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Park51
An artistic rendering of the proposed Park51
Religion
AffiliationIslam
LeadershipImam Feisal Abdul Rauf
StatusPlanned; 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2)
Location
Location45–51 Park Place, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.[1][2][3]
Geographic coordinates40°42′49″N 74°00′36″W / 40.71361°N 74.01000°W / 40.71361; -74.01000
Architecture
General contractorSoho Properties;
Sharif El-Gamal (Chairman & CEO)
GroundbreakingLate 2010 (est.)
Construction cost$100 million
Specifications
CapacityOver 2,000[4]
Height (max)13 stories
MaterialsGlass and steel
Website
Official website

Park51, originally named Cordoba House, is a planned $100 million, 13-story, glass and steel Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan.[5] The facility's design includes a 500-seat auditorium, theater, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, basketball court, childcare area, bookstore, culinary school, art studio, food court, September 11 memorial, and prayer space that could accommodate 1,000–2,000 people.[6][7] The center would replace an existing 1850s Italianate-style building that was damaged in the September 11 attacks, located about two blocks (600 feet or 180 meters) from the former World Trade Center site,[7][8] although it would not be visible from the future memorial.[9]

In July 2009, the real estate company and developer Soho Properties, led by Sharif El-Gamal, purchased the building,[10][11] initially planning to build a condominium complex at the site. In partnership with Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf's Cordoba Initiative, the owners instead decided to pursue the idea of an Islamic community center to be headed by Rauf.[12]

Plans to build Cordoba House were noted in December 2009,[13] at a location that was already in use for Muslim worship.[14] The plans were reviewed by the local community board in May 2010, at which time they attracted some national media attention.[15] The project's organizers state that it is intended to be "a platform for multi-faith dialogue. It will strive to promote inter-community peace, tolerance and understanding locally in New York City, nationally in America, and globally,"[16] and have stated that it is modeled on the noted Manhattan Jewish community and cultural center, the 92nd Street Y.[17][18][9] The project's sponsors explained that the original name of the center was meant to invoke 8th–11th century Córdoba, which they call a model of peaceful coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews.[19] The proposal triggered an intense nationwide controversy,[15][20][21] with opponents of the project objecting to its proximity to the site of the September 11 attacks,[22][23][24][21][25][26] its scale, sources of funding,[27] or expressing concern that the project's name was intended as a reference to the Islamic conquest of the Christian city of Córdoba, Spain.[28][29] Supporters have appealed to the First Amendment as well as the opportunity for Muslims to demonstrate peaceful Islamic values and for Americans to reassert their commitment to tolerance and diversity.

Protests were initially sparked by a campaign launched by bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, opponents of political Islam and founders of the group Stop Islamization of America.[30][15][31]

Before Geller's campaign, response to the Park51 project was not pronounced, and at least one conservative commentator provided positive coverage.[32] But the project quickly attracted national attention, with major local and national figures and politicians voicing their opinions. Prominent supporters and opponents of the project can be found among the families of the 9/11 victims, the domestic and international Muslim community,[33][27][4][34][35][36] and local and national politicians,[27][37] making it a divisive political campaign issue in the 2010 midterm elections.

Naming of the project

Cordoba Initiative, the sponsors of Park51, said the original name "Cordoba House" was meant to invoke 8th–11th century Córdoba, Spain, which they called a model of peaceful coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews.[19][19][18] Some took issue with the name Cordoba; for example, Newt Gingrich said that it was a "a deliberately insulting term" on the grounds that Córdoba was the capital of the Caliphate of Córdoba during the period of Muslim rule in Spain, following the Umayyad defeat of the Visigoths in the 8th century.[38][28][25] Similarly, Raymond Ibrahim, formerly associate director of the Middle East Forum, criticized the initiative as symbolic not of "a gesture of peace and interfaith dialogue" but "allusive of Islamic conquest and consolidation".[39] According to The Economist, the name was chosen because Muslims, Jews and Christians created a center of learning in Córdoba together.[18] Subsequently, Cordoba Initiative renamed the structure "Park51", after the location's address at 51 Park Place,[40][41] although it continues to refer to the project itself as Cordoba House.[42]

