My Rebuttal to Ted Nugent’s Anti-Islamic Rant

A friend of mine posted an article written for “Human Events” by Ted Nugent. Below is my rebuttal. I have left the quoted passages italicized and intact. Please feel free to comment on this note. Thank you.

There are no words to express the outrage Americans would have expressed if the Japanese government proposed to build a memorial to their fallen soldiers at Pearl Harbor immediately following World War II. We can only hope that President Truman would have ordered our military to fire-bomb the Japanese again for being so rude and stupid.

I would begin by pointing out that this is immediately a logical fallacy in that it is built on an “if statement.” We can’t know what the outrage expressed by Americans would have been, nor can we know what Truman’s reaction would have been, because the circumstance never occurred. If I had wheels, I’d be a Buick. Who knows?

We do know, however, that we didn’t firebomb the Japanese. No, we have the stellar distinction of being the only nation in the History of the World – before or since – to, not once but twice, drop an atomic bomb on a civilian population.

No “Muslim” government is building a memorial to their fallen soldiers at “Ground Zero.” Rather, an American citizen – a distinguished one who has served at the pleasure of both Presidents Bush and Obama – is building a community center, containing a minimal prayer room, in a zoned commercial part of the city, which happens to be 2 full blocks away from that infamous site.

Lastly, and just for fun, Mr. Nugent states that this Japanese memorial would be built immediately following WWII. The community center will be built 9 years after the bombing of the Twin Towers. If we stay within this fallacious timeline, then Truman would no longer have been President. Ike would. Furthermore, 9 years should be both enough time for the nation to have healed from some of its wounds and, more importantly, it should have been enough time for us to build our own memorial, rather than leaving the site as a gaping scar on the cityscape.

Slice it any way you want but the Muslim community is being tremendously rude and stupid for wanting to build a mosque so close to Ground Zero in New York City. Instead of using the $100 million for their proposed mosque, I recommend they donate the cash to the U.S. military so that we can build more smart bombs to kill more voodoo Muslim radicals. That would earn my respect and admiration.

Again, the “Muslim community” has nothing to do with this – nor, as I have said, do any governments, including our own. As to their rudeness and stupidity, I think expecting them to pay us to build more smart bombs is pretty rude and stupid. Since when does our military even need donations to cover the costs of maintaining the world’s largest arsenal of weapons, anyway?

Killing more Muslim terror punks would make the world a more peaceful place to live, and safer for more Muslims, and we all know that Islam is the religion of peace. Yeah, right.

This is just stupid, and I’m not even going to dignify it with any kind of rebuttal attempts.

Let’s call a spade a spade here. If Islam is the religion of peace then I’m a malnourished, tofu-eating anti-hunter.

I eat tofu, and I’m vehemently against hunting – at least as a sport – and I’m anything but malnourished. In fact, any time you feel like going a couple of rounds, Mr. Nugent, give me a call. Don’t worry – I’ll wear my 16oz. gloves.

That fact is that much of the world’s terrorism is committed by Muslims in the name of Allah. These voodoo nutjobs believe that, according to the Koran, killing non-believers makes Allah happy.

Christians, who believe that Waco was a plot by Zionists, commit much of it as well. For that matter, I’m sure a percentage is even committed by Atheists, although I’m equally certain that we’re in the minority. Terrorism is a crime. All social groups commit crimes. Let’s start trying to fight the crime, and stop selecting groups to focus our wrath and hatred upon. In fact, a sad but true necessity of living in a free society is that we must accept that certain members of that society are going to be unwilling to abide by the social contract.

Moreover, Muslim-run countries provide the funds and other support for this terrorism and indoctrinate their youth to hate all things Western. Killing is good. Peace is bad. And we are supposed to believe Islam is a peaceful religion?

Some Muslim-run counties do. Many do not. What we need to remember as a secular nation is that nations that stand against us, do so as nations, not as religions. There may be religions that decry our way of life. Many of them are practiced here, and Christianity does spring to mind. Nations, however, go to war with nations. Those countries that do sponsor terrorism should be sanctioned, but those who do not are not our enemies.

