Sarah Palin's language-bending tweet asking New Yorkers to “refudiate” a proposal to build a Muslim centre near Ground Zero has highlighted the truth that Americans still remain confused and divided in their reactions to Islam. Only two months ago, a Community Board representing Lower Manhattan residents voted in favour of the proposed building whose purpose would be to serve as a meeting point for people of all faiths. This endorsement is not binding but is regarded as a reliable indicator of public opinion. While the proposed 13-storeyed building, planned to come up two blocks from where the Twin Towers stood and named Cordoba House, will have a prayer hall, it is not conceived as a mosque. It will also house a basketball court and a swimming pool. The building that now stands at the site was damaged during the 9/11 attacks. It was bought by a Muslim businessman who is one of the main financiers for the project. Significantly, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has voiced support for building the centre — rightly describing it as being one with the city's tradition of tolerance, its liberal values, and the democratic freedom to practise any religion.
Opposition to the project remains strong and vocal, fuelled by a mix of prejudice, paranoia, and misinformation. There is opposition from the families of the victims of 9/11, who believe that building a ‘mosque' near Ground Zero would be an affront to the memory of those killed on that day. There is also the view that the centre would be a security hazard. Even the proposed name, Cordoba House, has provoked opposition on the grounds that it recalls the heyday of Islam in Europe. It is deplorable that Islam and Muslims are sought to be held responsible for the acts of a few who preach hate and practise terrorism in the name of saving the religion. There were Muslims among those killed in the 9/11 attacks. The hostility to the proposed centre, to which the 2008 vice-presidential candidate's tweet has added political overtones, reveals that considerable sections of American public opinion continue to believe that Muslims must collectively be punished for the attacks. Despite the celebrated U.S. constitutional guarantees on the freedom to worship, there have been instances of communities blocking the construction of religious buildings, usually non-Christian ones, for ‘civic' reasons. The final go-ahead for the building project has to come from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which could turn it down on the ground that the existing building is a historical landmark. It would be a great pity if the most liberal-minded of American cities joins the list of places that suffer from Islamophobia.
Keywords: Tweet controversy, Sarah Palin, Twin Tower, 9/11 attacks, terror alert, Cordoba House
Comments:
I am no fan Ms. Palin but I strongly disagree with views expressed. It is fully understandable for families who lost loved ones not to desire a mosque being built at Ground Zero as murder of their loved ones were committed in the name of Islam. There is no restriction for a mosques anywhere in America (in fact New york has hundreds of mosques) just objection to one being built at this site. The editorial fails to mention that there is not a single church, temple in Saudi Arabia (so called leader of Islam!). This is hypocritical to criticize a tolerant nation like America but not fault Islamic countries of deplorable actions against minority religions.
Dear Sir,
This editorial is a perfect example of 'stockholm syndrome' and nothing more than that. Any sane thinking person would naturally ask what was the need to build a mosque on the very site that reminds one of the atrocious act of the practitioners of Islam in the name of Islam.
If a mosque would indeed be built, it would serve as a long standing reminder, for times to come, of the heinous crime that the followers of that particular religion committed at that particular site. That would indeed alienate the American public and people at large from the Islamic faith and induce them to view Islam and its practitioners with suspicion.
It would be tantamount to building a mosque at the railway station in Godra where many hindu pilgrims were burnt alive by Muslim mobs and also a hindu temple in the place where Best Bakery once stood.
Acts such as these that are meant to appease one community smack of a complete lack of logical reasoning to resolve problems by meeting them head on.
If at all Sarah Palin had said smething meaningful in her life time so far, then this is the one.
Must be easy to 'bend' someone's intentions without putting your name behind your work.
Nobody is saying they are not free to practice their religion, by the way. A building, a shrine is different than a practice. There are hundreds of Mosque's in New York. Just not in locations that radical Islam massacred her citizens.
Sarah Palin speaks for most Americans when she asks those Muslims, the one's with radical associations to not deliver a slap to the face of this nation by building a shrine to the ideology that slaughtered 3,000 innocent lives in it's name, in that place. Those radicals are the one's with hatred in their hearts. Sarah Palin LOVES her country. Don't get it twisted.
The Editorial is a gem of rarest kind.
That Sarah Palin has said this shows the mindset of the Republican Government in USA that went to war against Afghanistan and Iraq.And recent Wikileaks only confirm that the people in both these countries were severely punished irrespective of them being militants or not.
American forces have caused extreme loss of life and property and possibly irreversible damage.
The Muslims in INDIA are very blessed among the Muslims in the world.
The Muslims of Pakistan lost their only hope BENAZIR BHUTTO,AFGHANISTAN and IRAN Muslims were leading their lives under the aegis of foreign powers. The Muslims who are leading a happy life are the those living in INDIA.
MATURE. WELL BALANCED EDITORIAL. HINDU AND ITS EDITOR MR.RAM DESERVE CONGRADULATION.
