August 23, 2010
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In honor of just some of the victims of 9/11
I have a question for the many people who oppose building a mosque and Islamic center two blocks from the site of the destruction of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Don't the families of these victims deserve to have a place to worship and grieve as well?
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
Samad Afridi
Ashraf Ahmad
Shabbir Ahmad (45 years old; Windows on the World; leaves wife and 3 children)
Umar Ahmad
Azam Ahsan
Ahmed Ali
Tariq Amanullah (40 years old; Fiduciary Trust Co.; ICNA website team member; leaves wife and 2 children)
Touri Bolourchi (69 years old; United Airlines #175; a retired nurse from Tehran)
Salauddin Ahmad Chaudhury
Abdul K. Chowdhury (30 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald)
Mohammad S. Chowdhury (39 years old; Windows on the World; leaves wife and child born 2 days after the attack)
Jamal Legesse Desantis
Ramzi Attallah Douani (35 years old; Marsh & McLennan)
SaleemUllah Farooqi
Syed Fatha (54 years old; Pitney Bowes)
Osman Gani
Mohammad Hamdani (50 years old)
Salman Hamdani (NYPD Cadet)
Aisha Harris (21 years old; General Telecom)
Shakila Hoque (Marsh & McLennan)
Nabid Hossain
Shahzad Hussain
Talat Hussain
Mohammad Shah Jahan (Marsh & McLennan)
Yasmeen Jamal
Mohammed Jawarta (MAS security)
Arslan Khan Khakwani
Asim Khan
Ataullah Khan
Ayub Khan
Qasim Ali Khan
Sarah Khan (32 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald)
Taimour Khan (29 years old; Karr Futures)
Yasmeen Khan
Zahida Khan
Badruddin Lakhani
Omar Malick
Nurul Hoque Miah (36 years old)
Mubarak Mohammad (23 years old)
Boyie Mohammed (Carr Futures)
Raza Mujtaba
Omar Namoos
Mujeb Qazi
Tarranum Rahim
Ehtesham U. Raja (28 years old)
Ameenia Rasool (33 years old)
Naveed Rehman
Yusuf Saad
Rahma Salie & unborn child (28 years old; American Airlines #11; wife of Michael Theodoridis; 7 months pregnant)
Shoman Samad
Asad Samir
Khalid Shahid (25 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald; engaged to be married in November)
Mohammed Shajahan (44 years old; Marsh & McLennan)
Naseema Simjee (Franklin Resources Inc.'s Fiduciary Trust)
Jamil Swaati
Sanober Syed
Robert Elias Talhami (40 years old; Cantor Fitzgerald)
Michael Theodoridis (32 years old; American Airlines #11; husband of Rahma Salie)
W. WahidInna li-lahi wa inna li-layhi raja'un. (From Allah we come, and to Him is our return.)
Assalaamu 'alaykum
EDIT: 4:08 p.m. pdt. I posted this list of the names of 9/11 victims from about.com during my lunch period after reading this article in the L.A. Times. It just sickens me that there is such an uproar and protests about something which I consider a 'non-issue'. I just got home from work and noticed it's gotten 14 recommends and is at #13 on Xanga's Most Recommended page. (My ElectricPoetry post from last night is still on the Top Blogs page, too!)
"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." That's the text of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibiting the government from establishing a "National Church". In the United States, of which New York is one of the first, we have freedom of religious practice. The citizens of the U.S. can protest all they want, but the private establishment of any house of worship can build a church, mosque, or temple anywhere they wish.
I recommended an excellent Xanga article by Red (Shamelessly Red) last week concerning this 'non issue' which is currently splitting the GOP apart at the seams, just three months before elections.
The misguided terrorist radicals who hijacked and flew 747 jets into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001 were not faithful Muslims. They were terrorists who, like many before them, invoked the name of God to give some kind of credence to thier murderous actions. The morning after the attacks, an Imam in NYC was asked by the moderator of a morning news show if the Muslims who flew those planes thought they were being martyred and would go to paradise. The Imam stated that mass murderers are usually not spiritual or religious in the least. The religious do not kill people. Murderers kill people. They're evil, an antithesis to all religion, and these individuals were only using Islam as their excuse. It was not know about bin Laden at the time, but he was suspected. Throughout history, misguided individuals have used established religion as an excuse for committing heinous acts.
