A national outcry has erupted due to the Manhattan Mosque project, a cultural and community center slated for construction two blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Those in opposition to the project have been the most vocal, claiming that it is disrespectful and insensitive to build an Islamic mosque so close to a site where Islamic extremists caused the death of almost 3,000 people. Yet advocates of the project suggest that an essential part of the Constitution is the freedom to practice any religion, that protesters' arguments have no legal merit, and that this mosque has the potential to demonstrate America's capacity for religious tolerance.
Regardless of how the issue is viewed, there are numerous leadership themes threading their way through this complex story.
1. Religious leaders
Perhaps the most compelling example of leadership in this convoluted story came from leaders of various religions, including Jews, Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, Episcopalians, Mormons, Sufis, and Muslims. These leaders put their religious differences aside to issue a joint statement supporting the construction of the mosque. Their reasoning was simple: at one time or another, every faith has been "denied its right." Rather than continue the cycle, they argue, Americans of all faiths have the opportunity to be an example of religious tolerance for the rest of the world.
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Every person has the freedom to practice their religion in any forum-this right is granted to every American under the Constitution, so attacking someone’s religion will not work. After all, America was founded on religious liberties! Some argue that the Islamic religion is out to conquer others, that this mosque will be a recruiting site for terroristic groups, and simply building a mosque two blocks from the where the World Trade Centers once stood is insensitive. Other religions have had controversies, but have not had such heated debates surrounding them. For example, the Catholic church has had it’s notoriety in the media involving child molestation. Would people be so outraged if they were trying to build a Catholic church across the street from an elementary school? I think not. The horrific events that occurred on September 11th, 2001 still and always will evoke emotions to those of us who experienced and lived through them, myself included. But, condemning a whole group for the actions of 19 individuals is wrong and illegal under the Constitution.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree with you more - this seems to be an over-reaction, and trying to lump all muslims into an "extremist" box is counterproductive, at best.
ReplyDeleteI understand the idea of ‘disrespect’ that the general public feels. I must admit that feeling of ‘are you serious? What are they thinking?’ was my first reaction.
ReplyDeleteWe are at an “evolved” time when we should be putting our religious differences aside, and embracing new cultures. The individuals building the mosque, which is not on ground zero but two blocks away, are not the TERRORISTS responsible for the horror our nation experienced. You cannot hold an entire body of innocent Muslims responsible for the actions of extremists! It reminds me of the Holocaust. What about the good things members of the culture are doing? They are building a community center to help people.
It is not illegal for the mosque to be built; therefore, let them build it. It takes guts to do what they are doing, they must know that not every citizen will be tolerant (especially those following Palin) and they will face many adversaries.
As for Palin, does she really know what she is talking about? Not at all! As an influential leader, she should be embracing the opportunity to help bring this nation together. Hearts are still wounded, but life goes on and you cannot hold everyone responsible. Perhaps that is a bit insensitive, but you cannot change what happened. Not allowing the mosque to be built will not change the past.
I have seen first-hand the tragedy of September 11, 2001. It was a terrible day for many Americans. As for the woman who has the Atlas Shrugs blogs – has she even read the book? Life must go on, you must constantly be moving forward to better your own life, and not taking from everyone else to ‘level the playing field’ (think Jim Taggart). Will it really make a difference to take this Mosque away from those who deserve it? It is not directly on ground zero, these people did not commit the crime, let them have their mosque - end of story.
The larger question seems to be, "do we honor our ideals all the time, or simply when it is convenient?" Similarly, as leaders or developing leaders, it's important to determine our values. Will they remain "my values" even when things are difficult?
ReplyDeleteI feel like values definatly change over time. Sometimes things can seem so unsignificant one day and yet it means the world another day. If my friend comes over my house and asks for a bottle of water, I have no problem giving them one. But if the same friend asked for the water while we were stranded in the desert, all of a sudden, that bottle of water become significantly more important.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the whole mosque issue comes down to this. Are they allowed to build the mosque? Without question. But, should they pick another location? Probably. If you ask me, there is no real difference between the mosque being built there or anyother spot in the city. I also feel that if theres this much controversy over it, they should move the mosque project somewhere else. While they have every right to build it in the current location i cant help but feel it would just be better to build it somewhere else. Compromising is never a bad thing.
I can see how both parties are at a standstill because of what is means to both sides. On side side, Americans feel putting a new mosuqe so close to the site of 911 is spitting on the graves of lives lost. And I understand that. They are mad at what had happened and are being supporting of this country. On the other hand, Americans need to realize that a new mosque would not harbor the terrorists of the attacks but other local citizens who go there to practice their beliefs. Perhaps if they could compromise and move slightly farther in good faith as opposed to force. That way, both sides would be happy because let's face it, this country was founded on individual rights and one of those rights is to practice religion freely.
ReplyDeleteI think the Muslims should be able to build the mosque. It's the right of the American people, however, I don't think they should build the mosque so close to where the towers once were.
ReplyDeleteHere's another interesting article on the Mosque - and it touches on many of your points. Should we move it further from the towers, which would seem to be the easy thing to do? Let me know what you think about this article: http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/magazine/77381/leon-wieseltier-mosque-notes?passthru=MzZhYmRjMTgwNDI5NmRhNzcxZDI5MTViNzU4ZjQzOTk
ReplyDeleteI believe that the building of a mosque two blocks away from where the World Trade Center towers were is ridiculous. I have no hatred or problem with Islamic religion or any other religion, but I believe that the building of a mosque that close to ground zero and all the controversy of it could have been avoided if it was built somewhere else. Feisal Abdul Rauf who is the head of this plan could have picked somewhere else in New York to build a mosque, but when they decided on a spot only two blocks from ground zero they had to know there was going to be a lot of controversy. I don’t think enough time has passed since 9-11 or enough time will ever pass to have a mosque significantly close to where the Twin Towers were. It’s hard for me to believe that a location for a mosque couldn’t have been found farther from ground zero. In my opinion, the mosque should not be built that close to ground zero.
ReplyDeleteI support the idea that Lady Gaga is a leader. She obviously stands up for issues that she supports and pushes for others to support those causes and for people to stand up and fight for their own cause. There is no reason not to say that Lady Gaga is a leader in today’s world. As the writer said, she has 10 million people across the world following her on facebook and probably many more that support her and what she stands for world wide. I think we need more leaders like Lady Gaga that aren’t afraid to make their voice heard and proudly stand up for what they believe in.
ReplyDeleteThe article on the world trade center mosque is very interesting. I would have to agree that legally there is no reason why the mosque shouldn’t be built. I understand why people are offended by this because it is so close to ground zero but that doesn’t give them the right to deny a religious group from building a center for worship. People need to remember that not all Muslims are radical and that they have the same rights to worship in America as do people in any other religion.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be easy for people to get on the news and talk about the mosque being a cell for terrorist activity and link all the people of one religion to a handful of terrorist who happened to be a part of that same religion. Any person in America should be allowed to practice their religion freely. Calling a Muslims terrorists would be like calling all Catholics pedofiles. The problem is that an elected official can't speak out for the rights of Muslims because they would probably lose a lot of votes. Without those people speaking out the only voice you hear is the voice of those who oppose the mosque.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about the elected officials who don't speak their mind - or what's really on it - for fear of losing votes? Is that how it has to be, or is there room to usher in a more transparent system? My primary problem is that by not speaking out, the candidate or official is implicitly agreeing with those who are suggesting that Muslims have no right in building their mosque there...
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