Its great of this paper to take a liberal view on Islam and Muslims. But the reality shouts to be different. Islam is isolated across the world not because a few people proclaim terrorist attacks as jihaad or purely Islamic, but when people in the neighbourhood practise it to the core.
The modern world doesn't vogue conservative religious practises. It needs practise of moderate religious values which adorn world peace and mutual co-existence.
Islamophobia is where Muslims practise strict Quran giving up their common sense and social consciousness.
Muslims should work for the project peacefully and they should accept the decision of the authorities. The extremists and their insane acts are a stigma on the face of Islam. They are foolish believers and are a hurdle in the way of peaceful propogation of Islam. Muslims should thank God for the religious freedom they are enjoying in all parts of the world, in past this was not the case.
terrorism should never be related to religion,as we all know terrorist are insane people,they don't have any religion,moreover they are the biggest enemies of humanity.finally what i want to conclude is that we should not relate ISLAM with this stupidity,as it is one of the pious religions of all.
Well written editorial.
Hope we see the day when people over the world whether living in USA or Saudi Arabia, Bhutan or Nepal have the right to practice and propagate their religious views or to refuse to follow any religious persuasion.
There is no room for Islamophobia and for that matter any other form of religious bigotry which suggests only a particular religion's place of worship is the stairway to heaven.
I rarely disagree with Hindu Editorials. Hindu fails to realize that the Muslims must denounce Al-qaida and any form of terrorism for Americans or anyone else in the world to support them.
Dear editor ,
Whenever a mosque is built it means problems from muslims to non islamic neighbours . In India it is common that whenever a procession of Ganesa is taken on Vinayaka chaturthi day the moslims are up their sleeves and create tension and havoc though the Hindus are not bothering the muslims there when they follow their more than three thousand year old tradition. The same happens in Tamilnadu in India when a mosque rises before a Hindu temple and the temple follows its age old traditions.
It is known that Islam is the most intolerant religion . The muslims buy the Indian government by their votes and money power from Saudis but they cannot hoodwink every country and especially the New Yorkers who have now come to see by themselves the true nature of Islam.
It is not without proper reason that the New Yorkers object to the mosque being built on ground Zero and especially with the name CORDOBA House.
Every dirty thing done by muslims cannot be swept under the mask of Islamaphobia.
I am a Jewish American living in Manhattan. I am 100% in favor of the Muslim centre. I believe that by building it, no matter WHERE it is built, can open up peoples eyes and create tolerance in the United States. By the way, I looked at an online petition that people were signing to try to stop the building from going up and the people who signed were NOT from New York. They were from the fearful states like Texas, Alaska and most of the Mid West.
If anybody is to be blamed for waves of ‘islamophobia’ it is those who indulge in mindless violence and bigotry in the name of Islam. This includes the vanguard members of OIC such as Saudi Arabia who either are unwilling to rein in or even speak against terrorist activities in the name of Islam. Even in Islamic countries violence against the minority sections of Muslims is endemic. It is Muslims themselves who have to introspect and take strong remedial action against the spoilers of Islam.
This is not bigotry, just hard-headed politics stoking hatred and a sense of "us" and "them" for long-lasting political gains. Who cares for the fine details, certainly not the people. At one fell stroke Sarah Palin has been able to evoke a positioning in mindsets that no positive and curative action or revelation of facts can remove. I wonder why we should be so surprised. This is old hat for the politicians in India who would be proud of such a new member of their club.
It is not Islamaphobia to recognize the worldwide threat from a sizable minority of Islamic leaders who preach and practice a most intolerant, bigoted and violent form of Islam. Unfortunately the greatest funding sources for Islamic centers today have been traced back to these intolerant fundamentalist Islamists. The proposed $100 million World Trade Center mosque, embedded in a "community center", appears to have such a funding source and/or affiliation. If true tolerance were being promoted, the funding would support an inter-faith center at the site, where Christians, Hindus, Jews ,Sikhs, Bahai and others could pray together. The 9/11 terrorists did not just happen to be Muslims; they acted "in the name of Islam". This mosque should not be built.
Most politician of free world who depend on local votes care nothing for same people living in islamic nations where they are raped killed and have no rights. These politicians will say nothing when in islamic nations muslims are destoying ancients temples churches etc and will not alloy constructionof a temple or churches in saudi or pakistan or malaysia. What a shame these leaders who know nothing about world politics want to play politics with locals when alien culture like islam wants to dominate you and taking away our freedom slowly.Its time these leaders should get cresh course on politicalislam who wants to dominate your children in near future.
I think most Americans are quite clear about their thinkiing on Islam. It will be an absurdity and a blunder of monumental proportions if a Mosque is to come in the place of twin towers which were brought down by men who considered themselves savants of Islam. Take the case of countries which profess Islam in a strict way or for that matter any country with Muslim majority,they just do not tolerate other faiths.
Your Editorial opinion is not only short sighted,it also shows a complete lack of understanding of Islam in history as a political force.
