A Hate Crime, Are the Mosque Debates to Blame?

This news story is upsetting and confusing for a couple of different reasons. The first is that Michael Enright, the man who stabbed the cab driver, looks like the complete opposite of a hate crime offender from the outside. Enright had worked at Intersections International, a group that seeks to promote peace and justice. He was an honor student with no prior criminal record. What would cause someone who was seemingly on the right path in life to brutally stab a cab driver? The news is reporting that the mosque talks are to blame for this hate crime, but I am not sure that this sentiment is so shallow. Enright had recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan, where he was working on a school film project, and I believe that has a lot more to do with the stabbing than the mosque talks. What he encountered on that school trip that would cause him to act out like this is unknown but I think whatever it was is more personal than the mosque new stories.
That is not to say that I do not think that the mosque debates are creating a hostile environment for Muslims. That leads me to the second upsetting part of this news story, the news itself. With news channels broadcasting 24/7 about whether or not an Islamic cultural center should be built next to ground zero, a lot of animosity towards the Muslim religion is being created. The new stories that are questioning the building are also asking the underlying question of whether or not the Muslim religion is to blame for the 9/11 attacks, and that is causing everyone to revisit the horrors of the attacks and the feelings of hatred towards those who planned them. The Muslim religion itself, however, is not the one to blame for the attacks and should not have to suffer this religious intolerance here in America. We are a nation founded on the First Amendment and the right to the freedom of religion. If we abandon these founding principles then the terrorists will have gotten what they wanted.

To Get the Ball Rolling...

Hi Guys,
I hope everybody is having a great first week of classes! It has been a crazy one for me since I am also trying to move out of one apartment and into another this week. I enjoyed our first Mass Media and Politics class and look forward to the rest of the semester. I plan on using this blog to post an equal mix of real news and my personal views on news stories. I hope my blog can be a fun and educational read!

Emily