It is not the Islamic Faith which is to blame for 9/11. When a crazy killer goes on a spree in the "name of God" we do not blame Christianity for his evil acts. We blame him. Why do we keep blaming the religion of Islam for everything evil which is done in it's name?
I didn't want this edit to turn into a rant. Let's just listen to the voice of reason. Muslims were the victims, too, on 9/11. Nobody was spared this tragedy. And in America, there is freedom of religion, and all of us should be allowed to worship as we please, and where we please, without fear of harm or hate.
My question is: Don't the families of all victims deserve to have a place to worship and grieve? And the answer of course is yes, they do.
Originally posted about noon on 8/23/10 and updated at 4:45 p.m. MFN/ppf/tvor
EDIT: 6:46 p.m. pdt. It has been suggested in comments that the list I post might be suspect. I mention above I copied it from about.com. There might not be as many victims as are posted on the list. I won't edit it. I did some research and it has been contested before. This in no way deters me from stating that I still think this is a non issue. People in America should be allowed to worship whatever religion they practice wherever they please, and if only ONE person who practiced the Muslim religion perished in the WTC, then HIS/HER family should be able to grieve and pray in their own house of worship!! HERE, by the way, is the official website of the Park51 project. The voice of reason has spoken. (I added Voice of Reason to the tags section. This will hereby be the first entry in my new series of blog entries. The response is pretty positive. I'll have to learn to take criticism, and so far I think I'm doing it pretty well.) MFN/ppf/tvor
Comments (72)
one world
one people
peace
so be it
Funny how that goes..and how we can judge so fast like that..
I think a lot of people (me included) forget that there were a lot of people from many faiths that died that day.
Perfect.
May all of their families find peace, as with everyone else affected.
I don't have a opinion on this but you raise an interesting point Mike.
Good entry.
P.S.- It's odd how people keep referring to an Islamic Cultural Center, with 13 floors with only 2 floors dedicated to prayer rooms as a mosque. I think it's mainly because of the media, and the media knows about the negative connotations attached to the words mosque because of terrorists [who claim to be muslim].
I'm a Muslim and bona fide New Yorker. I have been giving this reminder, http://islam.about.com/blvictims.htm, almost every time when dealing with opposition to the mosque here on Xanga. People are really insistent on their view which for the most part seems to just be full of hate if not being grossly misinformed or falling victim to mob mentality. For now I have given up spending my energy on this (because the concentration of hate was too high to penetrate, people need to hear it from amongst themselves, not from "the other" which apparently I already am) so it is a pleasure to see heartfelt reminders coming from others.
JazakumAllaahu khayr
Wa 'alaikum assalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu
@Chosen_Defined - It's not just the media. Election times are rolling around and politicians all over the country know what they are doing. Google arlington texas mosque, even Fox has an article on it. Things are really that sad.
You make a decent point, but at the same time one must take into account where the attack came from.
Shalom Aleichem
This is a great post, Mike. As usual, I agree with you. Yes, they deserve their space and it is their right as citizens to build their space where they see fit.
@Lady_Kelacy - Unless it came from any of these people or those who are building the mosque, your point doesn't hold water.
@gottobereal64 - You're agreeing with my point and yet you say it holds no water. Riight. Maybe you misunderstood my stance, then.
They will grieve, I would hope, side by side with the rest of the families and friends who lost loved ones on that horrible day. They will grieve, I would hope, side by side at the memorial called "reflecting absense" -- cascading waterfalls made in the footprints of the two towers that are no more. See this link for a rendering.
There is plenty of room for another large Islamic Cultural Center in New York outside of the immediate World Trade Center area (and no one objects to the mosque already just blocks away on Warren Street). I have posted three weblogs on this topic, if you'd like to visit my site. .
PS the Greek Church which was in the south end of the World trade center complex was destroyed in the attacks. It is being rebuilt outside the immediate area in response community wishes for this now-sacred ground of the World Trade Center where literally countless nationalities and religions were represented. We don't see the Jewish Community asking to build a synogue, although many more Jews than muslims died on 9/11. A place for prayer for those who died surely isn't the issue.
