'Inciting remarks on 9/11 mosque must stop'

Indian American Muslim Republicans have expressed outrage over the rabble-rousing of fellow Republican leaders like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and erstwhile Alaska Governor Sarah Palin over the proposed building of a mosque-cum-community centre near Ground Zero, and warned that their bigotry will drive Muslim Americans out of the party.

Khan and several other Muslim American leaders, some of whom served in senior positions in the Bush administration, have fired off a letter to their Republican colleagues saying that "we are deeply concerned by the rhetoric of some leading members of our party surrounding the construction of the Muslim Community Centre in downtown Manhattan."

"These comments are not only constitutionally unsound," they argued in their missive, "they are also alienating millions of Arab American and Muslim American voters who believe, as we do, in the principles of our party -- individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law."

The letter by Khan, chairman of Conservative Inclusion Coalition, and the others said, "As you know, our party has had a long history of inclusion -- beginning with our great President Abraham Lincoln, whose leadership on the slavery issues was monumental, and continuing through President George W Bush whose public statements and actions on the differentiation between Islam and the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 were critically important."

They pointed out that "we are particularly proud to note that President Bush appointed more Arab Americans and Muslim Americans to his administration than any other president in US history."

"That said," they argued in the letter, "it perplexes us as to why some vocal members of our party have chosen to oppose the construction of a cultural and religious centre on private grounds," and added: "Not only does the First Amendment to our Constitution protect the right of these private citizens to worship freely, it also prevents Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion. Our party and the leaders in our party should not be engaged in judgment issues on the location of a cultural centre and a house of worship in direct contravention of the First Amendment."

Khan, who has been appearing on TV regularly since the controversy erupted, including on MSNBC and the network's Rachel Maddow show, warned that the political cost to the Republicans would be long lasting because of some of these demogogues and their bigotry, and not just among Muslim Americans but among all religious minorities.

He said the backlash to the outlandish comments made by the likes of Gingrich and Palin would "ensure that we'll never get the Muslim vote back," particularly since Muslim Americans who tended to be fiscal and social conservatives traditionally had been more inclined to vote Republican and contribute to the GOP coffers.

Khan however told rediff.com that while he was bitterly disappointed over the vehement and bigoted opposition by the likes of Gingrich and Palin, "I am encouraged that there are some very respected and responsible Republicans like (New Jersey)

Governor Christie, like Ted Olson, like Jim Glassman, who are coming our and saying, 'Stop, this is enough.'"

"So, it's a challenge, but I see that, like I said to Rachel (Maddow of MSNBC), I see the adults are coming back into the room," he added.

But when reminded that GOP leaders like Gingrich and Palin and Rush Limbaugh seemed to be the anointed leaders of the Republican Party, and leading the charge against the construction of the Community Centre and mosque, Khan acknowledged, "They are (leading the charge), but they are self-anointed leaders, but they are not elected officials anymore and it's up to others in the party like myself to challenge them and that's what we are doing."

When it was recalled that on a network appearance, he had described those opposing the proposed construction "a fringe group," and that those like Gingrich and Palin couldn't be considered fringe elements, Khan said, "You are right, they are not. I was characterizing that this whole controversy began on the fringe, and then unfortunately other people like Palin and Gingrich began picking up the story and using it because of the politics."

Khan said the letter he and the other leading Muslim American Republicans wrote to their GOP colleagues was "getting a lot of attention from the leadership and they are responding and we are having meetings with elected members of Congress and talking to them and they are listening."

He said the group was prompted to write the letter because "we were concerned that the rhetoric was getting more and more charged and more and more hostile. So, we felt as staunch and loyal Republicans that we need to stand up to make sure that our party didn't go in the wrong direction."

Asked what he as a Muslim and strong Republican felt on a personal level, he reiterated that "I am disappointed by some like Gingrich and Sarah Palin, but I really feel in the end that the majority of Americans and the majority of Republicans are fair-minded people and I feel that again, with strong leadership, we will come back to what are our bedrock principles of fairness of individual rights, individual liberty."

But he acknowledged that "it means leadership, it means that people have to stand up and call for what's right and when our party does something wrong. We have to stand up against that."

Asked if he would favour a compromise that could result in the proposed mosque/community centre being moved to a different location away from the vicinity of Ground Zero, Khan asserted that "I feel this is a religious freedom issue, it's a local issue, it's a rule of law issue, and on all these fronts, the community in Lower Manhattan has followed the rules, they got the approvals as they need to -- they bought the property and they got the approvals from the city government and the support of the Mayor."

"So, they have played by the rules and they should not have to make any compromises just because some have raised questions that are really unfair in their basis," he emphasised.