ISLAMOPHOBIA

The hysterical cacophony of rancid verbiage being uttered by right wing pundits and politicians over the last 10 days or so has to be causing Osama bin Laden and his ilk to be salivating with glee. The deliberate misinformation and “righteous” indignation being foisted upon us by the likes of Glenn Beck, Newt Gingrich and others regarding the “Ground Zero Mosque” is almost laughable if it were not so serious and disturbing. They are firing up the rabble creating a mob mentality among the great unwashed citizenry of this country which is being watched closely by the rest of the world, particularly, the Muslim world. One couldn’t ask for a more effective recruiting tool for terrorist organizations. It reinforces their dogma that the West in general, and the U.S. in particular, is at war with all Muslims worldwide.
First of all, we’re not talking about a mosque, per sè, we’re talking about a community center catering to Muslims. We’re talking about an establishment with an eye towards outreach and reconciliation with the community at large. This is to be a recreational establishment with a basketball court, a performing arts center, theater, child care center, culinary school, fitness center, swimming pool, food court, a 500 seat auditorium and, not least, a 9/11 memorial. As for the “mosque”, it will be little more than a large prayer room to accommodate patrons during their prayer rituals.
Second, this planned community center is not at Ground Zero. The Park 51 Project, as it will be called, will occupy a building two blocks north of the World Trade Center site. It is a privately owned building that is currently vacant. Incidentally, there is an existing mosque only four blocks away. Is that mosque too close? Where should one draw the boundary of a “mosque free zone” surrounding the World Trade Center site? The irony is that this site was being used as a prayer room since before 9/11. Parts of United Flight 175, the second plane that hit the WTC landed on the building (actually a group of attached buildings) and caused severe structural damage which has since been repaired.
It is noteworthy that the founder of the community center is a moderate Muslim scholar who has done a great deal of bridge-building between Muslims and other faiths. Imam Abdul Rauf belongs to the Sufi branch of Islam, which is easily the most progressive of the three Islamic sects (Sunnis and Shi’as make up the other two sects). In fact, Salafists such as bin Laden and his adherents consider Sufis to be apostates and would advocate cutting their heads off.
Imam Abdul Rauf originally planned on naming the cultural center “The Cordoba House”, after the Medieval Spanish city of Còrdoba where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived together in harmony. His intention was to construct a platform for multi-faith dialogue, to promote the peaceful coexistence between Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Now comes Newt Gingrich, ever the student of history, claiming that Còrdoba was a Christian city that was conquered by the Moors, and that symbolizes Muslim conquest of Christians.
There have been countless interviews and speeches by pundits and politicians on both sides of the issue. Gingrich and others talk about the “sensitivities” of the families of the 9/11 victims. While there has been opposition to the project by some 9/11 family members, other family members have been vocal in their support, claiming that in America, freedom of religion trumps any “sensitivity” issues brought up by demagogic politicians and talk show hosts trying to generate another wedge issue. It’s time we came to our senses and paid more attention to the real problems facing our nation.