Dr. Maccoby participates in a Weekly Forum on Washington Post.com called "On Leadership". I am compiling all of his responses to the weekly questions here.
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DATE: August 24, 2010 NYC Mosque: Time to act? President Obama weighed in on the issue of the mosque at Ground Zero prompting grumbles that the gesture was unnecessary and politically damaging. Meanwhile the imam at the center of the controversy -- Feisal Abdul Rauf -- has been largely invisible, lecturing for the State Department in Bahrain and, according to his wife, unavailable until next month. What do leaders need to know about perfecting the timing of weighing in on a crisis? |
Rejecting the politics of fear
The attack on plans to build a Muslim community center is another attempt to frighten Americans. Lacking any creative policies for a nation recovering from an economic crisis, leaders who oppose the Obama administration have adopted a policy of fear to gain power. There were the supposed "death panels" as part of the attack on health-care legislation. There are the dire warnings that the president is a socialist and/or a secret Muslim. Whether it is about illegal immigrants, terrorism or the deficit, the message is "be afraid".
The controversy about a community center with prayer space near Ground Zero is a fake issue, an excuse to ratchet up fear. There is already a mosque nearby. And Faisal Abdul Rauf is a humanistic Muslim who preaches that the best of the Muslim tradition is consistent with America's values of liberty and justice for all. We should recognize that all religions have their extremists who preach hatred and leaders who preach brotherhood.
The crisis that cries out for leadership is not about the mosque in Manhattan. It is about confronting the fear that can paralyze this country or turn fear of the future into impotent anger. We need leaders who affirm the American tradition of religious freedom and celebrate the policies this government has taken to save our auto industry, regulate financial services, stimulate the economy and provide health-care to millions of Americans.
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