I didn't realize there were all religions in the tower
@Lady_Kelacy -You should not be afraid to say the truth -- that Radical Muslim Terrorists were responsible for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 9/11 attacks. The 19 terrorists aboard the planes didn't care about their own lives any more than they did for the Muslims that died in the Towers without knowing about the plan or the Muslims who are proud to be American.
Excellent post. Excellent point. To blame an entire religion for the acts of a few is to be a bigot. No one blames the Christians for the crusades, even though they killed millions. No one blames the colonists for the near destruction of the Native Americans, though they also killed in great numbers. Why? Because they were the historic victors. But we blame Hitler don't we? He lost the war... Foolish man. So here we are faced with an issue close to the hearts of all Americans. An attack on US soil is unforgivable, but can we with a clean conscience hold an entire religious group responsible for our misery? Or just the few that caused it directly. My dear friend Murat Kashim was not a terrorist, but that did not stop a group of drunken good old boys from strining him up on a tree in northern Tennessee on 9/12 did it?
P.S. He left behind his wife, and three young children who had to hear about his death from a newspaper, because the police refused to come to their house.
@beautyinbeautyout - Yes, "Radical Muslim Terrorists were responsible". Not any of the families that were massacred. And they should be allowed to mourn and what not in the privacy of their own homes according to whatever religion they desire so long as it does not hurt anyone. As for a mosque at/near Ground Zero, I think it sends a message of weakness and forgiveness. It depends on the view point of the person watching.
this is a good point.
@Lady_Kelacy - The attack didn't come from Islam, so that's pretty irrelevant. These people didn't attack anybody don't group them. If that's the case we should burn every church and send your ass back to Europe.
IGNORANCE is weakness.
@sarahvega - What is it with the people around this blog misunderstanding what I'm saying. Jeez luiz.
Thanks for posting this.
@Lady_Kelacy - Then elaborate as to WHY you felt the need to say "remember where the attacks came from." Do YOU even know where the attacks came from?
@sarahvega - Where the attacks came from has nothing to do with the people the mosque would be built for, correct? They are different people groups. The responsible, and the not responsible.
@Lady_Kelacy -
"You make a decent point, but at the same time one must take into account where the attack came from."
Then I reiterate, what was YOUR POINT?
@sarahvega - Agreed. Ignorance is surely sad and a weakness
@llibra - @Hinase - @NightlyDreams - @tukhahaha - @Zeal4living - @Chosen_Defined - @versatil - @Lady_Kelacy - @BoureeMusique - @gottobereal64 - @Babyboomerjill - @Ashtraygirl84 - @TheSutraDude - Dear Readers, I invite you to come back and read my edit on this post. Thank you everyone who recommended, read, and thought this over. MFN/ppf/tvor
@baldmike2004 - I agree. And if you take the right of the muslims away to practice their religion you take the right from everyone.
I was there on 9/11 working in 3 World Financial Center which was connected to the North Tower. I heard both planes hit, the roaring engines preceding the explosive blasts. I felt the impacts and watched debris fly past our windows. I stood outside by the Hudson River amongst a lot of people expecting to go back into the building and back to work once we got the clear sign to go back. Instead we watched the towers come down but this was not an attack by Muslims. This was an attack by idiots totally lost in fanatic idealism and hatred. I walked the more than 90 blocks home but stopped on the way at an Indian restaurant because it was past noon, I was hungry and wanted to feel a sense of normalcy. The Indian restaurant was owned by one of my best friends, a Muslim from Bangladesh. I don't think of him as a Muslim nor does he think of me as a Buddhist. We are friends. We laugh together and talk about all kinds of things. I have many Muslim friends in NYC and find hard to believe all of this politicizing and hatred going on over this community center and other Mosques around the country. I wonder from what low places in this country's psyche these haters and political opportunists have crawled, especially those who wave flags and claim to defend The Constitution. It's exactly at times such as these that the Constitution needs defending because it is for times like these that the Constitution was written.
eek. I am shocked to see misinformation on Xanga!!!
