Ground Zero Mosque: An Election Issue

Harry Reid, the Democratic leader in the Senate, disassociated himself from President Barack Obama, who last week defended the legitimacy of the construction of a “mosque” near ground zero.

About 4,000 km separate ground zero in New York from Nevada, a southwestern state where there are more Mormons than Muslims. Yet, the project of building an Islamic community center near the site of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York became an issue in the senatorial race, which takes place in preparation for the midterm elections.

On Aug. 16, the Republican candidate for the state of Nevada, Sharron Angle, challenged her Democratic opponent to give his opinion on this controversial project. “As the majority leader, Harry Reid is usually President Obama’s mouthpiece in the U.S. Senate,” she wrote in a statement. “And yet he remains silent on this issue. Reid has a responsibility to stand up and say no to the mosque at ground zero or once again side with President Obama, this time against the families of 9/11 victims. America is waiting.”

America did not wait very long. Hours after the news release from the Republican candidate, a spokesman for Senator Reid said that his boss was opposed to the construction of a “mosque” near ground zero. In doing so, a number of Senate Democrats dissented from the position of Obama, who had argued a few days earlier the legitimacy of the construction of this place of worship.

Less than three months before the midterm elections, the confrontation between Harry Reid and Sharron Angle regarding the so-called mosque at ground zero is being repeated in several U.S. states where the Republicans are temporarily abandoning their favorite subject — the economy — to try to weaken their Democratic opponents by mentioning a project which, according to a recent survey, is opposed by 68 percent of the American electorate.

This debate, which has been brewing for several weeks in the United States, reached a boiling point following a statement issued by Obama during a Ramadan dinner held on Aug. 13 at the White House.

“As a citizen and as president, I believe that Muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan,” he said, recalling that the U.S. commitment in favor of freedom of worship was “unshakeable.”

Over the following days, several Republican leaders have denounced the statement by the Democratic president. Senator John Cornyn of Texas has seen, particularly, the evidence that the head of the White House is “disconnected” from the population. He said voters will neither forget nor forgive his position in November 2010.

Meanwhile, the Republicans do not seem to fear being accused of demagoguery or intolerance by attacking Islam or Muslims. This excerpt from a statement by a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in Virginia gives an idea of the tenor of the debate: “Ground zero is hallowed ground to Americans. Do you think the Muslims would allow a Jewish temple or Christian church to be built in Mecca?”