By Hunter Wallace

Here is a sample of some of the most recent Op-Eds in the Chattanooga Times Free Press about the Charleston shooting, the Confederate Battle Flag, and Southern heritage in Tennessee and other Southern states:

[“The second surrender of Dixie,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, July 8, 2015]

“Across the South, the Confederate flag keeps coming down. We should replace it with the white flag of surrender. It is time Dixie surrenders, again, and once and for all. … Therefore, out of love for our black neighbors, we would gladly, humbly, fold up the flag. And in doing so, we surrender ourselves to the greater and more eternal work of racial fellowship, turn-the-other-cheek courage and the ongoing construction of the beautiful, beloved community in the South.”

[“The fear of a changing America,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, July 14, 2015]

“Morris Dees grew up the son of white Alabama cotton farmers. His father was hated by the local Klan because of the fair and kind way he treated other black sharecroppers. In the 1950s, Dees went to the University of Alabama and witnessed the mob violence that followed Autherine Lucy, the first black student who tried to integrate the campus. … Dees comes to Chattanooga as the keynote speaker at tonight’s eighth annual First Amendment dinner at the Jewish Cultural Center. He and I spoke over the phone last week, days before South Carolina removed the Confederate flag its capitol grounds. What follows is an excerpt of our interview.”

[“Southern Horrors and the end of Nathan Bedford Forrest,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, June 26, 2016]

“In light of the racism and violence in Charleston, S.C., Nashville politicians are considering the removal of the 4-foot tall, state Capitol bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general who later became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. It’s staggering the Forrest bust has remained this long, as if somehow our elected leaders have been content to govern near the statue gaze of a Klan leader. …”

[“What Emanuel AME Church can teach us,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, June 23, 2015]

“The black church has always demonstrated this in ways the American white church hasn’t. (And can’t until it finds itself on the side of the oppressed.”

Just out of curiosity, I thought I would poke around in David Cook’s archive at the Chattanooga Times Free Press to see what he has had to say about Islam over the years. He’s had a lot to say about the subject:

[“Respect is always most important value,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, March 17, 2015]

“My friend sat up straight. Raised her hand. “I am Muslim,” she said, boldly, maybe even defiantly. “And what you’re saying is wrong.” There was a heroic quality to the moment: My friend said her classmates immediately cheered and clapped for her as the embarrassed priest backpeddled. Yet her victory was short-lived; she was soon sent to the principal’s office, who then sent for her parents. … We in Christian-America make the same mistake with regards to religion. For example: Can you name five facts about Islam? To that end, I am pleased to announce this Thursday, at 5 p.m, the Muslim Student Association at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is hosting a public discussion on Islam. Questions are welcome. Curiosity, encouraged.)”

[“Muslims and Christians in Dalton,” The Chattanoogan, May 3, 2005]

“Why would these people of Dalton behave in such a way? Why would a house of worship be fought with such emotion, especially when faith is so important to so many in Dalton? Because the group of faithful believers are not Christian. They are Muslim. The Dalton Islamic Center seeks to build a new mosque on an 11 acre site wedged between two Baptist churches and one Bible church. On Monday night, at a public hearing, members of the Islamic Center listened as their Dalton neighbors rallied together on Monday night to protest the construction. The Muslims met protest that was both indirect and direct ways. County officials have hinted that construction would be stopped, perhaps because of inadequate sewer systems or height restrictions. One man stood up at the meeting and voiced his fear that the Islamic Center would become a refuge for terrorists. As he sat down, the crowd applauded loudly. This is racism. Racism can be defined as believing something about a man, or woman, simply because of the color of their skin. It can range from hot racism _ lynching, segregation, to cold racism, police profiling, white men can’t jump. Since Sept. 11, and the resulting war against Iraq, many Americans have been harboring the fear that any Muslim is a bad Muslim. Since the terrorists were Islamic, then all believers in Islam must be terrorists too. This is ignorance.”

[“Lessons from Islam,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, June 9, 2013]

“After the prayer and sermon, a few of us sat together and talked. The men said how welcoming Chattanooga has been, especially the nearby Seventh-day Adventist community. I asked them if there was anything they wished Chattanooga knew. “You are sitting in a mosque. This is just a place of worship. No schemes are being hatched here, no plots,” said Sheikh. “I personally would like them to find out about Islam themselves rather than going on Fox or CNN,” said Dr. Amjad Munir. “Islam is a peaceful religion.” And they all welcomed anyone in Chattanooga to come visit.”

As it happens, this is the very mosque where Mohammod Abdulazeez worshiped, and David Cook sat there and wrote Op-Eds about how wonderful it was and how welcoming Chattanooga had been to the Muslim community. In fact, it turns out that David Cook and Mohammod Abdulazeez went to the same high school!