I thought I was reading a post suggesting a mosque at the WTC was justified because many Muslims died in the towers at ground zero, and their relatives should be permitted to mourn.
Well. IF the list was correct (which it is not) then 2% of those who perished at the WTC were muslims. But it's not a correct list. The numbers are far smaller.
I cross checked one last name. Sarah Kahn and Taimor Kahn did die in the towers. No other Kahns of the eight Kahns listed above are found on the official registry. I'm not going to diminish the deaths. But this is SPIN plain and simple, and Mike, you're a victim. If the list includes those on the flights...well, I can't rule out martyrdom.
We should all check our sources before we write a post.
@TheSutraDude - I cried reading your comment...because I was there too, and the memories, disbelief and fear come flooding back when I hear such an account. I didn't make it "out" until 5:00 after trecking north along the waterfront with hundreds of people covered in debris. We took a party cruise boat to New Jersey where me and my family walked many more miles before we were able to hook up with relatives who brought us to a place to stay until we were allowed back in our home five blocks north of the Trade Center (about two weeks later). I have no hate for Muslims. I looked up the name "Kahn" (see comment above) because my daughter's best friend is a Kahn and a practicing Muslim. But the truth is that the controversey for the majority of Americans (63%) is not about the "right" to have a mosque near ground zero. It is about whether or not is is the "right thing to do." We would not put a big US cultural center at Hiroshima, and the nuns who set up a convent in Auschwitz left in 1993 after the Pope intervened in response to Jewish opposition. There is no reason for a Cultural Center and Mosque to be two blocks north of the site when Islamic Fundamentalists around the world are still waging a Jihad against the U.S. and the wounds of 9/11 are still fresh. There are many other more suitable sites in New York where an even bigger and better Center would be welcomed. (I now live a short few blocks away from the Islamic Center on 96th and 3rd). New Yorkers are not bigots. This is not about hate. The controversy is about sensitivity.
That's awesome! "It is not the Islamic Faith which is to blame for 9/11. When a crazy killer goes on a spree in the "name of God" we do not blame Christianity for his evil acts. We blame him. Why do we keep blaming the religion of Islam for everything evil which is done in it's name?" Exactly! Thank you.
@beautyinbeautyout - Dear A, I am using a list which I did not at first credit. After editing, I linked the list to about.com and sent a message to all the commenters who visited. I will even link here to THIS blog entry which disputes this list. I give my reasons for posting this entry in the edit. I'm upset that there is even a protest about this. The Park51 Project is a multicultural interfaith center. Even if the list is wrong in any way, and right now I won't say if it is or it isn't, because I don't know, it doesn't matter. You even stated in one of your entries you invited me to read, that you aren't against the idea of religious intolerance. You just don't think they should build the cultural center so close to the WTC site. I'm saying it shouldn't matter. I'm trusting about.com and maybe they're wrong. Even if there are only two Muslims who perished (the dissenting blog entry to which I link states 23), then their families should be given the benefit of the doubt and allowed a place to worship wherever it exists, including two blocks away from "ground zero." There are always multiple views and multiple points. And some people won't ever change their minds. I'm not a professional journalist. I'm a blogger. I failed to cite a source at first, and I have now done so. You can protest that source and you may disagree. You have that right. You even have the right to protest anything you wish. It's a free internet, at least for now. You are American, as am I, and that same first Amendment I quoted in the edit, protects our rights to disagree with each other, as long as we don't start throwing things. Your first sentence is somewhat flawed. The mosque is but part of a cultural center two blocks away, not "at" the WTC. It is the freedom of religion that guarantees building a place of worship anywhere in the U.S. And even if 23 or less Muslims died in the terrorist act that killed so many people, then their families should be able to attend services at a place of worship close to the place where this tragedy occured. I'm not a "victim". I stand my ground, and it looks like quite a few of my commenters agree with me. MFN/ppf/tvor
Yes. I agree. Xanga is a great place to agree, disagree, debate and dissent. While sometimes I am in the minority here (as now) and sometimes I am in the majority, I always find the discussions mind-expanding. Thanks for introducing one of many issues in this debate. Kudos for the newly added links (which I did not see before I wrote my comment). PS I know the Burlington Coat factory building well. There is a world trade center "area" that is not about inches or yards or blocks...but that is another story. be well.
