If a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged…

…will a nuclear bomb turn us all into Tom Tancredo?

For those of you who haven’t heard, representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) recently suggested that if a nuclear bomb exploded in the United States, an appropriate response might be to bomb Mecca. He’s crazy! they all cried, including that voice of conscience James Lileks:

Bombing Mecca to revenge the acts of maniacs is like nuking the Vatican to protest the pedophilia scandal in Boston. The idea appeals to those whose nuanced study of Islam makes them conclude it's better to alienate 1 billion people than defeat a fraction of the same group. It appeals to those who believe that Islam is a metal shard that cannot be absorbed and must be removed, preferably by blowing up the body.

Yes, surely it’s an unthinkable idea this disproportionate retaliation, until about one second after the images of a vaporized Baltimore shipyard hit American TV screens. Then you won’t hear any more of that perfunctory chatter about the “religion of peace.” Everybody – including James Lileks – knows this to be true.

Let’s put it another way. Suppose that the four London bombers were all traced back to a particular South London mosque. Surely the Brits wouldn’t close down the mosque, thereby punishing all worshippers alike for the evil actions of a few. But what if the head of that mosque had been inciting young men to do violence, to wage jihad, and destroy the unbelievers? Freedom of religion is not a death pact: the British government would have no choice but to close down an assembly line for suicide bombers.

To that point, here’s an excerpt of the July 15th sermon by Dr. Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sudayis, Imam of Islam’s holiest mosque, Al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, courtesy of Little Green Footballs:

Oh, Allah, heal our sick, have mercy on our dead, release our prisoners, and save our Al-Aqsa Mosque. Oh Allah, liberate our Al-Aqsa Mosque from the defilement of the occupying and brutal Zionists. Oh Allah, make it high and mighty until Judgment Day. Oh Allah, punish the occupying Zionists and their supporters from among the corrupt infidels. Oh Allah, scatter and disperse them, and make an example of them for those who take heed.

Remember: “their supporters” = us. This is the word handed down from the holiest mosque of the great religion of peace in the holiest city of Islam.

But this is all moot. We would never, ever, in a million years visit any harm on Mecca (we’re too addicted to Saudi oil, for one thing). But if another major terrorist attack springs from the heart of Saudi Arabia, a lot of Westerners are going to decide what many Muslims already accept: we cannot live together.