I have to agree with public sentiment. I will not stand for a mosque to be built at Ground Zero. That being said, I have no problem with a mosque being built near Ground Zero. The Cordoba House is planned to be built at 45 Park Place, which isn't visible from Ground Zero, from what I've read. The bigger irony is that it isn't even slated to be a mosque. Its going to house the Muslim cultural center. Yes there will be a prayer room, but Muslims must pray five times a day, so it's more for convenience. These days the media, even the liberal media, sees any place a Muslim prays to be a house of worship. The people behind the project also want to use the building to educate non-Muslims about their religious beliefs and customs.
The real problem with the average American is that they are ignorant when it comes to Islamic beliefs. They believe all Muslims are terrorists and this center is the rubbing of our nose in the tragedy that occurred. How do you imagine the Iraqis feel about 150,000+ Muslim civilians who have died? Sometimes we forget that Muslim Americans also died that day in unforgettable day in September. I've been critical of George W. Bush, but was very impressed with the way he came out and defended Muslims and tried to explain that this was an extremist group and we shouldn't judge everyone based on the acts of a few. The problem was he did it while the wounds were still fresh and didn't follow it up with more like statements. As someone who took a college class on Islam and shared many conversations with Muslim students, I think, rather I know I'm more educated than 99% of the people out there when it comes to the difference between the people who flew the planes into the towers and those who walk among us every day.
It's my opinion that Muslims have the hardest road to walk, if they desire to sit by the feet of their savior in some sort of mystical afterlife. They must first profess their lives to God. They must pray five times a day, every day, in a very precise manner and in one direction. During Ramadan they are not allowed to ingest anything during the daylight hours and are required to give 2.5% of their total wealth in alms. This money is distributed to the poorest people in an attempt to better their lives. Finally there is the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that must be made to fulfill a Muslims duties to god. There is no weekly march to a church or synagogue. No two second confession that is absolved with a few memorized lines. This is serious business and is truly a lifestyle as much as it is a religion. It should also be noted that most Muslims have memorized the Quran. It's not something they happen to know a verse or two to repeat back once a week.
Getting back to the sensitive issue regarding the building of this center so close to Ground Zero, I believe there is one major problem. The ignorant statements I've heard and read show me that ignorance is bliss, but it's also contagious. The people that are so up in arms about this cultural center should have done a little research before flapping their gums. There was already a mosque in the area. About twelve blocks from the hallowed grounds, a mosque sat, in a warehouse, which was there for 15 years. It was there before 9/11 and after. When the lease ran out, the mosque was forced to move, but with no place available the imam of the mosque received permission to use an abandoned building that was damaged during the 9/11 attacks. The building is the same building that is in discussion now for the Cordoba House. So if it's been there before, why is it wrong to rebuild the building and make the area better. I've also read reports that after 9/11 the Muslim community offered to buy the building as a symbol of their stand against the terrorist acts, but the offer was rejected and has stood vacant for years.
If there is one reason not to build on that site, it is not because of the threat it poses or its geographical location. The real reason not to is because the level of hatred, anger and prejudice in this country towards anyone who doesn't fit into the majority is out of control. The things I've heard in the past few weeks are disgusting. Have we not learned from the Holocaust, the prison camps in WWII, Korea and Vietnam? We've become a country that loves war, fighting and violence. As long as it's not on our soil. We have become numb to the death and destruction, because it's only been real to us once in the last 69 years. The things I hear remind me of stories about the lynchings in the south. Aren't the rights of every man, woman and child what this country was built on? Aren't we protecting our borders to secure those rights? Aren't young men and women dying every day in foreign lands to protect these rights that we cherish? I hope that's still the reason. I really do.
I'd like everyone, before their next discussion on the "Ground Zero Mosque" to think about yourself. Think how you would feel if in 2010, you were told that your right to gather with fellow believers, in a safe haven, to pray was taken away. That your religion was the one being criticized and chastised. Threats against your family and those that you love were openly being made without repercussions. How would you feel? There are bad people all over the world. Some are Muslim, most aren't. These people aren't wasting time trying to build up communities. They are not looking for people to understand them and their customs. They sure aren't worried about where people pray. The next time you're about to tell someone how those awful people don't deserve a place to pray, think about yourself and ask yourself how it would feel if you were told you don't have that right, because someone you didn't know, someone you didn't agree with, just happens to have the same God.
