Letter from the Editor - September 2010
This magazine is focused on Arkansas politics and government. We're not going to spend much space talking about issues outside Arkansas.
But we'll make an exception for the “Ground Zero mosque” controversy, because there’s a lot of misinformation spreading about the project. I’d like to address a few of the things I hear people saying about the mosque.
1. “The Ground Zero mosque.”
The project’s offical name is Park51, it’s not exactly a mosque, and it’s not at Ground Zero. It’s two blocks away from the site of the World Trade Center (equivalent to six of the city blocks I’m used to in Fort Smith), and it’s actually more of a community center. The center will include a pool, a gym, a library, an auditorium, and, yes, a mosque, among other things. But it’s a misnomer to call the whole thing a mosque; it would be like calling the Jones Center in Northwest Arkansas a chapel. Park51 is a community center that includes a mosque.
2. “This project is equivalent to building a statue of Hitler at the gates of Auschwitz.”
Not even close. For one thing, the Cordoba Initiative (the group that plans to build Park51) isn’t honoring the Al-Qaida terrorists who flew the planes into the Twin Towers. The terrorists did act in the name of Islam, but that doesn’t mean all or even most Muslims support terrorism. In fact, the group’s website says, “What happened [on 9/11] was terrorism, and it shames us that it was cloaked in the guise of Islam. It was inhumane, un-Islamic and is indefensible regardless of one’s religious persuasion.” The group plans to include a memorial to the victims of 9/11 in Park51.
But even if the Cordoba folks thought the 9/11 terrorists were heroes, this project isn’t a monument. It’s a place designed for people to come and play, relax, socialize, read, and worship.
3. “The imam behind the project supports the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and thinks the U.S. is responsible for 9/11.”
Rather than relying on hearsay, let’s read what Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf actually said about these two things. Here’s what he said about 9/11: “I wouldn’t say that the United States deserved what happened. But the United States’ policies were an accessory to the crime that happened.” Plenty of prominent Americans have made similar statements, including the right-wing icon Glenn Beck, who now thinks Rauf’s views are dangerous.
And here’s what Rauf said when he was asked about Hamas: “I’m not a politician. I try to avoid the issues. The issue of terrorism is a very complex question... I am a peace builder. I will not allow anybody to put me in a position where I am seen by any party in the world as an adversary or as an enemy.” Is that a cowardly statement? Perhaps. But it certainly isn’t an expression of support for Hamas.
Rauf is a controversial figure, but he claims to seek to build bridges between the Muslim community and the West. The Bush and Obama administrations have both used him as an advisor in interfaith matters.
4. “Rauf is receiving American federal funds to help build the community center.”
Rauf is making a federally-funded trip to the Middle East as part of his role as an interfaith advisor to the Obama administration. It has been widely speculated that he will use the trip to raise funds for Park51, but so far I haven’t seen any evidence to back that up.
5. “There’s a church near Ground Zero that was destroyed on 9/11 and still hasn’t been rebuilt. Guess the city government cares more about building a mosque than a church.”
It’s a Greek Orthodox church called St. Nicholas, and it was indeed destroyed in the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11. But the matter of rebuilding it isn’t simple. The church leaders want it rebuilt on a different site, about 100 yards away from where their church originally stood -- and they don’t own that property. They have been in negotiations with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to get the new site. Those talks, however, have broken down, and the two sides have differing views of who is to blame. According to the Port Authority, nothing is stopping the church leaders from rebuilding on their original site. So, it’s a complicated problem, and it also isn’t New York’s city government’s problem, since they’re not the ones keeping the church from being rebuilt.
6. “The area around Ground Zero is sacred ground.”
I guess it depends on what you mean by sacred or “hallowed,” but before using this argument, you might want to consider that there are strip joints and betting facilities in the same area as Park51. A community center seems a heck of a lot more sacred than a gentleman’s club named “New York Dolls.”
I haven’t addressed all the facets of this complex issue, but that’s a start. Bottom line: We need to be careful about forming opinions when we don’t have all the necessary facts. Many people think that Park51 is a mosque that celebrates the 9/11 attacks at the very place where they happened; that the imam behind it is a radical terrorist sympathizer; and that President Obama must be pro-Islam (if not an actual Muslim) for supporting the Cordoba Initiative’s right to build on its own property. Are all of those things completely wrong? Possibly not. But it’s wrong to believe them without researching some credible sources.
