On September 11, 2001, along with the Twin Towers, the tiny St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church was destroyed in an act of terrorism that continues to boggle my imagination, nearly a decade later. In the years since that time, the church has been negotiating to rebuild, but last year the negotiations became hopelessly bogged down in a beaurocratic quagmire. All hope of reopening the discussion has apparently been abandoned.
In the meantime, plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero continue to move forward. In a rather ambiguous series of statements and clarifications, President Obama has taken a stand (maybe?) on the issue. According to this FoxNews article, “The church project has not attracted the kind of national attention the mosque has. President Obama injected the mosque into the national political conversation when he appeared to endorse the plans at a Ramadan dinner at the White House Friday. The White House later clarified that Obama was supporting the developers' right to build the mosque, not the project itself.”
Based on this, I’m not clear on what precisely he’s supporting, but perhaps you can clarify for me. And just to clarify my own position, I’m not opening the door to anti-Muslim rhetoric. Several years ago, my husband and I shared our home with a Muslim family from Pakistan while they sought medical care for their son. They’d never gotten to know a Catholic family well, and we’d never gotten to know a Muslim family well. It was a wonderful learning experience as we discovered that we share many faith heroes (Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Jesus), although our understanding of them is different. They were good people… kind people… as many Muslims are.
Nonetheless, I must admit this whole situation is disturbing to me.
I wholeheartedly support the idea of preserving religious freedom for people of all faiths; this is an important part of the foundation on which our nation was built. But there’s something rather in-your-face about a mosque being built at a site where Islamic extremists caused such devastation. And there’s something rather slap-in-the-face about simultaneously neglecting efforts of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church to rebuild within the ghostly shadow of the Towers that fell and crushed it.
What do you think about it?
I'm pretty ambivalent about this myself...I know a lot of people are! All I can do is pray!!!! What else is there to do? Cathy
ReplyDeleteHere is a response from a member of an online forum. I think it is well put:
ReplyDeleteI think some of it comes down to money. Maybe the church that was destroyed doesn't have enough cash to build (Manhattan isn't cheap), though I think it should be rebuilt. I think too that the idea of a mosque at ground zero (named Cordoba of all things -- the first city conquered in Europe by Islam) is in poor taste. I've heard interviews with other Muslims who think this is a bad idea and may stir up animosity. As I also understand, there is a very strict mosque somewhere near that area already that promotes the Wahhabi-style Islam (ie, like Bin Laden), though.
To me, I think even if unintentional, it could become a symbol of "victory" for many of a more violent bent in that faith, as historically the violent Muslim groups have always built mosques at the site of military victories. Even if, as they claim, the hijackers actions are not what the rest of the muslim world is like or is supportive of, this still is not in good taste, and could send the wrong message. If someone built a church over say, the place where Matthew Sheppard was found half dead, that would also be tacky...not because Christianity had anything to do with his death, but because those close to Sheppard believe that it did.
I suppose the biblical principle would be "avoid the appearance of evil".
I read this last night Sue, and I've been thinking and hope you don't mind someone across the pond from commenting.
ReplyDeleteMy first feeling is that maybe linking the two subjects together is not conducive to peaceful thoughts! Of course the little church should be rebuilt - but we don't know the reasons why it hasn't. If it's money, then every financial support should be given them.
With regard to the mosque, I agree with the comment you posted. However it is rather a Catch 22 scenario for the authorities - if they forbade the building it would appear that America was officially blaming Islam for the atrocity, and was totally intolerant of the Muslim faith and people. However, as you say, the allowing of it is going to appear at the very least as bad taste, and may stir up a lot of animosity. I was trying to think of an equivalent situation here, and can only liken it to a Catholic church being built in Belfast, say, at the site of the worst IRA bombing.