Robert G. Duffett rapidcityjournal.com | Posted: Saturday, September 11, 2010 6:00 am
What should the city of New York do? And, does it matter to South Dakotans?
At issue is the possible building of an Islamic mosque only two blocks from Ground Zero, the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center disaster.
All 19 who commandeered four airplanes, turning them into missiles of murder, were both citizens of Saudi Arabia and Muslims.
The proposed mosque, a gathering place of the same faith as those 19 terrorists, conjures rage, grief and pain among loved ones of the deceased.
On what basis should the decision be made to either allow or refuse the building of this mosque? We should look to the wisdom of the past to provide insight.
It may be surprising to some that terrorism and the dark side of religion were major problems at the founding of our country. Our Founding Fathers took direct aim at the dark side of religion through the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both dealt with terrorism during their presidencies.
The second clause of the Marine Hymn, "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli," celebrates Jefferson's military response to the terrorism of the Barbary pirates of North Africa. Rather than paying ransom for hijacking American ships, looting its cargo and enslaving crews, Jefferson bombed and invaded Tripoli. Historian Joseph Wheelan says this was America's first war against terrorism.
Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war in 1812 rather than submit to the depredations of the hated British. Why? British ships, like the Barbary pirates less than a decade before, obstructed maritime trade, plundered American ships and kidnapped American sailors.
Earlier in their political careers, Jefferson and Madison devised away to deal with the dark side of religion. They noted from their study of European history that the mixture of the Christian church with government corrupted both church and state.
Madison said it best in an 1822 letter to Edward Livingston, when he wrote, "Religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed."
Jefferson wrote in his famous letter to Baptist supporters of Danbury, Connecticut, affirming his commitment to the "...high wall of separation between church and state" enshrined in our Constitution.
The first amendment to our Constitution sets out this vision: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free expression thereof." This amendment asserts government will stay out of religious affairs. And, all religious groups and adherents of no religion are welcome in America.
Jefferson and Madison's path- breaking affirmation of religious freedom in the 1700's is not a relic of the past. It is germane to the New York mosque controversy.
I am confident that if Jefferson and Madison were with us today they would say, "Let the mosque be built." In so doing, America again sends a profound statement to the world on faith and freedom. When followers of radical Islam execute health care workers treating their own citizens and threaten to stone a woman caught in adultery, but not her male partner, America champions a different religious and political vision.
By reaffirming our enduring value of religious freedom to all, we yet again display to the world that America is still the home of the brave and religiously free.
This article is written by Robert G. Duffett, president of Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell.
What should the city of New York do? And, does it matter to South Dakotans?
At issue is the possible building of an Islamic mosque only two blocks from Ground Zero, the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center disaster.
All 19 who commandeered four airplanes, turning them into missiles of murder, were both citizens of Saudi Arabia and Muslims.
The proposed mosque, a gathering place of the same faith as those 19 terrorists, conjures rage, grief and pain among loved ones of the deceased.
On what basis should the decision be made to either allow or refuse the building of this mosque? We should look to the wisdom of the past to provide insight.
It may be surprising to some that terrorism and the dark side of religion were major problems at the founding of our country. Our Founding Fathers took direct aim at the dark side of religion through the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both dealt with terrorism during their presidencies.
The second clause of the Marine Hymn, "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli," celebrates Jefferson's military response to the terrorism of the Barbary pirates of North Africa. Rather than paying ransom for hijacking American ships, looting its cargo and enslaving crews, Jefferson bombed and invaded Tripoli. Historian Joseph Wheelan says this was America's first war against terrorism.
Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war in 1812 rather than submit to the depredations of the hated British. Why? British ships, like the Barbary pirates less than a decade before, obstructed maritime trade, plundered American ships and kidnapped American sailors.
Earlier in their political careers, Jefferson and Madison devised away to deal with the dark side of religion. They noted from their study of European history that the mixture of the Christian church with government corrupted both church and state.
Madison said it best in an 1822 letter to Edward Livingston, when he wrote, "Religion and government will both exist in greater purity the less they are mixed."
Jefferson wrote in his famous letter to Baptist supporters of Danbury, Connecticut, affirming his commitment to the "...high wall of separation between church and state" enshrined in our Constitution.
The first amendment to our Constitution sets out this vision: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free expression thereof." This amendment asserts government will stay out of religious affairs. And, all religious groups and adherents of no religion are welcome in America.
Jefferson and Madison's path- breaking affirmation of religious freedom in the 1700's is not a relic of the past. It is germane to the New York mosque controversy.
I am confident that if Jefferson and Madison were with us today they would say, "Let the mosque be built." In so doing, America again sends a profound statement to the world on faith and freedom. When followers of radical Islam execute health care workers treating their own citizens and threaten to stone a woman caught in adultery, but not her male partner, America champions a different religious and political vision.
By reaffirming our enduring value of religious freedom to all, we yet again display to the world that America is still the home of the brave and religiously free.
This article is written by Robert G. Duffett, president of Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell.