Islam is no more a peaceful religion than Jim Jones was a Christian prophet. Islam attracts violent maniacs stuck in the year 700, reduces women to third-class citizens, discriminates, persecutes and kills Christians and burns their churches, stones people for punishment, and believes in world domination. Saudi Arabia, a Muslim theocracy, goes so far as to outlaw all other religions other than Islam. Sounds like real nice, neighborly Islamic folks.

This is a blanket statement, and completely unproven and unfounded. We all hear, ad infinitum, about the stoning and other barbaric punishment rituals that go on in Muslim countries. However, it should be realized that the individuals responsible are despotic rulers. Stalin was a merciless torturer and mass murderer. Hitler was, as well. Let’s not forget Catharine the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Prince Ferdinand, Mao, Saddam Hussein (a secularist), Alexander, Genghis Khan… the list goes on forever. Most of these individuals were non-Muslim. Many followed no religion at all. What all had in common was that they were despotic rulers – people who controlled their subjects with tyranny and fear.

Sure, there are peaceful Muslims who abhor violence. Not all Muslims are religious whacks who deserve a bullet. But the statistics are alarming. Last November, Newsmax reported Muslim imams preach jihad and extremism in 10% of the 2,000 mosques right here in the United States. The same article reported that, according to Pew Research Center poll, 25% of Muslims in America between the ages of 18-29 believe suicide bombings can be justified. Just keep telling yourself that Islam is the religion of peace.

You cite the numbers 10% and 25%. Although these statistics may be, as you put it, alarming, they are by no means a majority. So the sentence could, conceivably be worded – The majority of Muslims are peaceful and don’t subscribe to extremism or suicide bombing. I think, pretty much any sane individual is going to not be enamored with the concept of suicide bombing. That means – again – that the few who are are miscreants and should be dealt with as such.

The President is right when he stated Americans enjoy the freedom to purchase private property and to worship as they choose. He was wrong, however, in not forcefully condemning the rude and insensitive Muslims who want to build the mosque so close to Ground Zero. Not only did our rookie President miss a pivotal and teachable moment but he also missed a leadership opportunity in failing to condemn the Muslims who want to build the mosque near Ground Zero. This is classic “rubbing it in their face” 101.

Well, nice to know that we agree on something. The President was right when he stated that Americans enjoy the freedom to purchase private property and to worship as they choose. We are allegedly defending our Constitution and our way of life, our values if you will. If we allow hatred and bigotry to color our perspective on this and other similar issues, we’re handing victory to the very terrorists we’re supposedly at war with.

As to our “rookie” President, I would suggest that George W. Bush was a rookie in the 2nd year of his first term. So, for that matter was Ronald Reagan, Kennedy, even Lincoln. It’s not a job that one can enter into with experience. All Presidents are rookies until they’re not. The only one who actually had a wealth of experience on the job was F.D.R., and that’s only because he served 3 and one half terms.

[…]

Bottom line: I don’t trust the proposed Muslim mosque to be a holy bastion of peace, understanding, tolerance and love of others. The mosque will attract extremists and radicals who will try to harm America. If you want to see how tolerant Muslims are just have a bunch of Christians stand on the sidewalk in front of the mosque and hand out Christian literature.

Again, this is all unsubstantiated supposition. We can’t know that the “mosque” will attract extremists and radicals. We can’t know what the reaction to Christians handing out literature will be. Objective thought requires practical analysis of facts, not conjecture and speculation. If the shadowy Muslims build a mosque at Ground Zero, we’ll all grow a second asshole in the middle of our foreheads. Then you’ll be sorry!

The problem America faces is not radical Muslims. The problem is that America lacks fundamental leadership and common sense from our elected officials who worship at the alter of political correctness. Instead of standing with the victims’ families of 9/11, New York City politicians chose to cast their lot with Islam, the supposed religion of peace and harmony. Me, I am not singing that tune.

Jesus, Ted. I don’t even know what to do with this other than to point out the proper spelling of the word, altar. I’m hoping some of my commentators on this missive can help me out.

If there is additional American blood spilled in the Big Apple, the politicians who supported this mosque will be as guilty as the Muslim voodoo kooks who love death and destruction in the name of Allah.

Finally! I was getting carpal tunnel over here. Once again, Ted, all your giving us is supposition, hyperbole and the imaginary ramblings of a former guitar God. You’re fostering hatred and fear – the same tools used by the aforementioned despotic rulers – and doing so using fallacies and unproven assumptions.

