Der Mann, der jetzt in der Debatte um die Ground-Zero-Moschee zum Hassprediger gestempelt wird, Imam Rauf, hat seinerzeit beim Gedenkgottesdienst für Daniel Pearl gesprochen. Man kann den vollen Text seiner Ansprache auf der Website des Tempels B’nai Jeshurun finden. Wer diesen Text liest, dem wird die Haltlosigkeit und Infamie dieser ganzen Kampagne aufgehen.
Ein Mann, der an der Totenfeier des prominentesten Opfers von Al-Kaida teilnimmt, und der dort als Muslim folgendes sagt, ist mutiger und glaubwürdiger als viele derjenigen, die sich heute künstlich empören über die angebliche „Provokation“ durch das Gemeindezentrum, das dieser Imam leiten soll:
„We are here to assert the Islamic conviction of the moral equivalency of our Abrahamic faiths. If to be a Jew means to say with all one’s heart, mind and soul Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu Adonai Ahad; hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the is One, not only today I am a Jew, I have always been one, Mr. Pearl.
If to be a Christian is to love the Lord our God with all of my heart, mind and soul, to love for my fellow human being what I love for myself, then not only am I a Christian, but I have always been one Mr. Pearl.
And I am here to inform you, with the full authority of the Quranic texts and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad, that to say La ilaha illallah Muhammadun rasulullah is no different. It expresses the same theological and ethical principles and values.
We are here especially to seek your forgiveness and of your family for what has been done in the name of Islam.“
Damit es auch niemand überliest: „Wir sind hier, um Ihre Vergebung zu ersuchen für das, was im Namen des Islam getan worden ist.“ (Ganzer Text hier.)
Das hat dieser Imam im Angesicht der Hinterbliebenen von Daniel Pearl gesagt! Und denselben Mann macht man nun zum Opfer einer wochenlangen Hetzkampagne.
Dis-gus-ting.
Jeffrey Goldberg vom „Atlantic“ kämpft seit Wochen gegen die Rufmordkampagne an, mit der der Imam Rauf von der Cordoba Initiative überzogen wird.
Übrigens derselbe Goldberg, der den Irakkrieg befürwortet hat, der heute für eine harte Linie gegen Iran eintritt und immer wieder die derzeitige israelische Regierung verteidigt. (Das nur, um mal die ideologischen Fronten hier ein bisschen zu verwirren.)
Goldberg kennt den Mann nämlich, im Unterschied zu den meisten Teilnehmern der Debatte. Er hat erlebt, wie Imam Rauf beim Gedenkgottesdienst für den von Al Kaida ermordeten Daniel Pearl gesagt hat: „Ich bin ein Jude.“
Ich zitiere nachfolgend zwei Posts von Goldberg:
„If he could, Bin Laden would bomb the Cordoba Initiative. This seems like such an obvious point, but it is apparently not obvious to the many people who oppose the Cordoba Initiative’s planned mosque in lower Manhattan, so let me state it as clearly as possible: The Cordoba Initiative, which is headed by an imam named Feisal Abdul Rauf, is an enemy of al Qaeda, no less than Rudolph Giuliani and the Anti-Defamation League are enemies of al Qaeda. Bin Laden would sooner dispatch a truck bomb to destroy the Cordoba Initiative’s proposed community center than he would attack the ADL, for the simple reason that Osama’s most dire enemies are Muslims. This is quantitatively true, of course — al Qaeda and its ideological affiliates have murdered thousands of Muslims — but it is ideologically true as well: al Qaeda’s goal is the purification of Islam (that is to say, its extreme understanding of Islam) and apostates pose more of a threat to Bin Laden’s understanding of Islam than do infidels.
I know Feisal Abdul Rauf; I’ve spoken with him at a public discussion at the 96th street mosque in New York about interfaith cooperation. He represents what Bin Laden fears most: a Muslim who believes that it is possible to remain true to the values of Islam and, at the same time, to be a loyal citizen of a Western, non-Muslim country. Bin Laden wants a clash of civilizations; the opponents of the mosque project are giving him what he wants.“
„In 2003, Imam Rauf was invited to speak at a memorial service for Daniel Pearl, the journalist murdered by Islamist terrorists in Pakistan. The service was held at B’nai Jeshurun, a prominent synagogue in Manhattan, and in the audience was Judea Pearl, Daniel Pearl’s father. In his remarks, Rauf identified absolutely with Pearl, and identified himself absolutely with the ethical tradition of Judaism. „I am a Jew,“ he said.
There are those who would argue that these represent mere words, chosen carefully to appease a postentially suspicious audience. I would argue something different: That any Muslim imam who stands before a Jewish congregation and says, „I am a Jew,“ is placing his life in danger. Remember, Islamists hate the people they consider apostates even more than they hate Christians and Jews. In other words, the man many commentators on the right assert is a terrorist-sympathizer placed himself in mortal peril in order to identify himself with Christians and Jews, and specifically with the most famous Jewish victim of Islamism.“
Tja Leute, was nun?