First of all, people are so caught up with the term Mosque. Americans seem to equate Mosques to terrorist breeding grounds. Some Americans see building a Mosque as insulting because they feel it’s the same thing as putting a flag in the ground of land that was just conquered. I believe this logic is extremely flawed, but, that’s not what this post is about, and I won’t go into detail on that. So, some people hear the term Mosque thrown around and are scared and angry; and ultimately disillusioned and ignorant of what the building actually is. The “Ground Zero Mosque” is not a Mosque at all, but a community center. I’m sure you’ve heard this all before, but, have you gone to Park51's website to see what their vision is in moving forward with the building? The following comes from their website, addressing the vision:
“In the spirit of tolerance and service, the Muslim community of New York envisions a world-class facility and an unprecedented community center as a gesture of our dedication to our city. At a time of economic hardship, Park51 will constitute an investment of over $100 million of infrastructure in lower Manhattan, creating over 150 full-time jobs and over 500 part-time jobs, and providing much needed space, open to all, for community activities, health and wellness, arts and culture and personal and professional development.”
The following is from a blog posting entitled “The Cordoba House is not a Mosque” by those involved with the planning of the building:
“What YCMA is to Christians or the JCC is for Jews, we want the Cordoba House to be for Muslim Americans. This demands that it meets certain standards, such as welcoming everyone from the community, and refraining from proselytizing. With an auditorium, swimming pool, fitness center, conference rooms, and a restaurant, by no standard of the imagination could this community center be considered a mosque.”
(see also the blog posting “What is a Community Center” from the same group)
There will be a prayer area for Muslims inside the building; however, the main focus of the Park 51 is to help the citizens in the area and to bring people of all faiths together in a place where peaceful discussion can happen. In a blog posting entitled “Why All Americans Have a Stake in Cordoba House” the author asserts that creating this building is declaring war on terrorism:
“Cordoba House is not a mosque but a community center that would be open to people of all faiths. There would be a private area for Muslim prayer set aside, but the majority of the complex would be for general community usage …. This is exactly the kind of thing that Anwar al Awlaki and Osama bin Laden most fear - muslims in America rejecting their call to jihad and instead embracing their identity as citizens of America and embracing their civic responsibilities to better themselves and their non-muslim neighbors. And in doing so, wage a true, effective jihad against terrorism.”
The imam, or religious leader, involved directly with this project is Feisal Abdul Rauf. In March 2003, Feisal Abdul Rauf consulted with the FBI involving counterterrorism efforts and relations with the Muslim community. In 2005 Rauf wrote a book entitled “What’s Right With Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West”. A description of the book states the following:
“What's Right with Islam elaborates in satisfying detail a vision for a Muslim world that can eventually embrace its own distinctive forms of democracy and capitalism, aspiring to a new Cordoba - a time when Jews, Christians, Muslims, and all other faith traditions will live together in peace and prosperity.”
(see also the New York Times Article “Feisal Abdul Rauf’s Balancing Act in Mosque Furor”)
Imam Feisal’s honest intent in creating this center is best captured an article from the New York Times entitled “Muslim Prayers Fuel Spiritual Rebuilding Project by Ground Zero”:
“A presence so close to the World Trade Center, ‘where a piece of the wreckage fell,’ said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the cleric leading the project, ‘sends the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11. We want to push back against the extremists,’.”
Also, we shouldn’t forget that many of the New Yorkers and Americans hurt forever by the 9/11 attacks are Muslim Americans. To exclude them from those hurt by the attacks is unfair and insensitive to the population. For peaceful American Muslims, to have a community center in the surrounding area of Ground Zero should speak volumes to America and the World. It’s an idea that should be embraced, not vehemently and hatefully attacked.
As Americans we need to ask ourselves, why are the majority of us against this project and what does this say about us as a people?
