If you didn’t read it over the weekend, Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman
published a smart and probing set of answers
to a question that’s been lost in the “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy: Hey, didn’t the Republican Party used to reach out to Muslims? Read it all, and note how Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), who I believe has a TV camera and satellite link in his utility belt for easy access, explains why no Republicans pay as much lip service to Islam as George W. Bush used to.
“George Bush made every attempt to reach out,” said Rep. Pete King, aleading critic of the mosque project. “The Muslim community did notreciprocate, did not respond. After Sept. 11, some of them becameentrenched and really didn’t know how to cope.
“Somehow the leadership in the community does not impel them forward tobe more part of the community. That’s my reading of it,” said King, whoalso noted that sensitivities involving the site are far deeper, andmore real, than many are willing to recognize beyond the boundaries ofNew York.
That’s pretty hard to judge, obviously – how exactly have Muslims become “entrenched”? How have they responded to the steady, constant flow of criticism from conservative opinion-makers like Daniel Pipes and Frank Gaffney and Andy McCarthy, who have all derided the concept of “moderate Islam” and argued that links exist between “moderate” Muslim groups and terrorist or extremist groups? Among conservatives, CAIR – which the media considers a moderate group – is seen as a terrorist apologist group. Also, how has this happened over nine years when there have been no terrorist attacks on America? The answer to that, I think, is that the test of “moderation” from Muslim groups has been what they say on issues of importance to Israel.
