And today I got an ACTION ALERT!!!! from the American Family Association, AFA, ranting over the whole Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation thing:
Obama gives your tax dollars to rebuild Muslim mosques around the world
Eek! Of course that makes it sound like we’re talking live places of worship, and doing so to support Islam. Neither of which is the case. But don’t let the facts get in your way, AFA …
While millions of Americans struggle to keep their homes and jobs, President Barack Obama can’t give your tax dollars away fast enough.
Yeah! We should be spending tax money at home to stimulate the economy! Oh, wait, that’s not the right talking point …
According to the Associated Press, the Obama administration will give away nearly $6 million of American tax dollars to restore 63 historic and cultural sites, including Islamic mosques and minarets, in 55 nations. See the State Department document here.
Ah, didn’t spot that document the other day. It’s a nice PDF showing all the grants being given under the program.
This is an outrage! Our country is broke. And can you imagine what the ACLU and others on the secular left would say if these monies had been spent to repair Christian churches? They would be screaming “separation of church and state!” Funding Islam on foreign soil with American taxpayer money? Not a whimper.
Um, two things.
First off, there is money being given to Christian churches. In fact, the second largest grant ($625K) is going to “Turkey: Conservation of the Remains of the 11th‐Century Surp Prikitch (Church of the Holy Redeemer) at Ani”. Granted, that’s not a giant fiberglass head of Jesus, but it still sounds pretty Christian.
Second, these grants are being given based on the cultural significance of the sites, not because they are places of worship. To quote the State Department’s site:
The Fund supports a wide range of projects to preserve cultural heritage, such as the restoration of historic buildings, assessment and conservation of museum collections, archaeological site preservation, documentation of vanishing traditional craft techniques, improved storage conditions for archives and manuscripts, and documentation of indigenous languages.
[…] By supporting the preservation of these and other special sites, objects, and traditions, the Ambassadors Fund helps extend their value as vital, defining elements of communities and nations; and enable their continued use, enjoyment, and relevance both today and beyond.
Religion has nothing to do with it, save as we’re talking about historic religious sites, etc. The AFA continues …
The latest taxpayer givaway includes …
Billions of dollars in corporate welfare?
… $76,000 for a 16th century mosque in China, $67,000 for a mosque in Pakistan, $77,000 to restore minarets in Nigeria and Mauritania, and $50,000 for an Islamic Monument in India.
Yes, for example, that last one mentioned is actually:
India: Conservation of Sundarwala Burj, a 16th‐Century Islamic Monument in New Delhi
It’s apparently a very lovely tomb, highly preserved for its age and location.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the U.S. program to restore Islamic and other cultural sites in other countries is taxpayer money well spent.
Yes. Not only are we preserving elements of the past of humanity (including the heritage of our immigrant forebearers), but we are engendering good will around the globe. Sounds like a win-win to me.
Take Action
Contact your member of Congress today! Ask your representative to immediately condemn this waste of taxpayer dollars and begin an investigation into why American taxpayers are footing the bill to rebuild Islamic mosques overseas.
Given the gazillions of dollars that is spent by the Federal Government, this is trivial. I mean, sure, $6 million in a suit case is a lot of money, but out of a $3.5 trillion expenditure last year, it’s literally invisible.
Put another way, if you earned (and spent) $100K last year, it would be like worried that you’d “wasted” 17 cents. Especially when you spent that 17 cents to help someone.
And, needless to say, characterizing this as “footing the bill to rebuild Islamic mosques overseas” shows either a gross misunderstanding of the program (which was established by a Republican Congress in 2000), or else is an out-and-out misrepresentation in order to gin up outrage.
Guess which alternative I’m guessing it is.