What The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy Really Means
The Ground Zero mosque is all over the news. Living in New York, I was surprised to learn it's news all over the country.
A lot of what passes for "news" consists of a lot of nonsense. And as a Catholic man who has family and work responsibilities, taking up a lot of time with nonsense isn't a good idea. So normally I don't follow stories about sports figures, entertainers, and all that other fluff that dominates our news media reporting these days.
But some stories do require some attention. The Arizona law addressing illegal immigrants comes to mind. And so does the Ground Zero mosque.
Now, don't get me wrong, you can't be spending hours on this stuff. But if we just focus for a few minutes, I think we can get down to a basic understanding of this mosque controversy.
First, it's got nothing to do with freedom of religion. No one's denying anyone's constitutional rights. So ignore any of that talk.
It's also got nothing to do with hatred or "hate speech" (sheesh, I hate that term!). That's just posturing on the part of people who want the mosque built and who want to paint opponents of it in a bad light.
Here are the facts that matter:
1) Muslims explain that the building will be a "cultural center" rather than a mosque. OK. It's not a mosque. But it is a Muslim establishment of some sort, not just a commercial building that happens to be owned by Muslims.
2) Muslims attacked the World Trade Center (and the Pentagon). It wasn't just a coincidence that they were Muslims. They attacked in the name of Islam. Had Christians attacked a Muslim site - in the name of Christianity - and then tried to build a Christian establishment of any kind next to that site, Muslims would be upset by this - I can guarantee it. (And of course, we know that could never happen in a Muslim country to begin with!) It's only natural for people to react this way. You don't have to harbor deep-seated hatred for anyone to react in this normal manner.
3) The people responsible for this "cultural center" have used the name "Cordoba House." It could have been named anything. But naming it Cordoba House refers to the conquest of Spain by Muslims. And Muslims today know that "Cordoba" represents conquest in the name of Islam. There is no coincidence here; the name wasn't chosen by accident. Clearly, this is meant to make a statement and to be provocative. When you provoke, why be surprised when people respond to your provocation?
If you simply look at these 3 simple facts, you can see why people are rightly upset, even angered, by the building of the mosque. I'm one of them. I was working close to the Towers on 9/11. I came under personal attack that day. I haven't forgotten what happened, the threat to my life (and therefore my family's welfare) or the fear and anger I felt being under attack then, as well as the anxiety and anger of the rest of that day and many days after that.
Two of my sons were also involved. One had just started college at a University within a few miles of the attacks. We didn't hear from him until the end of the day. The other was attending school in Washington D.C. We didn't hear from him until later that day. (The phone lines were all screwed up that day, if you remember.)
That accounted for most of the anxiety of that day. It also accounted for most of the anxiety I felt the following day. As for me, I wasn't all that anxious - just mostly angry at what happened to me, my family and our country.
When you add up the 3 facts I mentioned, plus my personal experience with 9/11 (and that's just scratching the surface), and then you remember I'm only one person, I'm surprised that reaction hasn't been even more vocal.
The developers and other people involved with this project know all this - or should know it. They're not interested in constitutional issues, religious freedom or bringing people together. If they were, they would behave differently.
If you read what I've written, you'll see that there's nothing hateful about it. I'm not questioning anyone's rights. I'm not trying to restrict anyone's religious freedom. I daresay I'm not even being "intolerant." In fact, I challenge anyone to show me otherwise.
I'm guessing that many, if not most, people who oppose the building of this "Cordoba House" would share similar similar thoughts and feelings.
So I can only conclude that people who focus on "hate speech," "religious freedom," or the issue of tolerance are pursuing some other agenda or agendas that suit their purposes. They're certainly not dealing with the building of this Ground Zero Mosque - er, cultural center.
I could say more, but, hey, I've got to get to work.
A lot of what passes for "news" consists of a lot of nonsense. And as a Catholic man who has family and work responsibilities, taking up a lot of time with nonsense isn't a good idea. So normally I don't follow stories about sports figures, entertainers, and all that other fluff that dominates our news media reporting these days.
But some stories do require some attention. The Arizona law addressing illegal immigrants comes to mind. And so does the Ground Zero mosque.
Now, don't get me wrong, you can't be spending hours on this stuff. But if we just focus for a few minutes, I think we can get down to a basic understanding of this mosque controversy.
First, it's got nothing to do with freedom of religion. No one's denying anyone's constitutional rights. So ignore any of that talk.
It's also got nothing to do with hatred or "hate speech" (sheesh, I hate that term!). That's just posturing on the part of people who want the mosque built and who want to paint opponents of it in a bad light.
Here are the facts that matter:
1) Muslims explain that the building will be a "cultural center" rather than a mosque. OK. It's not a mosque. But it is a Muslim establishment of some sort, not just a commercial building that happens to be owned by Muslims.
2) Muslims attacked the World Trade Center (and the Pentagon). It wasn't just a coincidence that they were Muslims. They attacked in the name of Islam. Had Christians attacked a Muslim site - in the name of Christianity - and then tried to build a Christian establishment of any kind next to that site, Muslims would be upset by this - I can guarantee it. (And of course, we know that could never happen in a Muslim country to begin with!) It's only natural for people to react this way. You don't have to harbor deep-seated hatred for anyone to react in this normal manner.
3) The people responsible for this "cultural center" have used the name "Cordoba House." It could have been named anything. But naming it Cordoba House refers to the conquest of Spain by Muslims. And Muslims today know that "Cordoba" represents conquest in the name of Islam. There is no coincidence here; the name wasn't chosen by accident. Clearly, this is meant to make a statement and to be provocative. When you provoke, why be surprised when people respond to your provocation?
If you simply look at these 3 simple facts, you can see why people are rightly upset, even angered, by the building of the mosque. I'm one of them. I was working close to the Towers on 9/11. I came under personal attack that day. I haven't forgotten what happened, the threat to my life (and therefore my family's welfare) or the fear and anger I felt being under attack then, as well as the anxiety and anger of the rest of that day and many days after that.
Two of my sons were also involved. One had just started college at a University within a few miles of the attacks. We didn't hear from him until the end of the day. The other was attending school in Washington D.C. We didn't hear from him until later that day. (The phone lines were all screwed up that day, if you remember.)
That accounted for most of the anxiety of that day. It also accounted for most of the anxiety I felt the following day. As for me, I wasn't all that anxious - just mostly angry at what happened to me, my family and our country.
When you add up the 3 facts I mentioned, plus my personal experience with 9/11 (and that's just scratching the surface), and then you remember I'm only one person, I'm surprised that reaction hasn't been even more vocal.
The developers and other people involved with this project know all this - or should know it. They're not interested in constitutional issues, religious freedom or bringing people together. If they were, they would behave differently.
If you read what I've written, you'll see that there's nothing hateful about it. I'm not questioning anyone's rights. I'm not trying to restrict anyone's religious freedom. I daresay I'm not even being "intolerant." In fact, I challenge anyone to show me otherwise.
I'm guessing that many, if not most, people who oppose the building of this "Cordoba House" would share similar similar thoughts and feelings.
So I can only conclude that people who focus on "hate speech," "religious freedom," or the issue of tolerance are pursuing some other agenda or agendas that suit their purposes. They're certainly not dealing with the building of this Ground Zero Mosque - er, cultural center.
I could say more, but, hey, I've got to get to work.
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