Right-wingers attack Obama’s defense of freedom of religion

Rageman As good a reaction as any

At the height of the irrational freak-out over the “Ground Zero Mosque”, President Obama gave a speech at the White House’s annual Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan where he openly supported Muslims’ legal and religious right to build an Islamic community center near the site where the Twin Towers once stood:

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. (Applause.) And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable.

Three (or four) guesses how that was received by the usual suspects on the Right.

From the characteristically moronic Pamela Geller:

Obama came out for the Islamic supremacist mosque at the hallowed ground of 911 attack. He has, in effect, sided with the Islamic jihadists and told the ummah (at an Iftar dinner on the third night of Ramadan, of course) that he believes in and supports a triumphal mosque on the cherished site of Islamic conquest.

If you had any doubt who Obama stood with on 911, there can be no doubt in our minds now.

So supporting peaceful Muslims’ right to build an Islamic cultural center is actually blessing a symbol of “Islamic supremacy” and “conquest” over the US and siding with the terrorists of 9/11.

What an unbelievably horrible thing to say, even from a detestable shrew like her.

From Frank Gaffney at Big Peace, another one of serial liar Andrew Breitbart’s outlets:

The most prominent American public figure to directly challenge such pap is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich who, in remarks before the American Enterprise Institute last month, declared, “Stealth jihadis use political, cultural, societal, religious, intellectual tools; violent jihadis use violence. But in fact they’re both engaged in jihad and they’re both seeking to impose the same end state which is to replace Western civilization with a radical imposition of shariah.”

In a brilliant appreciation of Mr. Gingrich’s address, Andrew McCarthy, an accomplished former federal prosecutor (he put away the ringleader of the first effort to destroy the World Trade Center, “the Blind Sheikh,” OmarAbdel-Rahman) and author of the superb New York Times bestseller, The Grand Jihad, wrote in National Review Online: “Henceforth, there should be no place to hide for any candidate, including any incumbent. The question will be: Where do you stand on shariah?”

For Barack Obama, the answer is now pretty clear: He stands with shariah.

So supporting peaceful Muslims’ right to build an Islamic cultural center is actually declaring his intention to impose barbaric Sharia law upon the US.

From the characteristically sensationalistic New York Post:

New York Post cover (08/14/10) [source: Media Matters]

And from the characteristically sleazy Drudge Report:

Main ‘Drudge Report’ headline (08/14/10) (Note: Arabic spoken greeting, roughly meaning “peace be upon you”) [source: Media Matters]

It’s a good thing rational people can differentiate between the conservative media and popular right-wing talking heads from those conservatives who do make sense, or else we would probably just label them all with a big red stamp reading “lying fucking assholes”.

(via Media Matters for America)

Tags: Barack Obama • conservatives • conservative media • Ground Zero Mosque • Cordoba House • Islam • Muslims • Pamela Geller • Frank Gaffney • Big Peace • New York Post • Drudge Report