My college newspaper published column complaining that NYC Islamic center insults 9/11 victims

[alp227]

The author of this article "Ground zero mosque stings the wounds of Sept. 11" (in the print edition called "Building Disrespect") tries to make a point that opposition to the Park51 Islamic cultural centre in NYC doesn't necessarily equal bigotry or Islamophobia.

Because if I believed the rhetoric of the television news media, I would assume those in protest of the mosque were extremist Christians, racists, bigots, or suffering from Islamophobia.

I’d almost be persuaded that it wasn’t appropriate for families of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to express their pain and outrage at such a memorial.

Why can’t New Yorkers, who were ravaged by the terror of radical Islam, assert their opposition without accusations of Islamophobia?

Unfortunately she defeats her points with this little passage:

If a crazy guy brutally murdered one of your family members, would you want that guy’s family to move in next door to promote healing?

Even if the family was gracious and had nothing to do with the murder in any way, its presence wouldn’t promote healing, it would it stir up tremendous pain and anguish.

That's right; she wanted to say that it's not necessarily bigoted to oppose the cultural centre but then compares Muslims to the family of mass murderers simply because of the actions of a few extremist brats.

And then she claims that sensitivity is much more important than freedom with the usual "not in my backyard" argument:

It’s not a matter of constitutional right or religious freedom. It’s a matter of sensitivity.

Who is doing the harassing? Those who insist on erecting a reminder of the nation’s most devastating act of terrorism, or those who are saying it’s too painful a memorial?

Sheesh. She tries to talk from both sides of her mouth, that opponents of the cultural center/mosque don't believe that Islam=terrorism but then calls Park51 a reminder of 9/11!

I'm planning on writing a letter to the editor within a few days in response. Here's my rough draft:

This article about the NYC Islamic cultural center (called Park51) is a contradictory, self-defeating mess of an editorial. First of all, it's not just a mosque; it's a cultural center that also includes recreational facilities and auditorium. Second, was it really necessary to refer to the cultural center as a reminder of September 11 when making the point that it's not necessarily Islamophobic to oppose its construction? The passage that compared Muslims to the family of a "crazy guy" who murdered a neighbouring family's member was just plain outrageous.

Some amazing facts: on the 17th floor of the World Trade Center, there used to be a mosque! Also, two blocks from Ground Zero there is already a Catholic church, St. Paul's Cathedral. Using the same scapegoating logic of the opponents of Park51, shouldn't there be a mass closure of Catholic churches because they serve as reminders of abused children, as the Catholic Church has recently undergone a child abuse scandal? Finally, would religious intolerance be much more insensitive to the victims of 9/11 than allowing the cultural center to be built nearby?

[no_hypocrisy]

1. It would only be "harassing" if Al-Quaeda was sponsoring the Community Center.

Even if so, it would still be constitutional and protected by Civil Rights.

[Parche]

2. republicans insult the world.......

:hi:

[Mz Pip]

3. Sensitivity

Equating the American Muslims of NYC with the family of the guy who murdered a family member is pretty extreme. It's highly unlikely that any of the American Muslims in NYC are related to the hijackers. Are all Christians related to Timothy McVeigh? That would be a more appropriate comparison.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

7. Timothy McVeigh proclaimed himself an atheist

So no, it's not an appropriate comparison.

[Mz Pip]

10. Okay

Somewhere I was given the impression he was Christian.

That said, being a member of a particular faith that has an extremist element is not a valid comparison to being members of a family of a murderer.

What if the family members were 3rd or 4th cousins? Would anyone even consider that "family"?

[alp227]

11. Did you mean Eric Rudolph actually?

Sometimes people confuse those 1990s right-wing terrorists. Rudolph had more motivation from religion than McVeigh did.

[Stevenmarc]

4. I really wish the 9/11 spectators would stop speaking for the 9/11 survivors

I was there, I lost friends and family and I'm fucking sick and tired of people whose 9/11 experience consisted of watching it from the comfort of their couch thinking that they have the right to speak for me. Sure there are some survivors that don't want Park 51 built on that site but their are plenty of us that feel you don't have the right to piss on the Constitution just to pander to emotions.

[pinboy3niner]

5. This is an opinion column, not an editorial, isn't it?

Some points you may want to include: 1) Park51 plans include a memorial to 9/11 victims; 2) more than 60 of those victims were Muslims; and 3) a group of 250 families of victims have been involved in Park51 planning from the beginning and support the project.

I wouldn't raise the St. Paul's point, as no one is advocating kicking out the mosque that already exists 4 blocks from the WTC site (Masjid Manhattan).

You might also consider making a point about Muslim troops serving in the U.S. Armed Forces--and those who have died serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

[alp227]

6. Corrected my word choice in title and thanks for your points n/t

[Ramulux]

8. Thats sad

It is kind of amazing the way people across this country have literally been tricked into holding islamophobic beliefs while not understanding that they are islamophobic.

I was talking to one of my younger brothers friends the other day and he starts up with the whole, this ground-zero mosque is bullshit and its the same as the Japanese making a monument on pearl harbor argument. I then very clearly and slowly explained that radical Muslims and actual Muslims are not the same thing and that we live in a country of religious freedom. I then explained how holding the belief that one religious denomination should be treated differently than another is basically discrimination and that there is no logical reason to be against the mosque other than for Islamophobic reasons. The guy ended up agreeing with me completely and just kept saying how he had been brought up to view Islam as a bad thing and that his dad had basically tricked him into believing that shit. My point is that the vast majority of people against the mosque have no idea what they are saying and no idea how fucked up it is.

[Vehl]

9. the one who wrote this might belong to the "college republicans" group

They are the ones who write such lame articles

[alp227]

12. I just emailed my LTTE (revised it a bit) and will see if newspaper publishes it

What i sent:

Editor,

If Aimee McLendon wanted to prove that opposing the construction of an Islamic cultural centre and mosque near Ground Zero in New York City ("Building Disrespect", Sept. 14), she failed. How is it not bigoted against Islam to consider Park51, Imam Rauf's proposed project, a "reminder" of the Sept. 11 attacks, as that kind of thought scapegoats an entire group of people (Muslims) for the actions of a few deranged radicals. Additionally, the passage regarding a murderer's family moving next door to the victim to "promote healing" was just plain outrageous and defeating of her point. Under McLendon's logic, where are the big anti-Catholic rallies in America in the wake of the Catholic priest child abuse scandal?

Some facts obscured in this controversy: Park51 will include a memorial for the 9/11 victims and a quiet compassion state, the 17th floor of the South Tower had a Muslim prayer room, some of the passengers of the hijacked flights and workers at the WTC were Muslims, and there are already mosques a few blocks away from Ground Zero (such as Masjid Manhattan). There's been no call to close those mosques. And if Ground Zero were supposedly "sacred ground", where's the call to close down the strip clubs and bars on the block just next to Ground Zero?

Finally, would religious intolerance rather than the presence of an Islamic facility be a bigger insult to the 9/11 victims, who came from everywhere ranging from the US to the UK, Sweden, Canada, Germany, and Israel?

Sources

http://blog.park51.org/?page_id=23
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/nyregion/11religion.html?_r=1
http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/Muslim-Victims-of-911.pdf
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/16/2010-08-16_a_sea_of_filth_near_ground_zer0_mosque_gets_all_the_press_but_porns_around_corne.html