Park51 is often referred to by the misnomer "Ground Zero mosque"[43][44] since it is not located directly on Ground Zero, nor is it primarily a mosque. Some news media have cautioned against the use of this term.[45]

History

Diagram showing how plane parts from United Airlines Flight 175 fell on 45 Park Place during 9/11 attacks

Prior to the September 11 attacks, at least two mosques existed near the World Trade Center.[14][46][47][48] During the attacks, the then-five-story building at 45–47 Park Place, between West Broadway and Church Street, was severely damaged.[8][49][50] The building is located about two blocks (600 feet or 180 meters) north of the former World Trade Center.[8][49][50]

That morning, the terrorists hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 as part of their attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers. They crashed the plane into the South Tower at 9:03 a.m, triggering the destruction of the building 56 minutes later.[22][19][49][51][52][53][54] The plane penetrated through the tower, and part of the plane's landing gear and fuselage came out the north side of the tower and crashed through the roof of 45–47 Park Place, and through two of its floors. The plane parts destroyed three floor beams, and severely compromised the building's internal structure.[22][19][49][55][56]

At the time, the building was leased to the Burlington Coat Factory.[8][49] Stephen Pomerantz owned the building, and his wife Kukiko Mitani subsequently attempted to sell it for years, at one point asking for $18 million. Until its 2009 purchase the building lay abandoned.[49] For several months after its purchase, since September 2009, the building was used as a makeshift Muslim prayer space for up to 450 Muslims, with services led by Rauf.[49][57][58][59][60]

Ground Zero, 12 days after the 9/11 attacks. The location of the proposed Cordoba House is circled in red. Viewed at full size, a blue tarpaulin is visible covering a damaged section of the building's roof.

Purchase and investors

In July 2009, the real estate company and developer Soho Properties purchased the building and property at 45–47 Park Place for $4.85 million in cash.[10][11][61][62][63]

Soho Properties' Chairman and CEO is real estate developer Sharif El-Gamal. Initially, El-Gamal had planned to build a condominium complex at the site, but was convinced by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's idea for a cultural center with a prayer space.[12] El-Gamal's partner is Nour Mousa, the nephew of Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League.[3][10][64][61]

One investor in the transaction was the Cordoba Initiative, a tax-exempt foundation with assets of $20,000.[62] In the foundation's first five years, from 2004–08, it raised less than $100,000.[62] Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is founder, CEO, and Executive Director of Cordoba Initiative, and the project is his brainchild.[49][65][66][67] His wife, Daisy Khan, is a board member.[68]

The project's other investor was the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), another non-profit foundation.[62][69] Rauf is also the founder and CEO of ASMA, and his wife is its Executive Director.[68] They run it out of the same New York office as the Cordoba Initiative.[62][61][70]

The two foundations proposed to use the property as the site for a $100 million Islamic center and mosque.[62][28] They are working on the project with El-Gamal, their co-developer.[62][10]

The 49–51 Park Place half of the "45–51" parcel is still owned by the utility Con Edison (Con Ed).[71] Soho Properties paid an additional $700,000 to assume a $33,000-a-year lease with Con Ed, for its adjacent attached former sub-station.[72] The plan is to build the facility on the site of the two buildings. The lease for 49–51 Park Place expires in 2071.[72] The two buildings are connected internally, with common walls having been taken down.[72] El-Gamal informed Con Ed in February 2010 that he wanted to exercise his purchase option on the lease.[72] Con Ed is now conducting an appraisal to determine the property's value.[72] Once the property has been valued, El-Gamal will have the option of accepting the price, which was reportedly estimated at $10–$20 million.[72] El-Gamal said the cost "is not an issue".[72] The sale would be reviewed by the New York Public Service Commission, where it might face a vote by a five-member board controlled by New York Governor Paterson.[72][73]

