In light of the recent comments made on my blog I have had to take a hard look at my position. I do see where they are coming from, and respect their points. But I must disagree with everything they have said. While it is true that the feelings stirred up about the Mosque may not be the most positive, the sooner the mosque goes up the sooner the change in attitude will be. For example, in my life I have caused pain to a number of people. Whether it was intentional or intentional I still hurt them. They were angry at my for the longest time, but the sooner I made efforts to mend that relationship, the sooner their opinions of me changed. This experience can also be seen in history. During the 50’s and 60’s the idea of blacks achieving their civil rights was met with disgust and violence. But once Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964 the healing process began. Today, there is little animosity towards blacks gaining their Civil Rights, the exceptions being radical groups like the KKK. But, I believe that if the mosque is built, it will mirror the Civil Rights movement. The Mosque will initially be met with hostility, but after some time passes it will become accepted by almost everyone in this country. It will slowly but surely heal the wound caused by the September 11th attacks. After that time passes the Mosque will become a symbol of American forgiveness and unity.
Just because some of the terrorists that attacked New York City on 9/11 happen to be Muslim, does not mean that all Muslims are terrorists. I understand that 9/11 is still a very sensitive issue, and that many Americans suffered, and lost loved ones. Muslims suffered as well. Who are we to say that they did not lose loved ones in the 9/11 attacks as well? I definitely agree with mosqueman, the building of the Muslim cultural center will hopefully support unity and peace. We should by no means judge an entire group of people based on a small percentage of the group's actions.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with mosqueman in that having the mosque in this sensitive area will actually help heal the wound left in people due to the 9/11 attack. I think its human nature to automatically label a group of people negatively if you meet a few of them who were mean. But I believe this mosque will help open up the eyes of many people who think that all Muslims are bad like the 9/11 terrorist. Having a place where people can see Muslims gathering and carrying out their daily events will allow people to become more comfortable with Muslims and will give the opportunity to possibly talk to a few of them to see what they are really like compared to the stereotypes we hear.
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ReplyDeleteHowever one feels about the Mosque being built, I think you need to consider a little more deeply the suffering of the 9/11 victims families, their feelings and emotions. There is a gap the size of the Grand Canyon between reacting to people who were "mean" and reacting people who killed more than 2000 folks in a single day.
There is good reason why the old saying says, "To forgive is divine." And it is not because forgiveness is easy...
I comletely agree with Clarion. The difference between people being "mean" and being murderers is huge. however the steps to healing remain the same! We need to take that first step in order to heal the wounds from this tragedy.
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