The real problem with the average American is that they are ignorant when it comes to Islamic beliefs. They believe all Muslims are terrorists and this center is the rubbing of our nose in the tragedy that occurred. How do you imagine the Iraqis feel about 150,000+ Muslim civilians who have died? Sometimes we forget that Muslim Americans also died that day in unforgettable day in September. I've been critical of George W. Bush, but was very impressed with the way he came out and defended Muslims and tried to explain that this was an extremist group and we shouldn't judge everyone based on the acts of a few. The problem was he did it while the wounds were still fresh and didn't follow it up with more like statements. As someone who took a college class on Islam and shared many conversations with Muslim students, I think, rather I know I'm more educated than 99% of the people out there when it comes to the difference between the people who flew the planes into the towers and those who walk among us every day.
It's my opinion that Muslims have the hardest road to walk, if they desire to sit by the feet of their savior in some sort of mystical afterlife. They must first profess their lives to God. They must pray five times a day, every day, in a very precise manner and in one direction. During Ramadan they are not allowed to ingest anything during the daylight hours and are required to give 2.5% of their total wealth in alms. This money is distributed to the poorest people in an attempt to better their lives. Finally there is the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that must be made to fulfill a Muslims duties to god. There is no weekly march to a church or synagogue. No two second confession that is absolved with a few memorized lines. This is serious business and is truly a lifestyle as much as it is a religion. It should also be noted that most Muslims have memorized the Quran. It's not something they happen to know a verse or two to repeat back once a week.
Getting back to the sensitive issue regarding the building of this center so close to Ground Zero, I believe there is one major problem. The ignorant statements I've heard and read show me that ignorance is bliss, but it's also contagious. The people that are so up in arms about this cultural center should have done a little research before flapping their gums. There was already a mosque in the area. About twelve blocks from the hallowed grounds, a mosque sat, in a warehouse, which was there for 15 years. It was there before 9/11 and after. When the lease ran out, the mosque was forced to move, but with no place available the imam of the mosque received permission to use an abandoned building that was damaged during the 9/11 attacks. The building is the same building that is in discussion now for the Cordoba House. So if it's been there before, why is it wrong to rebuild the building and make the area better. I've also read reports that after 9/11 the Muslim community offered to buy the building as a symbol of their stand against the terrorist acts, but the offer was rejected and has stood vacant for years.
If there is one reason not to build on that site, it is not because of the threat it poses or its geographical location. The real reason not to is because the level of hatred, anger and prejudice in this country towards anyone who doesn't fit into the majority is out of control. The things I've heard in the past few weeks are disgusting. Have we not learned from the Holocaust, the prison camps in WWII, Korea and Vietnam? We've become a country that loves war, fighting and violence. As long as it's not on our soil. We have become numb to the death and destruction, because it's only been real to us once in the last 69 years. The things I hear remind me of stories about the lynchings in the south. Aren't the rights of every man, woman and child what this country was built on? Aren't we protecting our borders to secure those rights? Aren't young men and women dying every day in foreign lands to protect these rights that we cherish? I hope that's still the reason. I really do.
I'd like everyone, before their next discussion on the "Ground Zero Mosque" to think about yourself. Think how you would feel if in 2010, you were told that your right to gather with fellow believers, in a safe haven, to pray was taken away. That your religion was the one being criticized and chastised. Threats against your family and those that you love were openly being made without repercussions. How would you feel? There are bad people all over the world. Some are Muslim, most aren't. These people aren't wasting time trying to build up communities. They are not looking for people to understand them and their customs. They sure aren't worried about where people pray. The next time you're about to tell someone how those awful people don't deserve a place to pray, think about yourself and ask yourself how it would feel if you were told you don't have that right, because someone you didn't know, someone you didn't agree with, just happens to have the same God.
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