The specific location of the planned facility, "where a piece of the wreckage fell," so close to the World Trade Center, was a primary selling point for the Muslims who bought the building.[49] Rauf said it "sends the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11" and "We want to push back against the extremists."[49]

Questions as to source of funding

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

Claudia Rosett, a journalist with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a weekly columnist for Forbes, questioned the source of the funding for the project.[62][74] Some U.S. politicians such as Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who is an Independent Democrat, and Republicans Peter King and Rick Lazio (NY-2), asked for an investigation of the group's finances, especially its foreign funding.[75] King said: "The people who are involved in the construction of the mosque are refusing to say where their [$100 million] funding is going to come from."[19][76][77] Lazio said: "Let's have transparency. If they're foreign governments, we ought to know about it. If they're radical organizations, we ought to know about it."[27]

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, called for transparency in the funding of the project, suggesting foreign sources could imply an ulterior agenda.[61]

Rauf said he would raise money solely from the Muslim American community.[78] NBC and The New York Post reported that in contrast he also told a London-based Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that he would seek funding from Muslim and Arab nations.[79][80][81][82][83][84] Developer Sharif El-Gamal said in an August 27th interview that they will refuse money from groups such as the government of Iran and Hamas as well as any other "organizations that have un-American values."[85]

Mayor Bloomberg said: "Where does [the money] come from?' I don't know. Do you really want every time they pass the basket in your church, and you throw a buck in, they run over and say, '... where do you come from? ... Where did you get this money?' No."[86] Rick Sanchez said: "if you start going into who is giving money to whom ... you have to go to my church. You have got to go to Rome and start asking where the money is going into Rome. And you have to go the Mormons and ask them, well, what are they doing with their money?"[87]

The former Burlington Coat Factory buildings on 45–51 Park Place, in 2010

Planned facilities

While the media widely described the center as a mosque, and the protests were against the mosque, the Initiative's official blog portrayed it as a community center with prayer space, making comparisons to the YMCA or Jewish Community Center.[88] The Initiative said that some services planned for the Cordoba House, such as the restaurant and performance center, disqualify it from being a mosque.[89] Daisy Khan, Imam Rauf’s wife and partner, in August 2010 also said:

We insist on calling it a prayer space and not a mosque, because you can use a prayer space for activities apart from prayer. You can't stop anyone who is a Muslim despite his religious ideology from entering the mosque and staying there. With a prayer space, we can control who gets to use it.

[12]

The official website for the facility says it will include "a mosque, intended to be run separately from Park51 but open to and accessible to all members, visitors and our New York community".[90]

Besides the Muslim prayer space, the Initiative's plan includes a 500-seat auditorium, theater, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, basketball court, childcare services, art exhibitions, bookstore, culinary school, and a food court serving halal dishes.[22][19][21][77][91][5]

El-Gamal said he wanted the building to be energy-efficient and transparent, most likely with a glass façade.[92] The project envisions the demolition of two buildings at 45–47 Park Place and Broadway which were damaged on 9/11.[3] They would be replaced by a glass and steel 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) structure with a new address, 45–51 Park Place.[3] A number of commentators stated that the builders planned either the groundbreaking or opening date to coincide with anniversaries of the September 11 attacks.[93][94][95] Khan said in July 2010 that such assertions were "absolutely false" and that the construction timeline had not been determined; furthermore, those making such assertions have no proof of their claims.[96] However, a May 2010 Associated Press interview with Khan noted, "The Muslim organizations plan to announce the groundbreaking later this year, possibly to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the attacks."[97]

Khan also said that it was anticipated that 1,000 to 2,000 Muslims would pray at the mosque every Friday, once it was completed.[7][8][33]

Community board advisory vote

On May 25, 2010, neighborhood authorities in a non-binding advisory vote backed part of the plans for Cordoba House to be built on the site.[98][99] The endorsement related only to "the important community facilities [the project] will provide", and the resolution indicated that the board "takes no position regarding the religious aspects or any religious facilities associated with either the Cordoba Initiative or the Cordoba House Project".[99] The board's chairwoman, Julie Menin, supported deletion of references to the building as a mosque and interfaith center that were in an earlier draft of the resolution, saying: "I personally was uncomfortable with the language that talked about the religious institution. I believe it's not the purview of a city agency to be weighing in on the siting of any religious institution, be it a mosque, synagogue, or church."[99]

