The memorial of the September 11th attacks is once again coming near. I remember that day and the attacks clearly; I was walking in the hallway at school when a student (freshman Lonny Gonzales) saw me and told me a plane had struck the World Trade Center. She said, at the time, the thought was the pilot had a heart attack and people panicked. Well, as we now know, the original assessment was as far off.
It is now nine years later, and the world has changed in ways we could never have imagined. Many of our citizens live in fear, wondering when the next attack will come. Some people claim we should eradicate the Middle East and restore our "respect" in the world. In some ways, this fear has moved into how we look at citizens in the United States itself.
The first amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees our most sacred freedoms. Along with the freedoms of speech, the press, and the right to protest are the freedom of religion and the freedom of assembly. These last two freedoms are under question these days, as the construction of Freedom Tower at Ground Zero continues. There is a proposal for an Islamic mosque to be constructed approximately 2 blocks from Ground Zero (I am not sure of the exact distance). For some, this is the biggest insult that could happen to the families and the survivors of the World Trade Center attacks. I have heard people say:
"They should lose every mosque in New York City."
"This should be put to a vote by the citizens of New York."
"They should let the families of those who died and the survivors decide on the fate of the mosque."
"They can't build one there - something bad could happen. It just isn't right..."
I am as proud of this country as the next person, and the attacks on this country September 11, 2001 changed me forever. Still, as painful as that day was for this country, is it a reason to withdraw many from the application of the First Amendment? PLEASE correct me if I am wrong, but there were 19 hijackers that day on the 4 planes. I know there were many involved in the planning at the camps in Afghanistan, but that is also a finite number. All together, those involved were a minuscule percentage of the people who follow Islam. Even then, the attackers practice a radical conservative sect of Islam called Wahabbism. These people have perverted a peaceful and directed religion, and in turn, have turned much of the world on its head. This has made many of the people of this country spiteful, bent on revenge, and afraid to live outside their own glass bubble.
The people of New York City who practice Islam have the right to, within CURRENT LAWS, construct a mosque wherever they please. Is it a controversial choice for the placement? Absolutely. Will it upset people when it opens? It certainly will. However, the last time I checked, the right of a person to worship freely IS NOT UP FOR A VOTE!!! We cannot hold onto the hate, anger, and xenophobia that have enveloped the country for the past nine years. It doesn't matter if the people of New York are upset about the mosque - the right to worship trumps.
I find it interesting that many of the people (not all - nothing is 100% certain) who are calling for the mosque to be moved are self-proclaimed "conservatives." Ironically, it is also conservatives who say we need to return to religion in this country, saying we have moved away from God and the country is paying for it. Now, while it is not Christian, they are fighting to stop the construction of a house of worship. So, freedom of religion only applies to those who are followers of derivatives of the Christian faith?
Earlier today, I was listening to a radio show out of Detroit (sports talk radio). On a few occasions, the conversation will switch to items of a non-sports nature. Today, this mosque was the topic. the last quote listed above is an actual quote given by one of the hosts. I was astonished by this quote, in the sense the gentleman who stated it is a black man. I couldn't help but think about the hypocrisy of his statement, considering he has been a champion for civil rights. I wanted to call in and remind him the last time we, as a country, tried to restrict the ability of a group to act as they pleased - AND WITHIN THE LAW - it resulted in the Civil Rights movement of the 30's-60's. African-Americans couldn't go to school with whites for "fear of what might happen." The same was stated for living in neighborhoods together, having houses of worship in the same area, using the same businesses, and other simple everyday things in society. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now. I thought we had grown as a society, but I guess bigotry and fear go hand in hand.
We cannot live our life in fear of the unknown. September 11th was a terrible tragedy, and for my part, those involved have a special place in hell waiting for them. But, that DOES NOT MEAN that every worshipper of Islam is going down that track. Older Sura of the Qu'ran do call for jihad, but many newer verses (and therefore, the Sura that are supposedly to be followed) call for peace and tolerance. The United States was founded on the ideas of peace and tolerance, while the Pilgrims even came here to avoid religious persecution. Why would we allow that to return, just because of something that happened 9 years ago? Yes, the wounds are still there. I will never forget that day myself, and I did not lose anyone in the attacks. But what I did lose, and what the citizens of this country are slowly losing, was some of the ability to look the rest of the countries of the world in the eye and claim we allow people freedoms to be "who they are" and "wherever they want to be." The movement to stop the building of a house of worship of any kind, any place, spits in the eye of what our country stands for. It is the beginning of turning our country to a place where knee-jerk reaction and anger dictates the future. 19 people, plus their co-conspirators in Afghanistan, attacked the World Trade Center - the faith of Islam did not. It is time to end the anger, hatred, and fear of the faith, and fight the battle against the actions of those who attacked us. All faiths are different paths to God, but more people have died in the name of God/Yahweh/Allah than any other reason. We need to allow all paths to be explored, wherever they may be developed. Our country was built on that premise, and I feel it is time to return to that.
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