Why Building the Mosque is Important

"Try to learn instead of burn, hear what I say." ~Jimi Hendrix

The "war on terror" has been compared to the Cold War, and while I think historical comparisons can obscure important nuances, the comparison makes sense in at least two ways. First, invading a country and imposing a government on it is going to be seen as imperialist, even if it's well-intentioned. And second, both wars are fundamentally wars of ideas.

Al-Qaeda's idea is obvious: Western liberal democracy is incompatible with Islam and must be fought. Looking at our history, our idea is also obvious: Islam and liberal democracy are compatible.

There are those who would cede the first point to al-Qaeda, who believe that our idea should be, 'Yes, democracy and Islam are incompatible, but it is Islam that must be fought.' But a war of ideas can not be won by force; it can only be won by persuasion. And the more we act like we are at war with Islam, the more Muslims will be at war with us.

A war on Islam is not a war that we can win, nor should it be a war that we want to fight. No, we win the war on terror by encouraging moderate Muslims to say and say it loudly, "Al-Qaeda, you are wrong. We do not need to fight democracy but to foster it. We reject your ideas, and you are not the true face of Islam." But if we continue to lump in our moderate friends with our extremist enemies, we undermine our allies and we lose the war.

The Troy Davis Saga

Nineteen years ago, Troy Davis was convicted of murdering an off-duty cop and sentenced to death. Last week, after Davis' latest appeal, a federal judge ruled that "the evidence presented by Davis' attorneys at a June hearing wasn't nearly strong enough to prove he's innocent." As reported before, the case is especially egregious because:

There was no physical evidence; the weapon was never recovered. The case rested entirely on eyewitness accounts. All but two of the witnesses have since recanted their testimony, some of whom say they were coerced by police. And one of the two witnesses who have not changed their story is the best alternate suspect.

Whether or not Troy Davis is innocent, there are at least serious doubts of his guilt. And the fact that the state of Georgia could be executing an innocent man is more than enough of a reason to severely restrict the application of the death penalty, if not abolish it altogether.