The vote by the Lower Manhattan Community Board 1 was 29-to-1, with 10 abstentions.[100][7][19][8][101][99] The vote did not have any binding effect.[102] Many of the speakers pointed out the personal role their Muslim family and friends who died in the attack of 9/11[103] - from those that worked in the towers to emergency responders - hundreds of Muslims died there.[104][105] Muslim women with unborn children died in the attack.[106] Some had sought religious freedom in the West.[107] Never the less these speakers were booed.

Landmark status declined; lawsuit

Slogans drawn by supporters on the pavement in front of the former Burlington Coat Factory, in 2010

One obstacle to construction was the potential conferment of landmark status on the building. It had been constructed between 1857 and 1858, in the Italian Renaissance palazzo style.[108][100][59]

The stone-faced building, designed by Daniel Badger, was originally constructed for a shipping firm of a prominent New York shipping magnate.[109][110][111] Its Italian palazzo style was a throwback to a prior time of European grandeur, and was intended to evoke images of economic might.[109] The building is an example of the "store and loft" structures that were prevalent in the dry goods warehouse districts of Lower Manhattan.[59]

The building was one of only a few stand-alone structures in southern Tribeca that were nominated—but never designated—as individual landmarks, during an effort in the 1980s to create a Tribeca historic district.[99][59] In September 1989, the Commission had held public hearings and considered the building for landmark status, but it never acted on the matter, and the building was "calendared" ever since.[99][59][110] The New York Post reported that city building records reflected that out of a group of 29 buildings, including 45–47 Park Place, that were proposed for historic landmark designation in 1989, 23 had been deemed landmarks and 6 (including 45–47) were pending as of August 2010.[79] New York City has more than 11,000 landmarked buildings.[112]

On August 3, 2010, New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 9–0 against granting landmark status and historic protection to the building. That cleared the way for it to be demolished, and the new Cordoba House to be built in its place.[27][108][100][59] The Commission's members had been appointed by Mayor Bloomberg, a supporter of the new structure.[59][113]

The following day, Timothy Brown, a firefighter who survived 9/11, filed a suit in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan asking the court to nullify the Commission's decision.[114][115][116] He praised 45–47 Park Place, quoting the Commission's own description of it as "a fine example of the Italian Renaissance-inspired palazzi" that flourished in the mid-19th century in the area.[114] The suit was filed on his behalf by the American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative public interest firm.[114][115][116][117]

Polls

Opponents of Park51 protest on August 22, 2010.

Polls showed that the majority of Americans, New York State residents, and New York City residents opposed building the center near Ground Zero; more Manhattanites support building the center.

The majority of Americans were opposed to the mosque/Islamic center, The New York Times reported in July 2010.[91] By a margin of 54%–20%, American adults were opposed to a mosque being built near Ground Zero, a national Rasmussen Reports poll found that month.[118][119] Furthermore, according to an August 10–11 Fox News poll, 64% of Americans (a majority of each of Democrats (56-38%), Republicans (76-17%), and Independents (53-41%)) thought it would be wrong to build a mosque and Islamic cultural center so close to Ground Zero, and 30% felt it would be appropriate.[120]

A CNN poll conducted August 6–10 found that Americans opposed the Park51 project by a margin of 68%-29%.[121][122] A majority of each of Democrats (54-34%), Republicans (82-17%), and Independents (70-24%) were opposed.[123]

In addition, by a margin of 52%–31% New York City voters opposed the construction, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll carried out in June 2010.[108][124][125][126] At the same time, 46% of Manhattanites supported it, while 36% opposed it. Opposition was strongest in Staten Island, where 73% opposed it while only 14% supported it.[108][127] A higher percentage of Republicans (82%) than Democrats (45%) opposed the plan.[128]

