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Note: Please do not mistake the argument below as anything other than a disgruntled outcry against radical political nuts. For those who oppose the building of the Muslim Community Center two blocks from the site of the WTC towers for a genuine reason (i.e. not fear-mongering, intolerance, or racial/religious hatred), I respect your opinions and would greatly appreciate feedback via comments below. Honest discussion is a must. My message here is simply, don't hate on people just because of their religion or because of some bunk you heard on Fox or because you're scared. But if you do have a legitimate reason for opposing, I respect your position, and please let me know. Enjoy!
Alright. I have had it up to my ears with hearing about this "Ground Zero Mosque." Anyone else tired of hearing about it? If I never hear another Bill O'Reilly or Sarah Palin blabbering on about it, it'll be too dang soon. *Huge Sigh*
First of all, let me point out that for one thing, the Muslim religion as a whole is in no way associated with the crazy wack-jobs who flew planes into the World Trade Center buildings. They were what we call religious zealots. That's like the equivalent of those
Westboro Baptists who picket at soldier's funerals(you should watch this video if you haven't heard of them). Now, do we just go hating on all Christians because of the stupid stuff these crazed religious zealots do? NO. Get over it, right wing fundamentalists. You cannot use the screw ups of one extremist sect to condemn an ENTIRE RELIGION. Now, not everyone is crazy about Christians, but I will tell you that most don't see them in the same light as the Westboro baptists, who just love forcing their young children to shout at soldiers' funerals about how they're all going to hell for being gay and carrying signs that say "Thank God for Dead Soldiers." The bottom line here is that most Muslims do not believe what the extremists who flew the planes into the WTC buildings believed. Therefore, no harm done putting a mosque near ground zero. If we used the same logic here in other instances, we shouldn't allow Christian churches near the sites of burned down abortion clinics.
Point number two. The right to freedom of religion is guaranteed in the first amendment of our Constitution: "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." (source:
U.S. Archives) Unless you support mucking up the friggin' Constitution itself, the very basis of our American government, you cannot be against building this mosque. (Oh wait, I guess Republicans do want that... Please see the text of the 14th amendment
here.)
Point number three, George Bush himself, a Republican mind you, said that the Muslim faith was a peaceful one and that we should not DISCRIMINATE against Muslims. Bush also mentioned that the Koran says that killing an innocent human being is like killing all of humanity. Doesn't sound like evil, murderous teaching to me. Here's the
video of Bush AT A RAMADAN FESTIVAL talking about how we shouldn't hate on Muslims for what happened on 9/11. It's a good video, so if you can spare the time, watch the whole thing.
Point number four, there are around 10 million Muslims in the U.S. alone (estimate from islamicweb.com, which used stats from the CIA factbook). In the world, it's estimated that there are nearly 2 billion Muslims - that's over 25% of all people on Earth. Islam is also the fastest growing religion, as well as the second largest religion in the world (behind Christianity). We can't seriously hate 1/4 of the world's population. It's ludicrous!
Point number five, the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" is actually a community center. The New Yorker had an article about it recently, saying "Well, for a start, it won’t be at Ground Zero. It’ll be on Park Place, two blocks north of the World Trade Center site (from which it will not be visible), in a neighborhood ajumble with restaurants, shops (electronics, porn, you name it), churches, office cubes, and the rest of the New York mishmash. Park51, as it is to be called, will have a large Islamic “prayer room,” which presumably qualifies as a mosque. But the rest of the building will be devoted to classrooms, an auditorium, galleries, a restaurant, a memorial to the victims of September 11, 2001, and a swimming pool and gym. Its sponsors envision something like the 92nd Street Y—a Y.M.I.A., you might say, open to all..." Read more of the article
here. Sounds pretty good, actually. Doesn't sound like something that would be a detriment to the area or damaging to the memory of 9/11 victims - especially since it will have a MEMORIAL to the victims. C'mon people, let's stop the hate and be reasonable. There are community centers for African Americans, Hispanics, Christians - duh, the YMCA stands for "Young Men's Christian Association" - so why shouldn't there be community centers for Muslims. I can't even believe we have to argue this point. It's called HUMAN RIGHTS.
Lastly, I want to share a link to a photo project by Daryl Lang which shows various buildings, businesses, etc. that are roughly the same distance from the WTC buildings as the proposed Community Center (aka "Ground Zero Mosque"). You should really check it out. Some of the buildings include fast food restaurants, a gentleman's club, and a betting shop. I really don't think this should even be a problem. I think a lot of the victims would say, 'You know, I really wouldn't want a couple of crazy nuts to ruin the freedom of Muslims all over America,' who, may I add, were likely victims or family/friends of victims of 9/11. It's just another excuse for people to hate on others.
