The “Ground Zero Mosque” Is a Good Thing

Right-wingers are frothing at the mouth over plans to build an Islamic Center, including a mosque, two blocks from the World Trade Center. [Note: to counter the misconceptions regarding this structure, I'd like to reemphasize this point that the community center is not on the site of the Twin Towers, which is a memorial. It's nearby in a former Burlington Coat Factory.] The National Republican Trust PAC, which funds Republican candidates for Congress, ran an ad stating, "On Sept. 11, they declared war against us. And to celebrate that murder of 3,000 Americans, they want to build a monstrous 13-story mosque at Ground Zero." And who might "they" be? Every Muslim person across the globe? Any American who happen to practice Islam?

Sarah Palin, New York Republican Rep. Peter King, and Newt Gingrich have all jumped on the attack bandwagon, with Gingrich suggesting that we should follow in Saudi Arabia's example and ban houses of worship not of the dominant religion. (Cough cough First Amendment of the Constitution cough.) Michael Berry, a conservative talk show host, advocated, "I hope somebody blows it up." I'm not sure how right-wing brains work, but I fail to see how encouraging another act of terrorism or taking our cues from a non-democratic country rather than the U.S. Constitution demonstrates respect for the victims of 9/11 or their families.

The the goal of the project Berry believes should be blown up is to "push back against the extremists," according to Imam Feisal Abdul Raul, who the New York Times reports has "built a career preaching tolerance and interfaith understanding." The American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), which he founded, is orchestrating the creation of the mosque.

More saddening than the right-wing opposition to religious freedom and insistence on maligning all Muslims as terrorists (it was kind of expected) is that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which fights anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance, has encouraged Raul to pack up and leave. Though they state that the bigoted attacks on the mosque are wrong, nonetheless the project is "not right" because it "will cause some victims more pain." I would like to remind the ADL, which I usually have great respect for, and all other opponents of this place of worship that Muslims were killed in the 9/11 attacks as well.

No doubt their families are caused extreme pain that an attempt to build a religious center that promotes peace has encountered such hostility. To argue that we should not let a mosque anywhere near the World Trade Center because extremists of the Muslim religion caused the tragedy is to accept the kind of hate and intolerance that leads to violence. There is no reason the victims of 9/11 should be pained by this construction. Imam Raul is even supported by the FBI, which he helped to reach out to the Muslim-American population for information post-9/11. I applaud Rabbi Irwin Kula, president of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, who said flatly, "The ADL should be ashamed of itself."

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg also denounced the attacks on the planned mosque, giving his own history lesson: "The ability to practice your religion was one of the real reasons America was founded." Joan Brown Campbell, former general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ U.S.A., argued, "Building so close is owning the tragedy. It’s a way of saying: 'This is something done by people who call themselves Muslims. We want to be here to repair the breach, as the Bible says.'"

We need to build interfaith tolerance and oppose extremism, which this Islamic Center proposes to do, and not just in the Muslim faith. With the spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the wake of 9/11, it's vital that we demonstrate acceptance for Islam as a part of America's tapestry of belief systems, and stop demonizing Muslims as terrorists. It endangers lives, and sows the seeds of hate and violence.

Photo credit: Svadilari