@Ashtraygirl84 - oh wow that is horrible. It really makes me sick.
The mass media, including blogs like this (massive) are the driving force behind this war of ideologies. When will people understand that ideology isn't even reality. It exists only in the mind of man, which, ironically, is also the only place mass media exists. Get rid of all weapons because we all have words. War is just a bloody story I'm getting tired of.
@beautyinbeautyout - I understand your point but here's the way I see it. For the most part this became a public issue not with the reasoning of sensitivity but under the guise of this being a Christian nation that was attacked by Islam. It was only when that argument failed on all of its merits that sensitivity suddenly became the justification for blocking the community center.
At the outset Fox News and numerous radio talk show hosts reported that the Mosque was being built at ground zero and they made comments that people should not have to see a Mosque when they visit ground zero. These were lies created to ignite rage among people, to divide people, and for political gain since there are many who still think President Obama is a Muslim when he isn't. That all ties into this as well. What they did with the nunnery in Germany is Germany's business but a big difference between 9/11 and Auschwitz is that by many accounts the Vatican was largely supportive of the growth of the Nazi party and many Christians remained so even after word of the atrocities began to circulate. There are people who are here arguing we shouldn't allow the building of Mosques because they are persecuted as Christians living in Egypt. We aren't Egypt either. We have our Constitution to live by here. Lately there have been incidents reported in the news of Mosques being attacked elsewhere in the U.S.. These are never good signs in any country.
Another aspect of this is the Imam of the Community Center if built and his wife are Sufis and have been utilized by both the Bush and Obama administrations to help create better relations between Muslims abroad and the U.S. and it is in this spirit that this community center was proposed. That building has also been empty since 9/11 as are many others in the area.
I also believe most New Yorkers are not bigots although I have met some. I threw one out of a bar once, an ex-marine who wouldn't stop talking in derogatory language (including the N word) over and over about black people. The bartender thanked me. They do exist. I think more of the hatred is coming from other parts of the country though. I heard this evening about a man who was attacked at a recent anti Mosque demonstration because he was black and wearing some sort of hat. People at the rally assumed he was Muslim, which he wasn't. This either happened today or yesterday.
If this was truly about sensitivity it would be a different story. It's been about hatred and dividing people for political reasons but now it's being cloaked behind "oh I'm so sensitive about this issue". I'm not inferring you are one of those people at all. I've simply watched the story and the excuses switch. Then we have "experts" like Rush Limbaugh saying things like "This is like allowing a Hindu to build a Temple at Pearl Harbor". Funny, I didn't know India was the nation that launched the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.
You surely remember as I do the non-stop river of emergency vehicles pouring down West Street that morning and into the afternoon. There were Muslim first responders there too. We didn't question them then. I don't think we should be repaying them by questioning them now. They are Americans who showed up with everyone else at a time of great need.
@beautyinbeautyout - I disagree about the sensitivity issue but if that's what you're saying it is for you, then you are probably the minority. Others I have "debated" with really either boil down to misinformed, mob mentality, or are just haters/bigots. I read an interesting op recently on Xanga:
http://rezidew.xanga.com/731928617/all-the-drama-surrounding-the-proposed-community-c…/
The masajid in the area, the halal food vendors, and so on none of these were a problem for the past 9 years. This is nonsense. One of our 2 'Id's (holidays) might fall on September 11th this year. If it's really about sensitivity for the most part we won't see hate like below or in Six Flags around the country or at various mosques (google arlington texas mosque).
Even if there is something justifiable within this sensitivity issue it is only allowing the haters to have something to cultivate themselves in. We already have an instance of domestic terrorism in that mosque above and we can see the mob mentality in action against Kenny the GZ union carpenter. If this is allowed to continue Muslims will become "the other." I was born and raised here in NYC, I cannot imagine living anywhere else, but at this rate I absolutely will not be raising a family here in this country. What's sensitive to you is just blocking out a future altogether.
