Debate about construction of an Islamic community center two blocks from ground zero being un-American, begs to question what being “American” means and what values would be at stake if a mosque were built.
Being American, as President Barack Obama and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in speeches addressing and supporting the Islamic center, requires commitment to uphold and protect the constitutional rights and freedoms promised to the nation’s people, which includes the First Amendment’s freedom of faith, worship and religious practice.
Those in opposition to the center cannot deny the legality of its construction, but claim it is insensitive of the project leaders — led by Manhattan local Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf — and its supporters to build an Islamic center so close to ground zero — the void conspired by violent terrorists linked, in the untrained public’s eye, to the pillars of Islam.
Rooted somewhere deep in the claim of insensitivity may lie the visceral belief that the Islamic community center is aggressively injuring the families of 9/11 and Christian America in one swift punch to the gut.
But there are two different hurts at stake here. If the center and mosque go up, some people will likely feel that their private pain is publicly disregarded. The reasons behind this perspective may be selfish and un-altruistic, and are probably mixed with a dash or two of misunderstanding and rejection of Islam’s existence in the American context. On the flip side, if the Islamic center is stopped, somehow, from coming to fruition, it will likely further the rift between Muslim Americans and those who see them as outsiders to the American culture, creed and “security” — a heinous belief at best and hateful belief at worst. In this sense, the mosque is a necessary bridge of acceptance and understanding.
What opponents may not recognize is that asking project leaders to yield their plans in service of another group is what’s actually driving the motivations behind the initiative. The team members in charge of what was originally called the Cordoba House are seeking to serve important needs of their community: the needs for interfaith understanding, respect and community development. Service is an integral part of the American ideology. This nation has a military that depends, at its core, on the desire of soldiers to serve, and “giving back” to one’s community is a value embedded in us since childhood. Even America’s own breed of religion — the corporate industry — runs on dogmatic customer service. Why, then, is it so difficult to support efforts of service from one of the country’s most misunderstood and ostracized groups?
There is a multitude of religious buildings of worship represented around campus, such as the Hillel Jewish Student Center, Newman Catholic Center, Tempe Mosque and Danforth Chapel. And while there may not be a physical structure to facilitate every religion practiced by the ASU student body, the freedom to practice is certainly supported and holds an undeniable presence within the community. How many times have you not taken notice of their uniquely spiritual activities? Places of worship, such as the one being built in downtown NYC and those on campus, can only be positive epicenters of private worship and community service essential to American ideology.
Reach Grace at grolland@asu.edu
