America is boiling over the debate on whether or not a Muslim community center should be built close to Ground Zero, the area of the former World Trade Center before the September 11 attack.
Five blocks from Ground Zero lies an Islamic place of worship that Muslims have been praying in for over a year. But the idea of turning this into a thirteen-story building named Park51, open to all religions to learn about Islam, has erupted into controversy regarding whether this community center espouses First Amendment rights or disrespects the families of September 11’s victims.
The building would include a basketball court, culinary school, art studio, auditorium, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, childcare area, bookstore, food court, a September 11 memorial and a prayer space for about 2,000 people.
“The whole purpose of creating places for worship is to recognize people’s needs for spiritual reflection about what happened on 9/11. I think people genuinely feel hurt over the idea of them building the mosque, but we misdirect what we do with our anger,” Richard Hamlin, World Religions teacher, said. “The Muslim religion processes ways of finding peace between people, though sometimes done in radical ways, but that’s also the idea in other religions. They believe in salvation, afterlives, and to live in purity. Historically it roots back to the same concepts of Judaism and Christianity.”
Some took their fears to more violent measures, like the vandilization of Islamic centers; a pipe-bomb was planted in a Jacksonville mosque. Protests flooded the area of downtown Manhattan with infuriated citizens holding up signs. The Dove World Outreach Center, a small church in northern Florida, planned to burn around 200 Qurans on September 11 until convinced otherwise by citizens, politicians and Imam Muhammad Musri of the Islamic Society of Central Florida.
“I told him ‘Don’t listen to me. But listen to Jesus. Didn’t he say you need to love your neighbor as you love yourself?’” Musri said. “‘There are thousands of us: doctors, professors, engineers, plumbers, you name it, and we have caused your church no harm.’”
“Racism has blinded the minds of Americans and made them believe it’s right to make fun of someone because of their religion,” sophomore Simon Behnejad said. “I have been constantly bullied for being a Muslim. I think people don’t understand that what happened between the African Americans and Whites is happening again between the Muslims and Americans.”
At an annual dinner held for Muslims to celebrate their holy month of Ramadan, Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, announced his support for Park51.
“We would compromise our commitment to fighting terror with freedom, not allowing it would go against American principle,” Bloomberg said.
Obama has also approved the proposal, but even that does not drown out the fight against it.
“It’s disrespecting all the people who lost their lives in 9/11,” freshman Crystal Bucknor said. “I think it’s an insult to them, along with the families that are still grieving.”
Some people like Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, think that this issue is being used as a tool for political campaigns.
“What offended me most is that it’s being used as a political football for both parties,” Christie said in one of his interviews.
A public hearing will be held in New York to decide the future for this building.
