…because the usual suspects would be all over that!
From the Washington Times:
Americans also may be surprised to learn that the United States has been an active participant in mosque construction projects overseas. In April, U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso E. Lenhardt helped cut the ribbon at the 12th-century Kizimkazi Mosque, which was refurbished with assistance from the United States under a program to preserve culturally significant buildings. The U.S. government also helped save the Amr Ebn El Aas Mosque in Cairo, which dates back to 642. The mosque’s namesake was the Muslim conqueror of Christian Egypt, who built the structure on the site where he had pitched his tent before doing battle with the country’s Byzantine rulers. For those who think the Ground Zero Mosque is an example of “Muslim triumphalism” glorifying conquest, the Amr Ebn El Aas Mosque is an example of such a monument – and one paid for with U.S. taxpayer funds.
The mosques being rebuilt by the United States are used for religious worship, which raises important First Amendment questions. U.S. taxpayer money should not be used to preserve and promote Islam, even abroad. In July 2009, the Office of the Inspector General published an audit of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) faith-based and community initiatives that examined whether government funds were being used for religious activities. The auditors found that while USAID was funding some religious activities, officials were “uncertain of whether such uses of Agency funding violate Agency regulations or the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution” when balanced against foreign-policy objectives.
I guess that “wall of separation” only applies to Christians and Jews.
On the other hand, I suppose we should be grateful. The government is doing something productive with the money it is borrowing from China. Just not something productive for Americans.
I suppose this would be classified as a part of the effort to buy off the muzzies, but frankly it ticks me off thoroughly! “Our government” clearly thinks that once they get their hands on the money, it belongs to them, not to us any longer, rather than to serve the will of the American people. They have long since set themselves apart from America, and no longer see themselves as Americans. I no longer see them as Americans either, and I think it is time to deport the entire government.
Please.
What nation would accept them? They’re more interested in sending their criminals to us, not the other way around.
So glad my hard earned tax dollars are going to fund this garbage.
If only mosques were used specifically for “religious worship”. Traditionally, mosques were often built over the ruins of other churches, as the mosque of Cordoba and the mosque of Mecca. Indeed, mosques are frequently used as examples of “Muslim triumphalism” in addition to centers for proselytizing and, in some cases, organizing subversive activities and terrorist cells.
To equate mosques with Christian places of worship is a fallacy.