Aug
16
2010
Ground Zero Mosque
Here's my opinion.
The attacks of 9/11 were, it goes without saying, horrific. Many people lost their lives, and lost loved ones. Many others fell ill from exposure to the toxic debris in the aftermath of the attack. These people were victimized by the fringe extremists and radicals who perpetrated the attack.
After the victims and their families, the attacks hurt Muslim Americans most of all. To most Americans (including me, a Caucasian agnostic) 9/11 came as a shock, but its impact on our daily lives was limited to airline security checkpoints and the yammering of talking heads. For my Muslim friends, though, 9/11 changed everything. The degree to which many people saw Muslim Americans as "foreign" increased dramatically after 2001. Even third and fourth generation immigrants, deeply integrated Americans, suddenly faced waves of fear and hatred and distrust from the media and even from their own communities and peers.
Considering this, I can't see any more appropriate symbol to memorialize the attacks of September 11, 2001 than a Mosque and Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero. And to those who oppose the Mosque, I say your opposition is proof that a Mosque is needed. Your prejudice is borne of misunderstanding. Muslim Americans are Americans every bit as much as you, and your opposition is in the worst taste possible.
