YOUR VIEW: Opposition to NYC’s Ground Zero mosque associates Islam with religious extremism
Published: August 31, 2010
Editor’s note: Guest columnist Khadeeja Elyazgi is a member of the Muslim Student Association.
There is no question that Muslims have the constitutional right to build the Islamic Center at the proposed site two blocks away from Ground Zero, and this hasn’t been the subject of discussion.
The real issue of debate concerns whether or not it would be insensitive to build the Islamic Center at the proposed site. And frankly this is what scares me. To say that building a mosque near Ground Zero is insensitive is to associate Islam with the 9/11 attacks. Not Islamic extremism, just Islam.
I would hope that nine years after the attacks, Americans would be able to differentiate between moderate Muslims and extremists. Extremism is something that exists within every religion, but never should an entire group of people be characterized by the small group of extremists that may exist within it. It is unfair and illogical.
I am a Muslim, and in no way do I associate the 9/11 attacks with the faith I practice. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t find myself able to do so.
The country I was born and raised in was attacked by hijackers who claimed to be killing innocent people in the name of God and Islam.
This is contrary to everything I’d been taught about my faith growing up. On that day, my religion had been hijacked as well, and suddenly a small group of people were given the opportunity to represent myself and the other 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.
I’ve read and heard the things being said by some of the opponents to this project, and I can’t help but feel upset by it.
They of course have the right to say as they please; the same First Amendment that guarantees them the right to freedom of speech also guarantees Muslims the right to build a mosque in Lower Manhattan.
However, understandably, people are afraid of what they do not know. Islam is still something that is very foreign and unfamiliar to Americans.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s Cordoba Initiative is a project that seeks to improve relations between the Muslim world and the West, and it could allow Americans to know a different Islam from what they see on their televisions.
Rauf has been criticized for his “healing” initiative. Some people say, “If he wants healing, then why doesn’t he move his mosque somewhere else?”
I do not see how healing can result from moving the Islamic Center farther away from Ground Zero and further implementing the “Us versus Them” ideology that has arisen since 9/11. Healing in any situation can only come about through dialogue and understanding.
Or perhaps some are under the impression that only time will heal the relations between Muslims and the West. Well, nine years have passed since 9/11, and Islamophobia seems to be more widespread today than it was after the attacks.
I am only a believer in the phrase “time heals all wounds” when we use our time well and actively pursue the healing we need.
— Khadeeja Elyazgi, professional writing and international studies senior
Comments
Zen_King 1 year, 5 months ago
"...I don't find myself able to do so." is an empty explanation as to why you can't associate the events of 9/11 with Islam. Can you not grasp that Al Qaida accurately cites verses from the Koran to explain and justify their acts? The problem is not with non-Muslims who point out the violent nature of Jihad. The problem is with moderate Muslims such as yourself, who deny the religious component of Jihad that's on display around the world. Denying it will not make it go away.
Arafat 1 year, 5 months ago
Khadeeja is trying to take our eye off the ball. Simply put, he is a Muslim apologist.
Khajeeda, we are not as stupid as you seem to think.
Mohammed, your prophet, led Muslims into dozens of battles against caravans and villages. He participated in murder, rape, enslavement and torture. Is he what you are referring to when you write about the "small minority of Muslims who have kidnapped your religion?"
Mohammed certainly is quite the role model. It's little wonder so many darn Muslims feel no qualms about killing infidels (all non-Muslims).
In fact, at times, it seems less like a small percentage of Muslims so much as an epidemic of violent Muslims on an endless murder, suicidal spree.
Why is this the case Khadeeja? Is it true Muslims consider Mohammed a "perfect" man?
Jwer 1 year, 5 months ago
Let's be honest: We have a Democratic majority in the House and Senate. We have a Democratic president. Democrats are weak on "national security" issues. Making the conversation about national security makes Dems look weak. It's an election year.
Conclusion: The debate about the "ground zero mosque" (two blocks away from ground zero on private property) is a political play.
dargus 1 year, 5 months ago
Have you commenters even read the Bible? If I were to literally interpret it, and act as it suggests, I'd be a pretty horrible person by today's standards. Many times in the Old Testament it talks of killing non-believers. I could put up a bunch of quotes about it, but I'll forgo it. I think most people even vaguely familiar with the Old Testament know it is full of many slaughters and things we'd call morally questionable today. Now I can hear you saying, but that's the Old Testament and Jesus changed everything. So what about the Jews? Are they following an evil religion since they don't turn their Bible past the end of the Old Testament? Should we condemn them as an evil religion? By your logic, it seems like we should. Hey, it was even fashionable for a long time to do so. So what say you Islam haters? Can you bring the Muslims and Jews together with you irrational hatred?
Flips88 1 year, 5 months ago
@Zen_King: Have you read the Old Testament??? You know, the parts where God tells you to stone a woman to death for adultery or to chop her hand off if in the course of stopping a fight between two men, she touches one of their genitals. Or the part that says you can't eat shrimp. Or wear garments of mixed fibers. Yes, your polyblend shirt is a sin, but isn't hell worth a comfy shirt? I think so.