Comments Below:

• David P. Greenberg Please read this and comment. The finished product – including your well reasoned responses will be published in The Flying Dutchman. I’ll find the original article and post it for you, although I don’t really think you need it.
• Karen Grant ‎”Me, I am not singing that tune.” I never thought the Nuge could really sing to begin with. Now I know why – it’s hard to do anything well when you spend 90% of your time with your head shoved up your ass.
• Denise Macy Foster RE: Statistics: I’d be curious to know how many “white supremicists”, Ku Klux Klaners or people who are prejudiced against blacks, jews, hispanics, etc. there are in America who claim to be Christans. I would venture to guess that there wo…uld be at least 25% of Chrisitans who would qualify on one or more of those counts. Thus, based on Mr. Nugents reasoning, I am justified in proclaiming that Christianity is an anti-semitic, anti-black, anti-hispanic, terror group which should be banned from building any houses of worship in America. Right???This rant by Nugent is nothing more than stereotypical ranting… the sad part is that people will listen to him for two reasons:1. He is a former rock star
  2. He is preaching what they want to hear – that “they” are out to get us.

  What he doesn’t seem to realize is that he is doing exactly what he is accusing the terror groups of doing… stereotyping an entire religion or nation as being violent. (We are, after all, the “great Satan” in extremist thinking). What is the difference between calling us “the great Satan” and Nugent proclaiming that Islam is a religion of terror?

  And Mr. Nugent must not have EVER studied history, because Islamic history IS NOT violent and fear ridden and unfair to women in it’s historical context; especially when compared to Christianity. Jews and Christians lived well under Islamic rule originally; the violence is of fairly recent vintage. OPEN A HISTORY BOOK MR. NUGENT!

• Susan Daly ‎”conceivably by worded” — needs “be” instead of “by”Other than that, nice job. I would have had a very difficult time responding to this racist, xenophobic diatribe. So much of it is just so ridiculous that I have no words to rebut it.
• Melissa Seward I like some of his points. I am an open minded person. I dont agree with everything he says. But its the fact of, we dont know 1. what path these people who want to build this take. Even if they told us would we believe them 2. (this is one… concern i have) If it gets built there, i am betting it wont be there long. 10 years maybe be for some neo-nazi white supremacist inbred ass wipe will either a. bombs it. b. goes in and starts picking them off one by one or c. lights it on fire. It might not even take 10 years. I am all for freedom of speech and freedom of religion. But it is a little insensitive to build any kind of religion based building there. I think its insensitive to build anything thats not a memorial there but thats just me. Ted repeats a lot of the same things over and over but he is saying things a lot of us have thought but dare not say. Sometimes you have to look at the what if’s to keep what you love safe.
• Denise Macy Foster Melissa – you do realize a few things, right?1. The COMMUNITY/CULTURAL center that is proposed is not a religious building but has a secular purpose2. It is not on the site of Ground Zero, but is in a commercial area that is already built… up (and filled with porn shops, liquor stores, and other questionable ventures). The community center will provide employment and places to go for the youth that are more wholesome than what is currently available.3. It has nothing to do with the memorial site. It won’t even be visible from the memorial site. (And why – exactly – has it taken almost a decade to get a memorial even conceived?).4. The person proposing the project has actually worked with the federal government to erradicate etremists from his religion

  Did you know all that? I can provide links and whatnot to all my claims.

• David P. Greenberg ‎@Susan – Got it. Thanks for the proofread.
• Melissa Seward In this day in age, people will say one thing just to get what they want and mean another (about 4) (1) religion is culture in my book (but thats just me) (3) agreed why has it taken so long (2) its obviously to close for comfort for a lot of people. Don’t we have this system called voting in this country. Maybe we should just do that.
• Melissa Seward Also, Ted is not a former rock star. He is one. Around here we call him Uncle Ted. (here as in Michigan)
• Karen Grant Actually, Melissa, we DO know the beliefs of the people who want to build it. They’re Sufi Muslims, which is a mystical and pacifistic sect comparable to Christianity’s Quakers. Imam Rauf, the point man in all of this, has been sent to Musl…im countries by the US State Department a number of times on bridge-building missions to help spread an anti-extremist message. So yes, I do believe him.As for what some neo-Nazis or other scumbags might eventually do, that’s certainly no excuse for halting the building of the center. If it were, then what [Muslim extremists/insert other despicable group here] might do would have been a good excuse to not build the WTC or pretty much any other edifice. You just can’t predicate every single action on the idea that somebody somewhere might not like it and might try to cause trouble.As for the “insensitivity” angle: this building isn’t on the WTC site. It’s a 150 year old commercial building already in existence two blocks away (two blocks in Lower Manhattan is roughly equivalent to two miles anywhere else, because of how densely packed Mahattan is) in a neighborhood already filled with shops, offices, restaurants, bars and even strip clubs, as well as apartments and (probably) a church or two. Memorials to the WTC victims belong at the WTC site, not two blocks away in an already-existing commercial district. Unless you’re suggesting that we should finish bin Laden’s work for him and raze all of Manhattan, turning a once-thriving city that epitomizes America’s cosmopolitan values into a silent memorial park to an abandoned dream of pluralism?

