Suara Keadilan: ‘Unmosqueing’ Temecula’s raw racism mumbo-jumbo against Islam and the nonsense that permeates the minds of the bigots.

: The New Civil Rights struggle

Dan Bernstein has written a brilliant article published in the Press Enterprise. He correctly points out the silly and stupid arguments made by the racists and the bigots who opposed th mosque in Temecula. Mayor Jeff Comerchero worries about Temecula‘s image. Has the city been “unmosqued” as a snake pit of bigots?

Of course not. The Planning Commissioncertainly didn’t swallow the sewage certain mosque opponents spewed last week. TheCity Council will get its chance to ratify the commish’s approval of a new mosque next year.

But Comerchero’s right to be rattled and smart to talk about it because Temecula’s image may have gotten a little mussed up by nut-job citizens who testified:

Islam is not a religion. It’s “much like communism.”

“I would ask you to consider what this mosque will cause … for the Muslim that’s in the White House today.”

“We have only to see other countries who have allowed mosques in and how their way of life has not just been changed but is gone forever, and now they are submissive to Sharia law.”

(The Islamic Center of Temecula Valley was “allowed in” 12 years ago. Miraculously, the city has survived.)

“The arrogance of it all to build next to other churches that will eventually be taken over by the Muslims … They infiltrate, then overpopulate … They are not only our enemy, but pagans. Why would we want them in our own backyard?”

(Some in the audience cheered for that one.)

These are the same folks who’ll stand four square, by golly, behind the Constitution and the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion and freedom of speech — in that order.

If it’s any consolation to Comerchero, his is not the first RivCo city to achieve dubious notoriety. Back in 1998, Riverside basked in the national limelight (the Montel Williams Show!) when the school board considered naming its newest high school for Martin Luther King Jr.

Some argued the name should honor the city’s citrus heritage. But a whiff of racism penetrated the debate when some parents said, a) King wasn’t regarded as particularly “famous” in some parts of the country, and b) King High could be perceived as an all-black school, damaging students’ chances of getting admitted to out-of-state colleges. (No, I’m not making this up.)

This “concern” inspired me to call various admissions officials. A representative response:

“I thought I’d heard everything.” — Marlyn McGrath Lewis, director of admissions at Harvard University.

“Our process would never be that simplistic.” — Julie Peterson, U. of Michigan.

The Riverside school board ended up naming the place for King and I’d wager thousands of graduates have somehow been admitted to out-of-state institutions.

As Dr. King himself might have put it, Riverside overcame this sordid little episode. Temecula has a chance to do the same, especially if the council does what the planning commish did: allow the proposed mosque’s fate to turn on land use issues.

In time, and with luck, the city’s ignorant purveyors of fear, hatred and bigotry will crawl back into the woodwork from whence they came.

Reach Dan Bernstein at 951-368-9439 or dbernstein@PE.com

What is most egregious about the bigotry prevalent in some quarters, is the fact that they mixed up the mumbo-jumbo against Barack Obama and the nonsense that permeates the minds of the bigots.

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that there was evidence of some support for the group among certain elements in India's indigenous Muslim community. However, the risk of a "home-grown" extremist front, reacting to terror attacks coming from Pakistan or from Islamist groups in India, was a growing concern and one that demanded constant attention.

In an addendum while citing the young Indian leader, Roemer comments that he (Rahul Gandhi) "was referring to the tensions created by some of the more polarizing figures in the BJP such as Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi."

While comments from Congress Party leaders about internal threats from radicalized Hindu groups are not new, the fact that Gandhi expressed his views to U.S interlocutors is certain to spark a political firestorm in India in what is already a season of confrontation. The reported remarks add to the already controversial statements from Congress Party general secretary Digvijay Singhpointing to dangers from Hindu extremist groups.

The candid disclosures to Americans of such critical observations about internal security also comes at a time when Pakistan continues its defense of extremists in its society, articulated most recently by former military dictator Pervez Musharraf, who argued that the terrorist organization Jamaat ul-Dawa could not be touched because they had undertaken earthquake relief work.

The young Indian leader displays no such inhibitions in describing the dangers from majority communalism, in a wide-ranging conversation seated next to Roemer at the dinner. The U.S envoy reports that Gandhi "expressed concerns regarding the challenges surrounding the UPA coalition's ability to implement its programs, and speculated about radicalization among Hindus and Muslims."

In a conversation in which Roemer says Rahul Gandhi shared his views on a range of political topics, social challenges, and electoral issues for the Congress Party in the next five years, the U.S envoy cites the young Indian leader as saying the UPA government's "honeymoon period" had been short and he now expected the BJP and Left Parties would be unrelenting critics of the government's program.

"His focus in the upcoming months would be on state assembly elections in Maharashtra and party building efforts at the local level," Roemer reports, adding, "He was busy trying to recruit more appealing candidates to run for Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) positions nationwide."

Gandhi's focus, Roemer says, was on finding younger party members who would not carry some of the baggage of older Congress candidates. He aimed at rebuilding party structures in small towns and rural areas to attract voters and believed the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was vulnerable there. Roemer also records that he did not seem to be as focused on electoral efforts in bigger cities, such as Delhi and Mumbai.

published in the Press Enterprise. He correctly points out the silly and stupid arguments made by the racists and the bigots who opposed th mosque in Temecula. Mayor Jeff Comerchero worries about Temecula‘s image. Has the city been “unmosqued” as a snake pit of bigots?