@TheSutraDude - I love your previous comment (I'm a Bangladeshi Muslim myself in NYC, back then I was 17, getting ready to get to college, and non-practicing back then, but I remember that morning in detail).
The black dude you're referring to:
"The crowd turns on Kenny. At the end of the rally a black man named Kenny walked through the crowd, and was immediately mistaken for being Muslim. They mistook the Under-Armour head cap he was wearing as the Muslim skull cap, and as he walked through the crowd several people confronted him. Ultimately he was asked to leave by security.
After this I caught up with him and had a long conversation about how scary that was for him. He works at Ground Zero as a union carpenter. The hate at this rally was palpable. This is what scares me about the direction America is taking. I really got a good taste of the mob mentality at work."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwaNRWMN-F4
@baldmike2004 - Good update, it is sad you even had to elaborate.
http://beitlerforussenate.netboots.net/posts/the-ground-zero-mosque
We must not forget the crazy Christians like David Koresh. The muslims that attacked us are the equivalent to Koresh.
It is a piece of property people. The owners of that property can put anything on it they want as long as it adheres to the city and building codes. If you think it is rude I understand but "Against Rudeness there is no Law"...Personally I applaud Mikes viewpoint ...but IF you think it is an affront, a slap in the face, ignore it. Don't look at it, don't talk about it, don't argue about it....Don't let them know they "hurt" your feelings because if you do.....They WIN! I live in Texas but don't think it didn't hurt when I watched it happen on TV. It hurt, it hurt bad. Proximity had nothing to do with the pain, and Idon't think it has anything to do with my prayers for the lost and their families,
I agree; excellent post!
Muslims have places to worship all over New York City. So your question is moot. Placing a victory monument to the 9/11 mass murderers at Ground Zero is a travesty.
It's like putting a Japanese shrine at Pearl Harbor.
You (And ShamelesslyRed!) should look up the response on this subject that Ron Paul issued recently. It raises some very interesting points about the political side of this.
When you start listing the names, and not just some random number, it becomes a little more real--esp. when you include certain information/background about the person. There was life behind that name. And they deserve as much respect and honor as the rest of the people who perished on that day.
@beautyinbeautyout - The difference between putting a U.S. Cultural Center at Hiroshima and the building of an Islamic cultural center near the World Trade Center site is so tremendous that I cannot believe you would consider the comparison a reasonable one. Building a U.S. Cultural Center at Hiroshima would be highly inappropriate, despite Japan's serious infatuation with American culture. WE bombed Hiroshima by dropping an atomic bomb on them. In sharp contrast, the people building the Islamic cultural center are Americans who have had cultural centers just blocks away from the site for more than forty years. They have lived here. They lost friends and loved ones in those towers. They watched in horror as it unfolded just the same as I did, albeit with a much closer view. They are our neighbors and coworkers and, for some, our friends.
If you cannot see the difference between what you have proposed and the reality of Park 51 and understand why it is "the right thing to do" to support this community center, I suggest you re-examine the situation very carefully. Your own sensitivity is dulled.
It's the holy month of Ramadhan for the Muslims. I have Muslim friends, and they are greatly misunderstood. Some are moderate in their beliefs. We have Muslim Xangans, and we should respect their faith as well.
@Automaton_Emotion - I believe you're right. Hiroshima wasn't the best example. Maybe it was even a terrible example. I'll have to think more on it. In any event, I was stretching to "bring it home." The Carmelite Nuns who set up a Convent in Auschwitz most certainly is a better comparison, as all Christians (certainly not thes nuns) were not Nazis, but Jews objected to their presense. The Pope intervened, and they moved. Now my own archbishop of New York is offering to negotiate a better site with Mulim leaders and our Governor. Here, the situation is similar: hate, distrust, bigotry, politics, predjudice, misunderstanding, all rolled into one very sad situation.
@TheSutraDude - You said it all: This issue is so heated, with bad politics mixed up with bad information, hate and misunderstanding. Rather than heal ... it continues to divide. Thank you. I do beliieve it is a "personal" sensitivity. I know many can say the same thing, while for others it is about hate or some other ill motive.