• Karen Grant Every family has that one creepy uncle whom everyone is afraid to invite to the family reunion. Just sayin’.
• David P. Greenberg ‎@Melissa – The problem of looking at the what ifs is that there are so many variables, we can’t ever truly know what the what ifs would be. Also, and this is really important, this thing is not AT the Ground Zero site. I agree that we need to build a memorial there, but this is actually – in NY terms – no where near the site. Broadway, the classy show capitol of the world, and what used to be the major prostitution district in the city were only one block apart. 2 blocks is a huge distance in a tiny and densely populated city.
• Karen Grant Melissa, we don’t put everything in this country to a popular vote. We have this thing called a Constitution, which includes this thing called the Bill of Rights. I direct your attention to the first item in it.
• Chiyo Chan ‎@ Melissa – if civil rights were left to the will of the people through voting; women and blacks would still be segregated and unable to vote and homosexuals still wouldn’t have the right to marry (still don’t have the right to marry in CA. thanks to prop 8). All victims of the tyrrany of the prejudiced majority.
• Susan Daly Unless they are violating zoning laws in the area, there is no right to vote on what people do with their privately held land.
• Melissa Seward maybe new yorkers (just the city) should vote on it. that way no one can bitch about it they didnt have a say. I know not everything gets put to a vote but maybe something as sensitive as this should. not for the whole country, that would just be stupid. But for the people that will have to deal with it in their lives every day. By deal I dont mean that negatively. Just they have to live with it. I just think if people are going to bitch about it and have strong opinions maybe they should do something about it.
• Paul Daly Not so close!! If you’re worried about it gettin’ burned down,you can FUGGETABOUDDIT!! My union Bros.and Sis. won’t even let it go up!!
• David P. Greenberg Unfortunately Melissa, this isn’t a religious OR a voting issue. This is a private property issue. If someone buys or leases the land, they can do what ever they want with it, within the limitations of legality. A person is perfectly free to put up a fried chicken shack in the shadow of Parchman Farm in Mississippi. Is it in good taste? No. Is it legal? Yes.
• Karen Grant Melissa, should the people of your town/city be allowed to vote on what you can do with your property?
• David P. Greenberg Thank you all for these comments (and corrections). Keep ‘em coming. I will upload the whole thing to the blog site, tonight.
• Melissa Seward Depends on what I was doing with it. Trust me, people have been kept from building things on private property here before.
• Karen Grant But Melissa, that’s within extant zoning laws. If, say, a group of Christians bought a parcel of land in your city, I highly doubt that the city would put it to a vote of the citizens whether or not they could build a church or a YMCA on it.
• Melissa Seward I wouldn’t put it past them. I live in the middle of BFE. Crazier things have happened. I am just saying, it would make it easier or at least slightly more civilized.
• Karen Grant How is it “easy” or “civilized” to have mob rule???
• David P. Greenberg What’s BFE?
• Melissa Seward For all you and I know. If it was put to a vote, the community/cultural center would get voted as a yes.
• Melissa Seward i would say but its rude. lets just say middle of no where redneckville. Just because I live here doesn’t mean I am one, fully.
• Karen Grant Melissa, the point is not whether it would be voted yes or no – the point is that there are no grounds for putting it to a vote in the first place. The center has already been passed by the local zoning board, and it is completely within the law as written. In this country, we don’t put things to a vote on whether or not we like the religious beliefs of the people involved.
• Denise Macy Foster Melissa – the thing that gets me about the idea that anyone should get to “vote” on this is that there is so much misconception about this proposal (our media has done a great job in mis-informing, inciting controversy, etc.) that I don’t k…now if people would really try to understand what they would be “voting” on. Too many think it’s a “mosque” when it’s not; too many think it’s on Ground Zero property when it’s not; too many have been mis-informed about Islamic history (it’s not all violence)… too many are misinformed about Islam in general. Churches – in my personal knowledge – are hiring outside speakers who come and tell the congregation that ‘all” Muslims are out to kill Christians and practice “jihad”. Too many believe what they hear without doing any further research. How could they vote rightly when there is so much misinformation out there?Look at what is happening nationally to other proposals made by Muslims – they are getting turned down just because they are Muslim, not because they’ve done anything to deserve sanction. This would be like us refusing to allow churches to be built because “some” members of churches are members of the terror group KuKluxKlan. Would that be based on a fair estimation of “most” Christians?

