Letting Muslims into our Hearts: the Mosque near Ground Zero

As many of us have been seeing in the news recently, there is quite the controversy about the new mosque that received permission for construction near the Ground Zero site in NYC.  Called Cordoba House, the mosque is actually slated to be an Islamic community center: hosting artistic and cultural events, community classes, children’s activities, as well as the mosque and religious center.

Now I’m not writing this to debate the origins of this mosque idea, nor its funding. (Though I did check the website, as well as Park51 website, and they claim they are receiving absolutely no foreign funding).  I’m writing about the concept: letting Muslims into our hearts, acknowledging their desire to be a part of mainstream America, allowing them and us to repair the damage of 9/11.

I recently watched the film My Name is Khan.  It follows the story of an Indian Muslim man whose life in America is brutally interrupted when his adopted son dies after being beaten up at school for being Muslim.  There is a scene where Khan enters a mosque, and hears the imam giving a lecture on Muslims needing to fight. The imam tells the story of Abraham when he is asked to sacrifice his son Ishmael (or Isaac in the Christian version), but in the end God provides a ram for the sacrifice, sparing Abraham’s son.  The imam interprets this as God calling Muslims to sacrifice for the cause of Islam, that in some cases God calls us even to spill our blood.

Khan yells: Satan! at the imam. He rebukes him, saying the point of this story is that God will always provide for us, that we have to trust and be compassionate even until the end. God will take care of us. No one else can, even when we are facing the prospect of terrible pain.

I think that Khan’s words in the film reflect the views of so many Muslims after 9/11, particularly in America. 9/11 was painful for America, for the victims of the attack.  But 9/11 was also terribly, excruciatingly painful for so many Muslims, who saw their entire religion hijacked in a few short hours. Rather than fighting back against much of the discrimination and violence that faced them in America afterward, and even forced to watch America enter 2 wars as a response, Muslims have been waiting for God to take care of them, without any violence whatsoever.

America needs to get past the point where accusing then-candidate Obama of being Muslim was considered a politically fatal stab. When Obama was asked if he is Muslim, I wish he could have said: “what if I was?” “Is being Muslim somehow wrong, somehow un-American?” All he did was deny it.

This mosque near Ground Zero should exist. It should be there on the grounds of freedom of religion first – allowing all religions in America to practice freely, adding to the numerous Jewish synagogues and Christian churches spotting New York City.  It should also exist as a symbol, allowing Muslims to trust in their destiny in America, being welcome in a country which was built on pluralism and individual liberty. We need to welcome Muslims, no longer treating Islam with suspicion and separating them from what is considered ‘mainstream’ America.  What better way for us to heal than allowing Muslims to be present at the place where 9/11 destroyed the reputation of their religion, allowing them to show their compassion and the true face of Islam?  It is time we welcome Muslims into our hearts, into the heart of America, as equal Americans in our eyes.