Mischief in Manhattan
We Muslims know the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation
My main reason for posting the link to the above article is because lots of friends on facebook have posted pro-Cordoba Institute articles and opinions. I think it's important to see the other side too--while some see this as a religious freedom issue, others see it as a political move.
I tend to agree with the writers of this article who are Muslims thems elves. I'm all for wanting to heal and build unity. 100%. A friend of mine wisely observed, you don't heal in someone else's cemetery. He mentioned to me the proposed convent that the Catholic church was going to build right next to Auschwitz, but when they saw the hurt the proposed project was causing people--people who needed to go there to grieve and heal--the church moved it a few miles away out of respect for those people.
Perception is reality. While opening a major Islamic center in that area on 9-11-11 is viewed by some as an attempt to heal and build bridges, it is also important to realize it is viewed by others to be an affront. It is too painful for them.
Instead of thumbing our noses at those people who are hurting, those who lost loved ones and family members in the attacks, and call them bigots, racists, and religiously intolerant--that they are monsters who are operating only out of hate and fear--I think we must show compassion. I didn't lose anybody on 9-11 but I can imagine what that would be like. I can watch the videos of people jumping out of those buildings, I can listen to the audio of people on their phones at the moment the buildings they're in begin to collapse.
I realize the attacks are not necessarily, in-and-of-themselves, a reflection of all of Islam. But I also have to recognize that many people, Muslims included, D O see it that way. Is that just their incorrect perception? Possibly. Is that just their problem? Maybe. I believe it's important to correct incorrect perceptions, but I wonder if there aren't better/gentler ways of going about it. Again, it goes back to compassion. If this is about healing the community, how can we all heal such that it benefits the most people IN the community?
So how near is too near? How soon is too soon? I don't know. I have to go with my gut on this one. And I do know that we typically see something like a ten-year anniversary of an event as a significant date. And the times we're living in, with tensions around the world, economic fears at home, people are stressed out! These are UNUSUAL, stressful times! I think we all can agree on that.
Just things to think about. That's all. No offense intended.
3 comments:
Fork, if I may say so, the delicate nature of the wording in your post and the source of the actual animosity pertaining to this issue (not to mention what I perceive from your writing as the totalitarian nature of your Facebook feed), the real threat here seems to be not Muslims, and not Islam, but a sort of secular liberal fanaticism. A radical adherence to some perception of the "principles of our country's founding" or some such that actually threatens our open society by labeling its intellectual opposition as not simply mistaken, but entirely illegitimate. There is no danger that America is about to convert to Islam, and there is no doubt that were the Muslim world and the West to engage in open war, the odds would be decidedly lopsided. Where the actual danger lies is in the inability among American conservatives to articulate their opposition to the building of this mosque in a way that strikes a modern liberal chord with the country (I believe that's because no such articulation exists, but that's just my view), and an inability on the part of American liberals to see the issue from the opposing point of view. The only clear and present danger to an American way of life that I can see is this animosity of one group of Americans toward the rest. A growing belief among a segment of the population that a certain way of thinking needs to be marginalized and annihilated. Or am I wrong?
Hey. I'm just sayin'.
"The only clear and present danger to an American way of life that I can see is this animosity of one group of Americans toward the rest. A growing belief among a segment of the population that a certain way of thinking needs to be marginalized and annihilated. Or am I wrong?"
Okay. But I don't think that's what I was saying. I was saying don't put the Cordoba House there because it's hurting a lot of people. And I think it's appropriate to take their feelings into consideration since the Imam has publicly stated that the purpose of the Center is to bring healing. Maybe the Center isn't the way to go. Maybe there's a more successful way.
I realize my view here is extremely unpopular (and honestly, that has surprised me). I realize it may not be well thought-out and that I may be coming off as a totalitarian Communist transvestite Nazi eskimo. I realize I didn't attend an Ivy League school or go to seminary.
I realize I may be COMPLETELY wrong to feel the way I do about the victims of the 9/11 attacks. I realize that my opinions may be more damaging than anything else.
I guess my question then becomes should I be quiet? No really. I'm asking.
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