Decline and Fall

For some reason, certain segments of the Christian world seem to think it's a good idea to demonstrate repeatedly that they are not just insane, they are standing on a street corner with a sign proclaiming the end of the world insane. This picture shows the city of Jerusalem minus the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. It's from the website of Christians United for Israel (CUFI). But it's not just some picture they posted there. It's the logo. The masthead. The picture they have chosen to represent their organization. But what does it all mean? I'll let Bruce Wilson at Talk to Action explain:

As a possibly intentional provocation, the elimination of the Dome Of The Rock from CUFI's website logo is consonant with [CUFI Founder and Chairman] John Hagee's repeated vilification of Islam....

John Hagee has also repeatedly discussed, publicly and in his writing, his belief that, because history is unfolding exactly as described in Biblical prophecy, the destruction of the Dome of The Rock and the subsequent rebuilding of a Jewish temple on the site is inevitable.

Actually, "standing on a street corner with a sign proclaiming the end of the world insane" doesn't cover it. They're actually trying to end the world. Thank FSM this is isn't what constitutes mainstream opinion in Israel!

But, Pastor Hagee's, and CUFI's, political positions have no counterpart within Israel mainstream society. Rather, such views are held, in Israel, by groups considered to be on the extreme political fringe. A veteran Israeli journalist consulted for this story stated that, in mainstream Israeli political sentiment, actions, conspiracies, or even thoughts concerning the destruction of the Dome Of The Rock are considered "abhorrent" and repeatedly stressed the extremely marginal nature of such beliefs within Israeli society.

Unfortunately, what passes for "abhorrent" in polite Israeli society will get you an audience with prominent members of one of the two major parties in this one. John McCain and Roy Blunt have held private meetings with Hagee, and he was a keynote speaker at AIPAC's convention two months ago. Digby, as usual, put it best:

These crazy people (and I don't care if they do it in the name of religion, they are still crazy) really believe that all-out war is a positive thing and they are doing what they can to bring that about, including meeting with important American politicians. I believe in free speech, even for nuts. But for AIPAC, John McCain and Roy Blunt to pander to and fete people who are going out of their way to provoke a religious war for their own reasons by pulling ridiculous stunts like that really should be beyond the pale.

This is a country where a shock jock, who has been making racist and sexist comments for years now, is (rightly) forced to resign, but where Christian groups who beat the drums for armageddon confirm to the Muslim world exactly what they have suspected all along: that the (conflict formerly known as the) Global War on Terror is just another religious crusade against the infidel Saracens. It doesn't matter that the vast majority of Americans wouldn't kill anyone over religion (they especially wouldn't travel halfway around the world to do so), this is what al-Qaeda and the rest of their hateful breed preach, and it's believed, and acted upon, by a large enough minority in the Muslim world to be worth taking seriously.

Digby's right: this should be a slam dunk for the Democrats. Go after Hagee and his ilk (Jerry Falwell and Gary Bauer, for instance, who are members of CUFI's Executive Board). Show America and the world that this moron does not represent America, at least the non-crazy part. Repudiate these backwards lunatics in no uncertain terms. And for the love of all that is good in the world, stop hosting these jackasses on Capitol Hill!

Labels: conservatism, GWOT, religion