It’s human nature for us to want the things we believe to be the things that are true. But that’s backwards. We need to want the true things to be the things we believe.
But we'll make an exception for the “Ground Zero mosque” controversy, because there’s a lot of misinformation spreading about the project. I’d like to address a few of the things I hear people saying about the mosque.
1. “The Ground Zero mosque.”
The project’s offical name is Park51, it’s not exactly a mosque, and it’s not at Ground Zero. It’s two blocks away from the site of the World Trade Center (equivalent to six of the city blocks I’m used to in Fort Smith), and it’s actually more of a community center. The center will include a pool, a gym, a library, an auditorium, and, yes, a mosque, among other things. But it’s a misnomer to call the whole thing a mosque; it would be like calling the Jones Center in Northwest Arkansas a chapel. Park51 is a community center that includes a mosque.
2. “This project is equivalent to building a statue of Hitler at the gates of Auschwitz.”
Not even close. For one thing, the Cordoba Initiative (the group that plans to build Park51) isn’t honoring the Al-Qaida terrorists who flew the planes into the Twin Towers. The terrorists did act in the name of Islam, but that doesn’t mean all or even most Muslims support terrorism. In fact, the group’s website says, “What happened [on 9/11] was terrorism, and it shames us that it was cloaked in the guise of Islam. It was inhumane, un-Islamic and is indefensible regardless of one’s religious persuasion.” The group plans to include a memorial to the victims of 9/11 in Park51.
But even if the Cordoba folks thought the 9/11 terrorists were heroes, this project isn’t a monument. It’s a place designed for people to come and play, relax, socialize, read, and worship.
3. “The imam behind the project supports the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and thinks the U.S. is responsible for 9/11.”
Rather than relying on hearsay, let’s read what Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf actually said about these two things. Here’s what he said about 9/11: “I wouldn’t say that the United States deserved what happened. But the United States’ policies were an accessory to the crime that happened.” Plenty of prominent Americans have made similar statements, including the right-wing icon Glenn Beck, who now thinks Rauf’s views are dangerous.And here’s what Rauf said when he was asked about Hamas: “I’m not a politician. I try to avoid the issues. The issue of terrorism is a very complex question... I am a peace builder. I will not allow anybody to put me in a position where I am seen by any party in the world as an adversary or as an enemy.” Is that a cowardly statement? Perhaps. But it certainly isn’t an expression of support for Hamas.
Rauf is a controversial figure, but he claims to seek to build bridges between the Muslim community and the West. The Bush and Obama administrations have both used him as an advisor in interfaith matters.
4. “Rauf is receiving American federal funds to help build the community center.”
Rauf is making a federally-funded trip to the Middle East as part of his role as an interfaith advisor to the Obama administration. It has been widely speculated that he will use the trip to raise funds for Park51, but so far I haven’t seen any evidence to back that up.
5. “There’s a church near Ground Zero that was destroyed on 9/11 and still hasn’t been rebuilt. Guess the city government cares more about building a mosque than a church.”
It’s a Greek Orthodox church called St. Nicholas, and it was indeed destroyed in the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11. But the matter of rebuilding it isn’t simple. The church leaders want it rebuilt on a different site, about 100 yards away from where their church originally stood -- and they don’t own that property. They have been in negotiations with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to get the new site. Those talks, however, have broken down, and the two sides have differing views of who is to blame. According to the Port Authority, nothing is stopping the church leaders from rebuilding on their original site. So, it’s a complicated problem, and it also isn’t New York’s city government’s problem, since they’re not the ones keeping the church from being rebuilt.
6. “The area around Ground Zero is sacred ground.”
I guess it depends on what you mean by sacred or “hallowed,” but before using this argument, you might want to consider that there are strip joints and betting facilities in the same area as Park51. A community center seems a heck of a lot more sacred than a gentleman’s club named “New York Dolls.”
I haven’t addressed all the facets of this complex issue, but that’s a start. Bottom line: We need to be careful about forming opinions when we don’t have all the necessary facts. Many people think that Park51 is a mosque that celebrates the 9/11 attacks at the very place where they happened; that the imam behind it is a radical terrorist sympathizer; and that President Obama must be pro-Islam (if not an actual Muslim) for supporting the Cordoba Initiative’s right to build on its own property. Are all of those things completely wrong? Possibly not. But it’s wrong to believe them without researching some credible sources.
It’s human nature for us to want the things we believe to be the things that are true. But that’s backwards. We need to want the true things to be the things we believe.
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