Islamic conquest always resulted in building Islamic mosque at the most loved places of Non-Muslims. Some example being mosque on Jewish temple in Jerusalem, Hagia Sophia church in Turkey, Pagan temple (Kabba)in Mecca, Hindu and Buddhist temples in India. Has the world forgotten destruction of Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001? Twin Towers were destroyed as a symbol of American financial power. To build a mosque where parts of the hijacked plane fell will be insulting and cruel. Let Muslims open Mecca to non-muslims. Let them build Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh places of worship in Saudi Arabia. Then we can talk about mosque in NY. Respect and love other faiths if you want your faith to be respected and loved.
I appreciate The Hindu and its editor N Ram for their concerns on The Muslims and on irrelevant mosque (for Indian Citizens) in US. But I have never seen an editorial on stoned to death execution order meted out to a Iranian Women accused of Adultery, also I have never seen an editorial in The Hindu (the most liberal and right thinking newspaper in the world) on the Saudi and Chinese human rights. As long as The Hindu is silent on these issues I can only take N Ram's editorial on Gujarat, Sarah Palin's refudiate, Wikileaks..etc (all related to so called persecution of muslims by non-muslims) with pinch of salt, they are like pickles in the food. One muslim wrote above, terrorists are hurdle to propagation of Islam. This mentality of muslims and their stupid belief to convert whole world to islam is hurting the non-muslims. All required steps need to be taken to preserve one's identity and against the onslaught of Islam. The classic examples of culture and tradition destroyed by Islam starts from Pakistan and ends in Indonesia. Please don't give stupid excuses on medieval kings acts of violence, the fact is they did it in the name of religion.
This article will definitely boost the morale of radical jihadist islamists (some of them who wants to build a 13 story Mosque in Ground Zero as a symbol of Islam's victory over USA), by knowing that they have a lot of friends in the so-called 'Secular' India Media. Is this not a classic example of intellectual suicide?
I know that is comment will not be displayed or may be moderated...since in India press is not free, but corrupted (more than bias).
There is no confusion or division among people opposing the mosque near ground zero. They know what 9/11 terrorists believed in and the reasoning behind their heinous crime. Inspite of the opposition if the mosque is constructed, I believe it will be the meeting place for the next 9/11 in America.
I don't think Hindu will publish this comment. Few years back I used to believe all religion are same and there are bigots and fanatics in every religion. But I don't think so any more. I believe Islam is unlike other religion. Islam is unable to coexist with other religions in the world. Be it Australia or United States, wherever there is an Islamic population there is always tension. Islam is always trying to impose its "values" to other people and simply refuse to accept other people's values. Any causal observer can see that Islamic forums are abuzz with "victory cry" about the new upcoming victory Mosque in 9/11 ground zero.Hindu must not fail to see through the façade of so called "peace Mosque".
At a time when there is widespread Islamophobia and aggressive bashing of Islam and Muslims, the editor Mr. Ram needs to be commended for his unbiased editorial in a popular newspaper like 'The Hindu'. It takes integrity and courage to speak the truth and I have known Mr. Ram from his works that he is indeed a journalist of character.
It is indeed surprising to see from the views of most readers the extent of the facts surrounding the 9-11 attacks, as well as the bias, prejudice and misconceptions about Islam and Muslims. I would request all readers to do some research on the 9-11 movement that patriotic highly educated and knowledgeable Americans from diverse fields have been working on to expose the lies, myths and fabrications of the 9-11 world trade center destruction. The whole 9-11 commission was a big whitewash, filled with lies and ignored massive evidence. The patriotic 9-11 community is trying hard to get a fresh investigation into the 9-11 attacks while the government doesn't want to. There is so much evidence available now for anyone who desires to research, that clearly points to the attacks to be an inside job of the American government with no links to Al Qaeda, Bin Ladin or Muslims. I wish that the truth surfaces in our lifetime. Please don't blame Muslims or Islam for no fault of theirs.
Your editorial gives a complete picture. But instead of simply building a mosque and further fanning the religious frenzy,I suggest that in that place an all-religion memorial consisting a Mosque, a Church, Hindu Mandir, Buddhist Pagoda, Baha'I house of worship,
Jewish synagogue, Jain shrine, Sikh Gurudwara and an all religion museum and a Peace university be built.
There is place in Israel/Palestine called Ramallah -- which shows that Ram and Allah are one. Hope better counsel prevails and we tone down our criticism of Muslims alone. Likewise, Muslims too should show balance and know that Muslims are book brothers of Christians.
Dear editor, we have seen in India how places of great importance were destroyed by Islamic invaders and mosques were raised on it, whether it's Somnath, Krishna janambhumi or Ram Janambhumi, all were distroyed to prove Islamic supremacy. How is those incidents diff from 9/11 where worlds finical hub was destroyed and now a mosque is built few feets away. This is a slap on Americas face and will create a lot of anger and alliation in future. Harmony is not one way, where only non Muslims need to bend over to show their intention of peace and harmony.