The controversy over a prospective mosque and community center in lower Manhattan reached fever pitch late last month, starting when former vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin called on "Peaceful Muslims" to "pls refudiate" the project via her Twitter feed. She was soon joined by Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's call to prevent the building of any mosques near Ground Zero "so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia" -- thereby embracing Riyadh's medieval notions of religious freedom.
Bizarrely, the Anti-Defamation League embraced their cause last week, if not their arguments, putting out a statement "recommending that a different location be found for the Islamic Center" on the grounds that the project had become too controversial. (Peter Beinart discussed the ADL's strange turn in the Daily Beast on Monday.)
To continue reading Blake Hounshell's piece on ForeignPolicy.com, click here.
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