Thank you, and I'm so very glad that you do take into consideration that the PEOPLE who were hurt during this awful moment, were not just American Christians. Many different religions, races, sexes were hurt by this event and it's shouldn't be anyone's right to say that just because "the muslims" did it, they can't have a sanctuary near there. That's a load of crap.
I think maybe it would be in everyone's interest to craft a building design that harbors all of the religious views of the innocent people who were injured or killed on 9/11. Combine all of the religions into one building (not necessarily to be in one room together), but for everyone to mourn their losses together. It wouldn't be hard to combine the simple architecture of Christian's churches on one part of the building, while using the traditional architechture of a mosque on another part of the building.
Everyone just needs to learn to put their differences aside and come together after such a loss.
@versatil - The mob mentality is indeed scary. Imagine, the guy being harassed by the protesters is a carpenter who works at Ground Zero. Blind hatred.
@beautyinbeautyout - I agree. Sensitivity is one thing. Hatred and political gain is another.
@Zailla - The more people that tell me how sad it is, and how it makes them sick, the more hope I have for the future. Thanks
Oh no, Mike. You are exposing yourself to the drama!
I think you'll be fine though. You always keep a pretty calm head.
@vanedave - Dear Dave, As I mention in the edit, I was upset by something I read in the L.A. Times, and that's what prompted the post. I've been considering writing a more "political" themed series of entries, and this will be the first. I call the series "The Voice of Reason: Baldmike Explains it All." As for exposure, I really "exposed" myself in a previous post when I entered a "Xanga contest" as a parody. LOL.
@baldmike2004 - I didn't get to read that one. I will have to go back. I like the idea for your series. It reminds me of the title of my blog, "Making Sense of the Nonsense."
Hello Mike. I think this is my first time here.
I wish I were standing infront of you, I would humbly bend my head for the truth that you speak and the compassion your post exudes. Thank you.
The mosque at Ground Zero ISN'T about freedom of religion. It will be a structure made to give sanction to the terrorists who brought down the Twin Towers. Freedom of religion is only valid when it doesn't mean further violence against us. Rauf has worked closely with terrorist groups and hasn't shown any indication that he opposes further violence against the US. Neither does he feel that Muslims can do any wrong. If this mosque is to honor the Muslim victims, why is he only concerned about them and not the non-Muslim victims? The man can't be trusted and, therefore, his mosque should be opposed.
@beautyinbeautyout - Which is exactly why this community center should be built where the land has been purchased and the plans were designed for. This is America and, if we hold nothing else sacred, we should defend the freedoms we have been afforded as ardently as we can. And, again... These are not terrorists from a foreign land coming to show us up and spit in our faces. They are our neighbors, our fellow citizens, members of our communities.
@beautyinbeautyout - Jihad is not holy war. I hate how non-Muslims who have no clue about Arabic speak before they think. Jihad means "self struggle within ones self." The term "holy war" in Arabic, which by the way is not mentioned anywhere in Al Qur'an is Harb u Muqadash. There is nothing wrong whatsoever with building a community center near the Ground Zero area (which is 2 blocks away). As far as I know we don't blame all of Germany for the Holocaust (which by the way killed Jews, Poles, Prisoners of War, Homosexuals, Jewish sympathizers, mentally and physically handicapped people, the elderly, the mentally ill, Gypsies, etc.). As far as I know people have pretty much forgiven the Christians for their brutal killing spree during the Crusades (when they threw out the Jews of Jerusalem). I'm pretty sure "normal" American society doesn't blame the descendants of the 13 colonies for slaughtering the Native Americans in their quest for "Manifest Destiny" and "freedom". Not sure if the German and Italian Americans who we threw into "relocation" camps blame us for sending them there during WW1. But seriously this shouldn't even be an issue. This land is supposed to be open to ALL people of ALL faiths, but it seems time and again, and some of the comments just comfirm my suspicions, that "freedom of religion" applies only to the Christian majority and possibly the Jews of America. I imagine the Atheists possibly have it worse then Muslims, but Muslims are America's scapegoat now. This country was built on the blood of Native Americans and the slavery of blacks, many of them Muslim slaves. But even though America has done horrible things in her 2 centuries of existence, many people still flock to America because she offers people what they don't have at home... the freedom to practice their religion as they see fit. Or at least that is how it is SUPPOSED to be.
