In times of crisis, it is natural to rally around the flag, to retreat into the comfort and safety of ethnocentric perspectives describing a “clash of civilizations.”
After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in its enthusiasm to show a united front, a large portion of the public has bought into the idea that the West is at war with Islam — that it is locked in some critical death struggle over the values, cultures and lifestyles that will prevail in the world of the future.
However, the West is not at war with Islam. And once you’ve rejected that flawed paradigm, the construction of an Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan doesn’t offend anyone’s sensibilities.
You’re not ceding ground to the enemy or desecrating the memories of the victims. You’re supporting people coming together into larger mainstream communities where ideas are freely exchanged, rather than keeping people scattered in isolated groups where radicalism festers and grows.
New York City has always been the epitome of cosmopolitanism. With as many as 800 spoken languages, it is the most linguistically diverse city in the world — the fusion of its ethnic, religious and cultural differences is a microcosm, reflecting the larger melting pot of our society as a whole.
It has a large Islamic population, estimated at more than 600,000. And, between 1998 and 1999, there were 28 mosques in Queens, 27 in Brooklyn, 20 in the Bronx, 17 in Manhattan and eight in Staten Island — including one less than four blocks from Ground Zero.
Feisal Abdul Rauf, the principal force behind Park 51 (aka the Ground Zero mosque), has been the Imam of one of the most progressive Islamic congregations in New York City since 1983 — with a mosque just 12 blocks away from Ground Zero.
And he is simply moving from one site to another. His sermons have been noted for their emphasis on tolerance and religious freedom and their criticism of religious extremism.
When he purchased the site for Park 51 in Lower Manhattan, Feisal Abdul Rauf was originally looking for a place downtown to offer a prayer opportunity for those who work in the Financial District and only have a short lunch break.
Muslims are required to pray five times a day, and members of his congregation didn’t have time to return home. So he bought a building that had stood empty and abandoned for eight years.
At a time when some people would ban minarets or headscarves, Muslims and Christians in Manhattan are still trying to find a way to coexist in the shadows of Ground Zero. Feisal Abdul Rauf saw the opportunity to transform Park 51 into a center for healing and reconciliation. That’s to be commended.
Opponents of Park 51 have attacked his efforts, claiming the community center was an “unnecessary provocation” and American lives would be endangered by allowing a breeding ground for extremism to be set up so close to Ground Zero. However, as a soldier, I must emphatically state I am not risking my life so that anyone can tell someone else they can’t worship freely in this country.
The opponents of this community center are doing far more to endanger American lives by perpetuating the paradigm that the West is at war with Islam. Furthermore, politicians are doing a disservice to the American people by trying to exploit fears and prejudices surrounding this issue for their own personal gain.
It’s time we all learned to live together and respect one other.
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kdbp1213 1 year, 9 months ago
let the nazis build a memorial at auschwitz. that's fine. we don't pay attention to insensitivies anymore anyway...............
mythman 1 year, 9 months ago
It's nice to see an article on this issue that has some common sense. Well, I call it "common" sense, but it seems that a majority of people don't understand that not all Muslims are the same, and you can't blame people for the actions of others just because they share the trait "Muslim." It's logically unsound and demonstrably false.
Arafat 1 year, 9 months ago
"It is time we all learned to live together and respect one another."
That's a good one.
Islam respects no one other than Muslims. Muslims get along with no one, other than Muslims.
Don't take my word for it. Look at the facts on the ground. Islam, the world's youngest major religion has "occupied" vast areas from Indonesia to Morocco. And in the process it has eliminated all the people who once lived there. And it is continuing this pattern, right now, in places like Sudan, Somalia and trying to do this in Israel.
Islam is not a religion, so much as an aggressive, totalitarian cult. When looked at this way, it is not all that different than Nazism. The same ethos of destroying other cultures is imbedded in both.
Building a mosque is protected under our constitution (unlike building churches or synagogues are not allowed in most all Islamic countries). What is illegal under our consitution is Sharia Law and this as as much part of Islam as killing Jews, gypsies, handicapped and Priests was under Nazism.
Bottom line: They can build the mosque they just cannot practice their homicidal, supremacist cult there.
mythman 1 year, 9 months ago
Wait a minute, why did you it the "Ground Zero Mosque"? It's not a Mosque, and it's not at Ground Zero. Journalists should know better.
Steven Zoeller 1 year, 9 months ago
I appreciate this article even though, as the previous commentator pointed out, the phrasing was mistaken. The AP even sent out a release telling its journalists not to say that... But I digress.
It isn't fair to judge an entire group based on the extreme behavior of a minority. It's just not how America works. Not only is it a little more than two blocks away from the site, it also includes a 9/11 memorial (for the Americans, mind you), and community rooms that are open to everyone.
I'm past defending the community center for these reasons; now, I'm to the point of actively endorsing it. you can't acknowledge a right given by the constitution and simultaneously berate your government for enforcing it. Are they seriously offended by a reminder that Islam is a religion. I can understand why, but I'll never respect it. Fundamentally, it's homegrown bigotry.