No, before this controversy, I didn’t really know who he was either. It seems that Justin Bieber is a sweet, harmless boy singer who plays upon the heartstrings of tween and teen girls across the Dar al Harb with chipper love songs and winsome smiles. As a middle-aged man, it’s just as well that I wasn’t fully versed in Bieber’s oeuvre; if I knew too much, it might signal that something was wrong with me. I learned about Master Bieber from the teapot-tempest tossed through the careless pen of Andy Sullivan–who’s described by the Toronto Sun as “a Brooklyn construction worker who created the 9-11 Hard Hat Pledge under which labourers pledge not to help build the planned mosque and community centre.”
It seems that Sullivan read a hoax interview with Bieber, attributed to the girls’ fanzine Tiger Beat, which included the following:
Justin Bieber has weighed on the controversy surrounding the so-called “Ground Zero” Mosque. In an interview with Tiger Beat, the pop sensation stressed that freedom of religion is what makes America great, and went on to say that those who oppose the Mosque are motivated by bigotry.
“Muslims should be allowed to build a mosque anywhere they want,” the singer said. “Coming from Canada, I’m not used to this level of intolerance, eh.”
Bieber went on to say that Muslims are “super cool,” Christians are “lame-o-rama,” and that the mosque will help “start a dialogue” with all religions about which Justin Bieber song is the most awesome.
“I was like seven when September 11th went down, and frankly I’m surprised people are still going on about it. Move on, already!”
Added the singer, “Everyone needs to just chillax and dance!”
Now, the article was a satire, but Sullivan has a tin ear for the genre. So according to the Sun, Sullivan gave “national interviews about his young children’s reaction to the news that their idol, Bieber, was a purported mosque supporter.” Informed by the less irony-impaired that the interview was a stunt, Sullivan did the right thing, and said he was sorry: “I offer my most genuine apology to Justin Bieber, his family and fans,” Sullivan wrote on his blog. “If I have caused any grief or pain I am terribly sorry.”
The whole kerfuffle ended up being covered on CNN, to the glee of the puckish writers at CelebJihad, who concocted the original story.
Why should we be interested in all this? Because of what it says about the climate of opinion. If opposition to the Ground Zero Victory Mosque were indeed the preserve of a tiny contingent of “haters,” led by puffed up nonentities like (two-time NY Times bestselling author) Robert Spencer and (author and widely televised commentator) Pamela Geller, with no real constituency… why would it be necessary for Sullivan to apologize? All he was doing was stating that Justin Bieber agreed with the huge majority of Americans, who blithely accept the construction of a mosque on the site of the largest Islamic mass murder in recent history. If most Americans agreed with Bieber’s purported sentiments, why would it be libelous for Sullivan to publicize them? Why would Bieber’s hotshot lawyers (come on, you know this is what really happened) have twisted Sullivan’s arm to the point that he had to publicly apologize?
The only answer is this: 51 percent of Americans surveyed thought the Ground Zero Mosque was the leading news story of 2010, and 61 percent of Americans oppose its construction, because they know what it really amounts to: an endzone dance on 3,000 plus American graves. When Bieber’s fans (or more likely, their parents) “learned” that Bieber was on the side of Daisy Khan and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, they went ballistic. They probably looked around the house for Bieber’s records so they could burn them–only to learn that the songs were all on iTunes anyway. If opposing the Victory Mosque was such a fringe position, why would it endanger a pop star’s career to say that he favored the project?
Bieber’s attorneys know the truth about how Americans feel on this subject, and they don’t want their innocent client associated with this issue–one way or the other. The satire, which was very clever, put in Bieber’s mouth the haughty dismissiveness toward our anger over terrorism that Western appeasers really do display. If Michael Bloomberg had the stones, he might very well say what he thinks about 9/11, and it wouldn’t be too much different than “frankly I’m surprised people are still going on about it. Move on, already!”
We are not moving on. We are not jumping up, like browbeaten dhimmis, and moving to the back of the bus. Any politician who supports the Victory Mosque should be targeted with savage attack ads in the next election–sponsored by third party groups (rather than the opposing candidates), with powerful footage of the slaughter enacted that day in the name of Allah. Maybe, if they can obtain the rights, the ads should feature music by… Justin Bieber. Instead of “Never Say Never,” he could be asked to sing “Never Again.”
Source : jihadwatch
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