The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. August 31, 2010 Anti-Mosque Rhetoric in US Reportedly Boosts Taliban Recruitment ---------------------------------------------------------------- Newsweek is reporting that Taliban operatives in Afghanistan say the backlash against the construction of an Islamic cultural center in Lower Manhattan has been a boost for the militant group. An operative named Zabihullah told the magazine, "By preventing this mosque from being built, America is doing us a big favor...It’s providing us with more recruits, donations, and popular support." Zabihullah’s comments mirror what many US terrorism analysts have been saying about the rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric in America. Evan Kohlmann recently said, "We are handing al-Qaeda a propaganda coup, an absolute propaganda coup." .