• Melissa Seward I guess I am looking at it all wrong. I don’t believe in judging by religion, hell I barely believe in religion. Let them have it fine, they just need to know there could be consequences from groups like the KKK. ALSO, I am not arguing that just because of their religion there needs to be a vote. But how would you feel if it was a Satanic Community/Cultural Center going there. They are a misunderstood religion too. But pretty damn sure they would get the same reaction the Muslims are right now.
• Karen Grant I’d be fine if it were a Satanic Center. (Disclaimer: I have a friend who is a Satanist. He’s actually a very cool guy.) I mean, I’m freakin’ *Pagan*, and I can know how up-in-arms some people can get about us.
• Denise Macy Foster Melissa – You’re probably right about the Satanists. However, in that neighborhood, what with all the porn shops, peep shows and strip clubs… they might not even be noticed!!! As to there being “consequences” from groups like the KK…K – you do know that the KKK is the “first” American born terrorist group, right? If a community center founded by Islamics has to fear the KKK, then who are the terrorists? I had one of my other friends tell me that the “reason” they shouldn’t build this center is because of the “extra security” that would be needed to protect it… and I gotta ask… protect it from whom? Islamic Terrorists or Americans?This is the problem with this protest… in protesting against a group we accuse of terrorism… we become the terrorists.
• David P. Greenberg Melissa, thanks for being the grist for everybody’s mill. Y’all keep this coming, I have to go eat some tofu (whey protein in coconut milk, actually) and go train, so I can be in shape for Mr. Nugent’s call.
• Melissa Seward I have read in to both religions(i own many books on wicca and satanism). So you and I both know how people react over this stuff. Our reactions (yours and mine and everyone else) are based off reactions others have had to this. You would b…e ok with something like that but do you really thing everyone one who didn’t know about those religions would be ok with it? I doubt it. People still think Satanist worship the devil and Pagan make human sacrifices. I am not trying to change anyone’s opinion on this, just like no one is going to change mine. But just to clarify in case it became unclear. No matter what the base religion of the people wanting to put up something slightly religious based in anywhere, if there is an uproar about it maybe they should think about taking in opinions. These people could get hurt because of where they decided to put this. That is my argument. Not that they shouldn’t be allowed strictly because of their religion, but everyone suffers from others decisions. Look at the Catholic’s. Some people think all male priest rape little boys and girls. Or that all Mormons have a ton of wives and treat them all like shit. So, due to the fact of what has happened in that area ( i know is like almost 3 blocks away or whatever), and the religion of the people that are going to be there, maybe another block or 2 away would be safer for them. A lot of Americans think all Muslims are suicide bombers and want to kill us all. I know they don’t but not everyone wants to believe that.
• Melissa Seward Denise, I agree. We need protection from our selves. I hate the KKK and everything they stand for. There was a rally in the city next to my town a few weeks ago. They where trying to be all nice and oh we don’t want violence. Yes they do. T…hey just don’t want to start it. They are the type of group to provoke so they can do what they want. I would bet they will hold a rally there and try to provoke a “terrorist” reaction from the people going to that center. That is how they are. Just remember, those who keep arguing with me or not liking my opinion. I am only 24. I wish you all a great day.
• Melissa Seward David, no problem. A little conflict is good for the body.
• Karen Grant Melissa, my whole point was that if everyone had to base all their actions on what *might* happen, then no one would ever be able to do anything. There will always be someone who might object to just about anything that anyone else might de…cide to do. Oh well, that’s just life.And a lot of the people right there IN that neighborhood ARE Muslim, so that would actually be a reason IN FAVOR of putting the center there.Do you even know what this place (it’s name is to be Cordoba House, by the way) is going to be? I’m guessing not. It’s going to be basically like a YMCA or a JCC (Jewish Community Center). In other words, it will involve a fitness center, a swimming pool, classrooms, community rooms, an auditorium, and programming of a variety of types for all sorts of people. It will be open to people of all faiths, and all backgrounds, with after-school programs, cooking classes, stuff for children and adults, etc. etc.