@TheSutraDude - Agreed.
@winter_deathangel -
"Jihad means "self struggle within ones self."
I'm glad you mentioned that and I can understand. Thank you. There are many allusions in the Bible to picking up swords or conquering. Many Christians misinterpret those messages. I believe it is biggest reason people don't understand the Book of Revelations. These passages tell the reader to struggle within one's self but people don't often understand them correctly. In Buddhism, which I have practiced for over 23 years, there are also battle metaphors and their meaning is the same.
@zionlover - Which is why the US is funding him, right?
@versatil - Don't blame me. I voted for McCain.
I came back to check on those biographical entries from a few days ago and read this instead. Wonderful! (Echoes the thoughts I expressed at my place today, except I just wrote a sentence or two.)
I knew one of the people on the list.
Her remains were never found. The only place that is a gravesite for her is Ground Zero.
The racists who oppose the building of that Mosque are no different from the racists who attacked the Twin Towers that day. Same hate, different rhetoric.
Wonderful post. Thank you.
From my understanding you can't even see Ground Zero from where the community center is being built. It is 2 blocks away, not on Ground Zero. How can a building that is for the community be considered a "threat" to the victims of 9/11? There were Muslims who lost their lives at 9/11 as well. *Granted most Americans probably don't know this.* But now there are attacks nationwide on mosques being built in other parts of America which is just sad in my opinion. It is the 21st century, shouldn't we be over racism/discrimination based on skin color, religious beliefs, sexuality? I do not believe in homosexuality, it's against all three major religions but still this is America and people have the right to do as they please without fear of harassment as long as it isn't plotting to overthrow the goverment. It has been almost a decade since 9/11 occurred, where is the memorial to the victims that has been talked about? As I understand it, plans are (or were) in place to either A. rebuild the twin towers or B. build some "freedom" tower. Building the community center 2 blocks away won't bring all the dead people back. It won't eliminate the despair, horror, and grief of 9/11, not only to the families who lost people, but to us as a nation. Or are Muslims now considered not "people", not "Americans"? A community center is no threat to anybody. It is not a "disgrace" or a "slap in the face" to the victims or the families who lost lost loved ones at 9/11. It is a 13-story building that will have a masjid (that is mosque in Arabic) on the first floor and then the rest of the floors will be community center. From my understanding, the community needs something like that there. This is America and if you don't like the laws of the constitution then maybe you should consider packing your bags and leaving the country. Our forefathers founded this country with the ideals in the constitution, one of the rights being freedom of religion for ALL.
I loved this piece. And coming from you, it just melted my heart. Thank you, darling...
@winter_deathangel - Dear Deathangel, I just erased my first reply. In retrospect, you are either directing this comment at another in the string, or else you didn't read my entry. I'm on your side. MFN/ppf
@QweenCat - Dearest Maha, I'm so glad you got to read this. I'm so pleased (for the most part) at the response this short entry generated. My usual 9/11 post, in which I post my poem "Tragedy" and supply a list of the names of the over 3000 people killed in the attacks, always gets lots of hits. This is a more directed version of that entry. I keep saying, this is a "non issue". In the country in which I live, the U.S.A. we have freedom of religion, and so many people seem to equate "Islam" with "terrorism" these days. Most of them probably have never read any of the Qu'ran nor even know the message of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) They are blind fools who follow the wrong path. Even my neighbor was vehemently "opposed' to the Park51 project (to which I provide a link in the entry) which is an attempt by the Islamic community to build an interfaith community center. People hear "mosque" and they think of terrorism. I don't even think mosques can have minarets in this country. What a shame. I read on another site that "blaming the Muslims for 9/11 is like blaming the Christians for the KKK (Ku Klux Klan, a "religious" white supremacy group)." An apt comparison. As I said in a comment on your blog, I'm afraid that soon American troops are going to march right into Pakistan. You folks over there have enough trouble to deal with!
If you are having a wedding or event at a location in Dublin, look no further than O'Donovan Marquees.