Why building a mosque near "ground zero" is bad

Hayfa,
I agree America should not wait for ever. Yep, people debate on stuff which is centuries old. However we are not the ones licking wounds. I have to relate it to war in UK eg 2nd WW. There are many still alive here that remember being bombed night after night for months on end with no respite. Whilst many have come to terms with it there are still those that cannot escape the nightmares.

As the years go by, when they are no longer here, we will rely on stories they passed down.

So sure, not wait forever to build this mosque/cultural centre, but for many Americans to do it now would be like a kick in the teeth.

Nur Ilahi,

There will always be conspiracy theories on who was to blame. Eventually the FULL truth might be known. The sadness is not so much as to who to blame but that it actually happened in the first place.

All humans are ignorant,no matter what religion or culture they come from. I am ignorant on many things, just as you are, just as we all are here. We have our own thoughts, but thoughts are not always truths.

So, bridges need building and trust needs to be gained. Americans, many, are ignorant about Islam. In fact it would be true to say that Americans can be ignorant about their own country. It is huge after all. So to just blame their ignorance is not helpful to them. The worst possible thing to do is keep saying how YOU are right in what you say cos you are a muslim. Do you really think anyone would accept that face value? Of course not. So...for anyone to understand YOUR view and billions of other muslims you have to teach with understanding and caring. TO say that something is true based on numbers of reverts to Islam would not for example prove to another that it is a true religion.

So, sure, one day to erect this building could be helpful. Right now would not be a good time. I am sure the majority agree. It is not Islamophobia, people died by terrorist means. It could have been( could still prove to be) any religion and the grief would still be the same

Salams to you Nur.

One thing that this Cordoba Project is clearly showing is that majority of the non-Muslim Americans and even a few Muslim Americans are truly firm on the belief that Islam (or anything that has to do with Islam and being a Muslim) =  blowing things up. In other words, yes, this Ground Zero Mosque Project has showed how much of Islamaphobia we are facing in a country where people are supposed to be open-minded. But I understand, that this is, the families of the 9/11 victims, who are protesting against this project, are 150% driven by emotions, rather than a rational approach towards understanding the difference between Islam and Terrorism (and this has even made them not recognize that there were hundreds of Muslims that died from that attack). That such a peaceful religion condemns these Terrorists and labels them as not followers of Islam. And one thing that I am kind of not understanding is that, what is this growing number of Muslims in America doing when we still have large number of New Yorkers, Americans in general still say comments like "let them build the Mosque in Ground Zero, we will just blow it up and build a church in Mecca" or "now they can breed terrorists right next the WTC"?


Edited by blackflag - 21 July 2010 at 4:12pm

martha wrote: Hayfa, I agree America should not wait for ever. Yep, people debate on stuff which is centuries old. However we are not the ones licking wounds. I have to relate it to war in UK eg 2nd WW. There are many still alive here that remember being bombed night after night for months on end with no respite. Whilst many have come to terms with it there are still those that cannot escape the nightmares. As the years go by, when they are no longer here, we will rely on stories they passed down. So sure, not wait forever to build this mosque/cultural centre, but for many Americans to do it now would be like a kick in the teeth. Nur Ilahi, There will always be conspiracy theories on who was to blame. Eventually the FULL truth might be known. The sadness is not so much as to who to blame but that it actually happened in the first place. All humans are ignorant,no matter what religion or culture they come from. I am ignorant on many things, just as you are, just as we all are here. We have our own thoughts, but thoughts are not always truths. So, bridges need building and trust needs to be gained. Americans, many, are ignorant about Islam. In fact it would be true to say that Americans can be ignorant about their own country. It is huge after all. So to just blame their ignorance is not helpful to them. The worst possible thing to do is keep saying how YOU are right in what you say cos you are a muslim. Do you really think anyone would accept that face value? Of course not. So...for anyone to understand YOUR view and billions of other muslims you have to teach with understanding and caring. TO say that something is true based on numbers of reverts to Islam would not for example prove to another that it is a true religion. So, sure, one day to erect this building could be helpful. Right now would not be a good time. I am sure the majority agree. It is not Islamophobia, people died by terrorist means. It could have been( could still prove to be) any religion and the grief would still be the same Salams to you Nur.

To a large degree the grief would be different it it was, hypothetically, let's say in a plane flown by Christians to a tower in a Muslim country. I am sure if that country was truly following the Islam then would have no problem in accepting the Christian community in that Muslim country to build a Church near the tower. A good religion respects other religion, and their beliefs. Converting people by force is not accepted in Islam.