• Denise Macy Foster They’ve actually changed the name from Cordoba house to Park 51 because of all the claims that Muslims would use this as a sign of victory – the reasoning being that Cordoba Spain was a place of Islamic victory (although history doesn’t bear this out… but hysteria is never big on facts)… anyway, they’ve “New Yorkized” the name to try to get some of the furor to die down.
• Melissa Seward But a lot of people wont look at it that way. Thats my point. They see the word Muslim attached to it and freak out. I bet there was a big up roar about the first JCC.
• Karen Grant Just one more point:”No matter what the base religion of the people wanting to put up something slightly religious based in anywhere, if there is an uproar about it maybe they should think about taking in opinions.”I suppose then that means… that if someone wants to build a Catholic church in a largely Protestant area, the opinion of the Protestants should decide whether it gets built?Or maybe the opinion of the Klan should decide where black people live and worship?
• Paul Daly It’s Butt-Fuck E(I don’t know what the “e” is for,but(hee hee)I like Oklahoma).If you were’nt there you don’t know.I was.No religous house of worship should be built there of any kind!!!Maybe a memorial to the innocents.Killing in the name …of (any) God is pretty much against what (any) God says right? Sooo…killing in the name of whoever is either blasphemy or,treason,correct?Both punishable by death. b.t.w. that building used to have a shop where you could get an N.Y.C. permit to carry!@ Melissa, uncle Ted has given me some fresh kill (not N.Y.C.)
  recipes that are yummy.I eat what I kill.That’s why I don’t kill clowns,…they taste funny!
• Karen Grant Actually, Moorish Cordoba was a place where Christians, Jews and Muslims lived in peace together.And from what I’d heard, it is currently Park 51 but will still be called Cordoba House when completed, though I could be wrong about that.
• Melissa Seward Good point. never thought about it that way. Also, I am not a fan of the Catholics, born and raised one, dont like them that much. So yeah I think they should decide on that. The KKK can go eat it.
• Karen Grant Wait, did you seriously just say that the Protestants ought to get to decide where the Catholics can build a church? Jeez, so who gets to decide where the Jews get to put a synagogue? Get real.
• Melissa Seward To clear it up, BFE = Butt (or Bum) Fuck (or Fucked) Egypt.
• Melissa Seward Oh my. It was a joke. Wow. I think I will just keep repeating my self if I continue with this. Good day all. Thanks for the debating. It was fun.
• Denise Macy Foster Hi Karen – I know what the history is, but many don’t. The propaganda going around is that Cordoba was a site of Islamic victory, and thus using that name was a subtle “we won, you lost” by the muslims promoting the project. Like I said, hy…steria is not big on facts. If you don’t already know it, there is a big push inside Christian churches to “expose” what Islam is “all about”… and much of it is a twisted view of the Koran, history, etc. It may not be “surprising”, but I’ve been shocked at some of the stuff coming out of the Christian community over this.The project has been renamed because of it:
  http://sify.com/news/cordoba-house-mosque-coming-up-near-ground-zero-renamed-as-park-51-news-international-khopadcajbd.html

  Here’s some of the propaganda that made that happen:
  http://www.urbanelephants.com/index.php/component/content/article/64/2700.html

  http://thenationalscene.com/ground-mosque-hidden-meaning-america-islam/

  And while I don’t usually use Wikipedia as a reference, I thought this was good:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park51

• Paul Daly Good one.My bad.iIt’s usaully E.B.New Jersey!
• Paul Daly It is what it is. b.t.w…are you a badger or a wolverine