Ground Zero Mosque
“With all of the above taken into account, the original three-year timetable for getting the mosque open that was first publicized in May seems quite conservative at best. At that point, construction was expected to begin on Sept. 11, 2011 (the 10-year anniversary of the terror attacks on the Twin Towers).” http://www.aolnews.com/surge-desk/article/why-the-ground-zero-mosque-still-has-a-long-way-to-go/19580044?flv=1I remember taking “The Bus” in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the driver snaking his way past Pearl Harbor, without saying a single word. At the time, it had then been about 40 years since the attacks on Pearl Harbor and the surrounding air fields, but the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial was clearly visible and it was impossible to not pause to remember what it meant, even while I was making my way between our camp site and downtown Honolulu.
During the December 7, 1941 attack, there were twenty-one American ships either sunk or damaged 188 aircraft destroyed and another 159 damaged. Two thousand and three Americans lost their lives, and another 1,178 individuals were wounded, both military and civilian. http://www.military.com/Resources/HistorySubmittedFileView?file=history_pearlharbor.htm
In the attack, the Japanese lost twenty-nine planes, one large submarine and five midget submarines, claiming the loss of at least sixty-four people. http://www.worldwar2history.info/Pearl-Harbor/
In the sixty-nine years that have passed since the attack on Pearl Harbor, there is no question that Japan and the United States have made their peace, becoming friends, allies, and business partners. There have been countless meetings between the sailors, soldiers, submariners, and airmen who took part in the events of December 7, 1941. These often very well documented reunions have lead to reconciliation and understanding, yet despite this embrace of peace and healing, there has yet to be a call for a shrine at Pearl Harbor, to honor the Japanese service members who died on that fateful day
Can you imagine the outcry, even now, if someone suggested such a thing? Yet a mere nine years after the September 11 attack, on the United States, Project Cordoba, also known as Park 51 is suggesting that a 15 story mosque and Islamic cultural center be built mere blocks away from the site of the attack on the Twin Towers.
The current structure at 45 Park Place, New York, New York, was not designated as a national landmark or historical site, and thus can be torn down; clearing the way for Project Cordoba, so named for Cordoba, Spain, the capital of the Muslim conquers of Spain. In 711 Cordoba fell to the Muslims, a few years later it became the center of Islamic government for all of Iberia, until the Reconquista, which was completed in 1492.
The Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is leading the project has adamantly stated that this project will continue because it is the right thing to do: “We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community, government at all levels and leaders from across the religious spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right thing to do for many reasons.” http://bit.ly/b3F4JA #cnn
Is it really the right thing to do? Legally, the center is within its rights to tear down the present building and create whatever they like, but there is also a moral conflict which deserves to be addressed. It is being argued that freedom of religion is a core principal in America, and a defining characteristic. For America to show the world how much we value freedom of religion, we should support Cordoba House, two blocks from the site of the attacks.
This week, on the anniversary of the Nine-Eleven attacks, a church in Gainesville, Florida is planning a book burning ceremony of the Quran. This will certainly not be the first or last book burning in America. Is this the right thing to do? Farhana Khera, president of Muslim Advocates, has said: “While it may not be a violation of the law – it may be an act of free speech – it certainly violates our sense of decency.”
Oddly, both Project Cordoba and Pastor Terry Jones, of Dove World Outreach Center, are standing on the same First Amendment, which protects freedom of religion and speech: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”
The courts have ruled that the First Amendment does allow American citizens to yell fire in a crowded theater – if the theater is not on fire! Nor does religious freedom apply when said freedom contradicts American law or standards – no human sacrifices, sorry. But building on or destroying property which you own is most certainly protected by the First Amendment. In this case, all parties have the legal right to do what they like, however, the unanswered questions is do they have the moral right? Are they making the best choice?
I, like everyone else I know who has been to New York City, since the Nine-Eleven attacks, have made the pilgrimage to the site of the former World Trade Center, and the Twin Towers. We went to the site to solemnly pay our respects and to remember, just as when we went to the memorial at the Pentagon. I understand that those who attacked our nation do not represent all who follow their faith, but unlike politically motivated attacks, what happened on Nine-Eleven was religiously motivated, according to the attackers. Which brings me back to what is right, should those who are going to the site of the former World Trade Center really have to deal with Project Cordoba and all that it will bring to an area which so many Americans already consider sacred, for a very different reason?
Can we really argue, as a nation, that the First Amendment must be protected and upheld in the case of the Ground Zero Mosque but not the burning of the Quran? Extremes are rarely useful – being of Irish decent, I have never been able to understand the years Protestants and Catholics spent fighting in Ireland – how do we kill in the name of God? I cannot help but feel that there must be a better way for both parties to express themselves.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said that he supports Project Cordoba: “Let me declare that we in New York are Jews and Christians and Muslims, and we always have been. And above all of that, we are Americans, each with an equal right to worship and pray where we choose. There is nowhere in the five boroughs that is off limits to any religion.” http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/25/new-yorks-bloomberg-we-are-all-muslims/ He continued: “Everything the United States stands for and New York stands for is tolerance and openness.” http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/08/03/ground-zero-mosque-wins-final-approval-in-new-york/
I am not naive, and I well understand that if today we decide that the church in Gainesville cannot burn the Quran or that Project Cordoba cannot be built two blocks from the former World Trade Center, tomorrow it may be that the Bible cannot be read or a Synagogue be built in Michigan. I do not think that the government should interfere in either of these cases; I do think that the parties involved should search their hearts and see if there is not a better way to represent both Islam and Christianity. That is all for now.
This was very well said.
It is a topic that I have searched my heart over. I think that there is no answer to a problem, if the parties involved can’t speak to each other with an open heart. Agree to disagree, and do what is best, and right for each other.
You always make me think Jill 🙂 Thank you!
Thank you Dedra for taking the time to write such a nice note. I agree that our silence is what will destroy us. There must be understanding, and that will not come without interaction.