See the thing is you guys are scared of people that aren't like you so you erroneously label them as a threat to you. There are over 1 billion Muslims in the world and you transpose the views of an infinitesimal fraction of one percent upon all of them. Your ignorance would be amusing if it weren't so sad and infuriating.
mythman 1 year, 5 months ago
Either Guilt by Association applies to everyone, or it does not. If you're not willing to condemn all Christians for the actions of extremist and violent Christians, or for some nasty cherry-picked verses or radical interpretations of their texts, then why go condemning all Muslims for the same things?
Pinchfist 1 year, 5 months ago
How about this? No religious institutions of any sort near the site of an attack that is/was a part of an ongoing holy war. That means you, temples, churches, mosques, snake charming pens, or whatever other buildings will be used to garner "legitimacy" for their respective dogmas by usurping some twisted ideas regarding religious fortitude and one's proximity to the site of a tragedy.
Arafat 1 year, 5 months ago
Remind me again, when was the last time you heard about a Christian stoning a woman to death?
What people are glossing over here is the fact that violence and aggression in the Koran and Hadiths is open-ended, i.e., it is not specific to a certain people or a certain time.
There's no question there is plenty of violence to be found in the Old Testament but it applies to a specific people and a specific time. Nowhere in the Old Testament does it say "Kill all non-Christians (or Jews) until yours is the only religion on Earth."
In sharp contrast to this in the Koran and Hadiths there are many, many passages where one can find passages that are open-ended just like what I wrote above.
This is why wherever Islam has invaded (Asia, Africa, Europe, Middle East) we find the same pattern of Islamic violence. It's their Koran, stupid. It's their prophet, their Koran and their Hadiths.
Sudan is not an isolated event. Read about what Muslims did to the Hindus, the Buddhists, the Armenians, the Copts and Chaldeans, and you will find a pattern of behavior that will sicken your heart.
dargus 1 year, 5 months ago
Nice try, Arafat, but you must not have taken your Bible out lately. I guess I'm forced to start quoting scripture.
Deuteronomy 17
“ 2If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
3And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
5Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die."
I don't see anything relating to a specific time or place. This seems to me to be part of Hebrew Law. So there’s one reference. Do I need to continue?
You are right that I don't see Christians murdering non-believers very often. However, it does and has happened in the not to distant past. In 1984, two Morman brothers killed their sister-in-law and her infant because she was a non-believer.
It seems to me Christians and Jews aren’t following the rules in their book. You refuse to condemn them as evil, even though their religious text clearly states killing non-believers is the law. So perhaps they get a pass because the rules of the religions have changed as society and culture progressed. Is this correct? If so, shouldn’t Muslims who practice their faith in a manner consistent with today’s cultural norms be afforded the same pass?
Zen_King 1 year, 5 months ago
@Flips88: The Old Testament does indeed have violent stories, but they are historical accounts of events that Christians do not continue to emulate today. Islam in contrast, obligates open-ended war against the non-Islamic world until Shari'ah triumphs over all. And it's quite hypocrital to point out biblical dress codes when the same exists in Islam Muhammad forbid wearing silk garments and also cut off hands and feet and heads. Your "infinitesimal fraction" is active today and SINCE 9/11/2001 has killed for Allah's glory in: India, Sudan, Algeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Chechnya, Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, England, Thailand, Spain, Egypt, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco, Yemen, Lebanon, France, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, Kosovo, Mauritania, Kenya, Eritrea, Syria, Somalia, Ethiopia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Germany, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, East Timor, Qatar, Tajikistan, Netherlands, Scotland, Chad, Canada, China, Nepal, Maldives, Argentina, Angola, Ukraine, Uganda and... Hardly an "erroneous" threat as you claim. If I were truly "ignorant" I wouldn't know about Abrogation, Taqiyyah, Dhimmitude, Dar al-Harb, and obligation to the Ummah. The sad and infuriating part is your smug denial of reality.
DylanC94 1 year, 5 months ago
@Arafat- Khadeeja Elyazgi is a woman FYI. But you wouldn't know that because according to the tone of your comments, everyone is a white Christian man. But I bed you'll still lump her in as one of the few sinners just go astray every so often and need to be re-educated in the real American way.
dio 1 year, 5 months ago
@Arafat
"Nowhere in the Old Testament does it say 'Kill all non-Christians (or Jews) until yours is the only religion on Earth.'"
It is not in the qur'an either.
@Zen_King
al quaeda is to islam what the westboro baptist church is to christianity.
mythman 1 year, 5 months ago
Zen_King
So Christians have the ability not to emulate Christian history, but Muslims don't? Christians have the ability to ignore rules in their own holy texts, but Muslims don't? Christians have the ability to re-interpret their holy texts over time, but Muslims don't? I'd call that a double standard.
DeeinOK 1 year, 5 months ago
I am very surprised at some of the comments on here concerning Islam. That type of vitriol is usually reserved for ultra right wing conservative sites--not for a post secondary school paper. I truly am shocked as the presence of critical thinking skills (and education as a whole) is the greatest weapon against intolerance and bigotry. Perhaps a childhood predisposition to certain beliefs overrides that with some. It certainly would be an interesting research paper.
One poster asked when the last time a woman was stoned to death when trying to disparage the comparisons in religious violence. How about when was the last time a woman was raped in the name of God? Or how about when then last time a child was raped in the name of God--don't have to look too far for that now do we? Or is rape not the same as stoning to you? People do all kinds of sick things in the name of religion. Yes, even those claiming to be Christians. When you start thinking yours is free from any of that sickening behavior, you lack more than critical thinking skills, you lack common sense.
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