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Two blocks away from Ground Zero lies the prospective area for the building of a Muslim Cultural Center.
Surrounding that area is a mix of people who feel either threatened or comforted by the prospective project. Even outside of New York, other Americans have mixed emotions about it as well.
Everyone has rights to freedom of religion and expression granted by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. These rights are part of the foundation in which this country is based on. To deny the rights of the people who want to create this community center is unethical and hypocritical. Resisting the construction of the community center is reinforcing religionism because it inhibits religious expression.
People need to be more open-minded or neutral about the upcoming project. People have forgotten that the amendments apply to everyone who is an American.
While 9/11 was an atrocious event, it is not something that has only affected Christian people. Various races of people have also been killed, including people who are of the Muslim faith.
The problem with the community center project is that it propels people to become “Islamophobic” because it is affiliated with the assailants behind the attack. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, “Islamophobia is unfounded fear and hostility toward Muslims.”
The community center will be built two blocks away from the destination of the collapse of the World Trade Center.
This brings additional pain to people who will forever be traumatized over the loss of people who meant something to them on that fateful day. People are offended because it is seen as disrespectful that something related to the faith of the perpetrators will be built near their gravesite. The media also plays a significant role in it. People will accept anything they see in the media.
When people feel threatened by something they don’t understand, they stereotype and feel hostile toward another group of people. This can lead to exclusion from society, stereotyping and evidently, hate crimes.
President Obama said at a recent conference at the White House, “The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated any differently by their government, is essential to who we are.” An argument like this is simply meant to remind people not to be hypocritical.
The problem is that many Americans can’t seem to distinguish between Islam itself, which literally means “peace” and to “submit,” and the beliefs of radical Muslim extremists (Al-Qaeda). It is a good sign when people can recognize and distinguish between the perpetrators’ radical beliefs and the innocent people who happen to practice the same religion. There are many Americans who practice Islam as well.
I think that the lives lost on Sept. 11 should be commemorated forever. There is sympathy to be had for all the people who lost their loved ones in the attacks. Unfortunately, there are still people who do not take into consideration that people who are Muslim have lost people that they cared about in the attacks as well.
New York is one of the world’s Largest Salad Bowls! People forget this. That is the reason that Americans who practice the Islamic faith are being singled out.
I think it is because people are becoming fearful of what they cannot understand.
We can no longer accept intolerance of people due to a tragic event, because all people of one single group are not the same. America cannot revert back into its rich history of prejudice while we can continue to progress.
Based on our freedom and morality, we will all hopefully become more accepting when it comes to social issues like this. Though we will never forget that the community center will be in a location that is close to where America has seen one of Her greatest tragedies.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Stacey Sams at Stacey.sams@colorado.edu.
1 comment
Stacey,
Interesting read. Clearly you are not from the New York area. If you were, you would understand on a more profound level the deep pain felt by the families of the victims of 9/11. You probably did not sit in class on that fateful day and watch frantic 11-year old classmates dial their parents who worked in the towers. You did not witness them being called down to the office on the intercom to be told by school officials that their moms and dads were not coming home. If you had, you would understand why people feel so strongly about the shear symbolism of a mega-mosque being built in such absurdly-close proximity to the WTC. This isn’t about “religionism,” there are a ton of mosques in NY and nobody is bothered or offended by them (as they shouldn’t be). This is about the insensitive location of the structure, and this is about being conscious of the victims’ families’ very real and still very raw emotions.