse specific candidates, while Muslim Imams are free to preach a form of Sharia law that would condemn homosexuals and force women back into the 18th century? It’s painful for me to imagine an America where that itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini would have to covered by either a burqa or a barrage of stones.
