Interfaith Youth Core President Eboo Patel had a telling exchange with an opponent of the Cordoba House/Park 51 Islamic Center and a CNN anchor Sunday night, which laid bare much of what’s at the core of opposition to the proposed center. The anchor, Don Lemon, suggested that the fact that the 9/11 hijackers were Muslims should preclude the building of a mosque in Lower Manhattan. Watch it:
This campaign is nothing different than all of the standard, definitively bigoted efforts to hold entire demographic groups of people responsible for the aberrational acts of a small percentage of individual members.
To me, this cuts to the very heart of it. The crux of the opposition to Cordoba House is collective guilt. The fact that the terrorists who killed thousands of people — including Muslims – on September 11th were Muslims themselves is used to argue that an entirely separate group of Muslims should not build a house of worship near the scene of the horrific attack. Patel responded:
The vile terrorists who attacked the United States deserve one name, and one name alone, and that is vile terrorists. And the American Muslims who are police officers and firefighters, who coach little league and serve on the PTA, deserve another name, an honored name, and that is fellow American.
Speaking at an Iftar dinner at the White House last night, President Obama expressed strong support for the planned Cordoba House Islamic center and mosque in Lower Manhattan near Ground Zero. He said in part:
Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities – particularly in New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground.
But let me be clear: as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are. The writ of our Founders must endure.
These words come on the heels of outspoken support for Corboda House from diverse members of the faith community, most recently from an interfaith group of more than 40 religious leaders and scholars rebuking those who have stoked fear and bigotry to build opposition to the center, and calling for “a civil dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims committed to a future guided by the principles of compassion, justice and peace.”
The New York Times reported today that “Sharif el-Gamal, the developer on the project, said, ‘We are deeply moved and tremendously grateful for our president’s words.’”
President Obama’s remarks will also be used as fodder for demagogues who exploit fear, bigotry and the tragedy of 9/11 to score political points and demonize Muslims. The White House surely is aware of this, and did the right thing by standing up for the dignity of the Muslim community and the religious liberty of all Americans in the face of political controversy.
Rather than portraying the Cordoba House/Park51 Islamic Center and mosque in Manhattan as what it actually is — a center promoting interfaith relations, combating extremism, and offering community programs for people of all religious backgrounds — opponents of the proposed complex such as Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin have stirred up a great deal of publicity by labeling it an “insult” and a “provocation.”
Today more than 40 prominent, diverse faith leaders and religion scholars in New York and across the country issued a statement calling the rhetoric of pundits like Palin and Gingrich exactly what it is — an appeal to “xenophobia and religious bigotry.” The statement, signed by leaders ranging from Simon Greer of Jewish Funds for Justice to National Council of Churches President Peg Chemberlin to Salam Al-Marayati, President of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, argues that Cordoba House opponents “would make a more lasting contribution to our nation if they stopped issuing inflammatory statements and instead helped inspire a civil dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims committed to a future guided by the principles of compassion, justice and peace.” The entire statement and list if signatories, including numerous rabbis, is here.
Faithful America – Faith in Public Life’s online community of more than 100,000 people of diverse faiths – is also standing up to anti-Muslim sentiment and fierce opposition to proposed mosques in communities across the country by circulating and signing a petition to honor the “many contributions of American Muslims toward global peace” and denounce bigotry and limits on religious freedom as a betrayal of American values. The petition will be sent not only to American Muslim leaders, but also to Gingrich and Palin. Sign it here.
Lately the vitriol of anti-Muslim demagogues and anti-immigrant voices has sunk to new depths. Opponents of immigration reform are advocating repeal of birthright citizenship for children of immigrants who are here illegally, and demeaning these children as “anchor babies.” In addition to intolerant rhetoric about the Islamic Center near Ground Zero, Muslims are facing a rising tide of bigoted opposition in communities across the country. As Matt Yglesias pointed out yesterday, these two developments are directly linked. Throughout history, he reminds us, economic downturns have led to xenophobia. However, that doesn’t mean economic recovery will lead us out of this political climate. Yglesias argues:
… The economic roots of our summer of fear will hopefully prove transitory, but the rise in xenophobia may nonetheless inflict serious and permanent damage. A betrayal, even a fleeting one, of America’s commitment to religious freedom could do lasting harm to the country’s relationship with a billion Muslims around the world. And while altering the text of the 14th Amendment would be extremely difficult, and is therefore unlikely, the shouting matches now underway still stand to permanently scar our national identity.
Clergy calling for civility and compassion in communities across the country are uniquely positioned to ensure that this damage halts and heals.
The vitriolic opposition to the proposed Cordoba House Islamic center in Lower Manhattan (the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque”) has been nothing short of shameful – Newt Gingrich labeled it “deliberately insulting,” Sarah Palin called it a “provocation” and Cal Thomas described it as a celebration of 9/11 (seriously!). But defenses of the center have been as moving as the attacks have been ugly. Today’s New York Times editorial praising New York’s Landmark Preservation Commissions approval of the project said it well:
It has been disturbing to hear and read the vitriol and outright bigotry surrounding the building of a mosque two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. So it was inspiring when New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 9 to 0 on Tuesday to reaffirm one of the basic tenets of democracy: religious tolerance.
Instead of caving in to the angry voices — many but not all of them self-promoting Republican politicians — commissioners paved the way for construction of the mosque and Islamic center. It was not just the right thing to do, it was the only thing to do.
And New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave an inspiring speech yesterday in response to the commission’s decision, saying
Of course, it is fair to ask the organizers of the mosque to show some special sensitivity to the situation – and in fact, their plan envisions reaching beyond their walls and building an interfaith community. By doing so, it is my hope that the mosque will help to bring our City even closer together and help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 were in any way consistent with Islam. Muslims are as much a part of our City and our country as the people of any faith and they are as welcome to worship in Lower Manhattan as any other group. In fact, they have been worshiping at the site for the better part of a year, as is their right….
Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure – and there is no neighborhood in this City that is off limits to God’s love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us today can attest.
The contrast between this embrace of America’s highest ideals and the Right’s pandering to our society’s most shameful instincts could hardly be more stark.