The Periscope Post

The Washington Post “A vote for religious freedom”

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has voted unanimously to deny historic status to a nineteenth-century building near Ground Zero, thus paving the way for a Muslim community centre to be built. The Washington Post called this “a victory for cooler heads”. The $100 million Cordoba House will include art spaces, retail, a swimming pool and, yes, a mosque.  “Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion?” asked New York’s Mayor Bloomberg. “That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here.” The paper heartily agreed.

The New York Times “A monument to tolerance”

The New York Times was disturbed by the “vitriol and outright bigotry” surrounding the building of a mosque and Islamic centre near Ground Zero. Nor was it “surprised” by the opposition to it from “Republican ideologues” such as Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin – though the complicity of the anti-Defamation League was unexpectedly disappointing. Thankfully, Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Landmarks Commission have not seen it the same way. “The attacks of Sept. 11 were not a religious event,” the paper reminded its readers. “They were mass murder.”

The Boston Globe “Hysteria over Islamic center plays into extremists’ hands”

“Islam is peace. These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war,’’ said The Boston Globe. The paper was quoting then-President George W. Bush, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Unfortunately, not all contemporary politicians seem to see it the same way, lamented the paper, judging by the outcry against the mosque to be built near Ground Zero. Such “hysteria” plays into the hands of Islamic extremists; and extremism has nothing to do with “the true beliefs of Islam”.

The Miami Herald “Cuba’s quick fix”

Raúl Castro will be allowing more private enterprise in Cuba by relaxing prohibitions on business licenses. But The Miami Herald was not fooled by the move, seeing it as a way of squeezing workers “by charging income and sales taxes on previously under-the-table transactions working Cubans rely on”. Nor will this save a “woefully mismanaged central economy that does not have enough currency for food,” said the paper. “Castro stepped into his brother’s shoes exactly four years ago amid high hopes that he would make bold changes.” He hasn’t. Meanwhile, Fidel keeps “popping up everywhere” to let “his little brother know that brash moves do not go unnoticed”.