The controversy surrounding Park 51 or the so called ‘ground-zero mosque’ has been making headlines all over the United States. The intensity and interest surrounding this debate has been unprecedented. Everyone has an opinion on it. Sadly, it seems, most Americans are against the idea of building such an institution close to ground-zero. The very fact that this debate exists is indicative of several facts about the present day America. Following are some of the things it represents:
1) Most Americans still hold the collective Muslim community responsible for the World Trade Center attacks. After all the bridge building and dialogue that has happened over the past decade, it seems that public opinion is still against the Muslims. Unfortunately, the general American population can’t differentiate between the terrorists that attacked the World Trade Center and the average Muslim. I was outraged when I heard politician Newt Gingrich saying that the Nazi were to the holocaust victims what the Muslims are to the 9/11 victims.
2) The ignorance of the American people. Ignorance on innumerable levels. Ignorance about the project itself for example. A lot people don’t know that the mosque is actually a community center which will be open to everyone. Also, as Keith Olbermann pointed out, an existing mosque (Masjid Manhattan) close to ground-zero has already been in operation for the past 40 years; why then has this project become so controversial? Ignorance about Islam in general is another major problem and is the main thing fueling this debate. The project was initially named Cordoba House in honour of the historic city of Muslim Spain which was known for the peaceful co-existence of the Muslims, Jews and Christians. Opponents of the group forced the name to be changed, as to them it falsely represented Muslim subjugation of the medieval Christian world.
3) The good of the American people. Despite all the the opposition, there have been numerous people that have stood up and defended the Muslim community despite being themselves non-Muslim. These include journalists such as Keith Olbermann, politicians such as Mayor Bloomberg and even comedians like Jon Stewart. I greatly admire such individuals for their courage and strong indignation. Their open mindedness and their faith in American democratic values is not only inspirational but helps balance out the image of prejudice and ignorance painted by numerous Americans.
4) The work that still needs to be done by the Muslim community in order to change how the beautiful religion of Islam is perceived in America. The pious and upright character of early Muslims is something even their enemies attested to. Even up until the 60’s being Muslim in America was associated with something good thanks to the Black Muslim movement led by Malcolm X. Present day Muslims need to walk in those footsteps and take it upon themselves to educate the general populace about Islam. It is only through knowledge that ignorance,injustice and prejudice will be defeated.
BloomingPeaches - Sit. Think. Imagine 
August 23, 2010 at 3:37 pm
I will counter your argument.
I see this as victory monument by muslims after destroying world trade center. When muslims conquer any land first thing they do is destroy all churches, temples etc and muild mosques over that. You can see that in Istanbul, India etc.
August 23, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Park 51 would make one odd victory monument for it denounces and condemns the very act you describe as victorious. Not to mention…it houses a swimming pool, basketball court and a culinary school.
I can’t do much to change your emotional view of Park 51 being a ‘victory monument’ but I will have to strongly disagree with the notion that ‘When muslims conquer any land first thing they do is destroy all churches, temples etc and muild mosques over that’.
Islam is probably the only religion that specifically prohibits the destruction of places of worship of other faiths. When Umar bin Alkhattab conquered Jerusalem he refused to pray inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to ensure that Muslims didn’t convert it to a mosque; he prayed outside instead. The greatest proof of Muslim tolerance is the existence of historical churches which are still in operation today in the Muslim world.
While I do not deny that from time to time Muslim rulers have destroyed churches and other places of worship, their actions were an exception to the trend of historically documented tolerance shown by most Muslim rulers. Also, these actions contradict the teachings of Islam.
I encourage you to read books on Islamic history before making such baseless remarks.