A Marist Poll taken July 28 – August 5 showed a similar city-wide margin of registered voters against it (53%-34%, with 13% unsure), although those in Manhattan supported it, reversing the figures: 53% to 31%, with 16% unsure.[129][130]

Notably, opposition to the location of the project at the proposed site does not always entail opposition to a recognition of the developers' legal right to locate the project at the proposed site. The Quinniapac University poll of New York State residents released August 31, 2010 notes "By a 54 - 40 percent majority, voters agree 'that because of American freedom of religion, Muslims have the right to build the mosque near Ground Zero,'."[131]. A Fox News national poll taken August 10-11, 2010 found that 61% felt that the project developers had a right to build a mosque there[132] (a majority of Democrats (63-32%), Republicans (57-36%), and Independents (69-29%).[133]

State-wide, by a margin of 61%–26% New Yorkers opposed the mosque's construction at that location, according to another poll in August 2010, by Siena Research Institute,[134][135][136] whose poll question wording was criticized by a writer at Slate magazine.[137] A majority of both Republicans (81%) and Democrats (55%) were opposed to it, as were conservatives (85%), moderates (55%), and liberals (52%).[136] Among New York City residents, a margin of 56%–33% opposed it.[138][135][136]

The controversy as a recruitment tool for radical Islamists

Counterterrorism analysts have noted that the developing controversy over Park51 has provided a "recruitment opportunity" for radical Islamist groups. According to Evan Kohlmann, the senior partner in the New York-based security firm Flashpoint Global Partners, "[t]he reaction is, at least on the part of extremists, fairly gleeful - that America is playing into our hands, that America is revealing its ugly face, and that even if it doesn't further radicalize people in the Middle East, there's no doubt that it will radicalize a kind of a key constituency that al-Qaida and other extremists are seeking to covet, seeking to court, which is the small number of homegrown extremists here in the United States".[139]

Opposition to the location

9/11 families

Some relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks said they found the proposal offensive because the radical Muslim terrorists who committed the attacks did so in the name of Islam.[7] A number said that it was not an issue of freedom of religion, property rights, or racism, but rather one of sensitivity to the families of those killed, in choosing the specific location of the mosque.

A group of victims' relatives, 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America, called the proposal "a gross insult to the memory of those who were killed on that terrible day".[33] Debra Burlingame, a co-founder of the group whose brother died in the attacks, said:

This is a place which is 600 feet from where almost 3,000 people were torn to pieces by Islamic extremists.... it is incredibly insensitive and audacious ... for them to build a mosque ... so that they could be in proximity to where that atrocity happened... The idea that you would establish a religious institution that embraces the very shariah law that terrorists point to as their justification for what they did ... to build that where almost 3,000 people died, that is an obscenity to me.[61]

Sally Regenhard, whose son died and who has testified before Congress on 9/11, said that the center would be "sacrilege on sacred ground", and that "People are being accused of being anti-Muslim and racist, but this is simply a matter of sensitivity."[19][140] Former NY Fire Department Deputy Chief Jim Riches, whose son Jim was killed, said: "I don't want to have to go down to a memorial where my son died on 9/11, and look at a mosque," adding "this is all about location, location, location. It's not about religious freedom ... be sensitive to the families."[7][40] Michael Burke, whose brother died, wrote: "Freedom of religion or expression and private property rights are not the issues.... Decency is; right and wrong is... [M]any believe that their "rights" supersede all other considerations, like what is respectful, considerate, and decent. A mosque ... steps from Ground Zero in a building damaged in the attacks is ... astoundingly insensitive".[141]

C. Lee Hanson, whose son, daughter-in-law, and baby granddaughter were killed, felt that building a tribute to Islam so close to the World Trade Center site would be insensitive: "The pain never goes away. When I look over there and I see a mosque, it's going to hurt. Build it someplace else."[8][141] Hanson and his wife wrote, further:

It has the trappings of a victory mosque, given its location.... The refusal of ... Rauf to be specific about who the donors were for the $5 million to buy the building, and will be for the $100 million for construction, is worrisome.... The imam argues that America bears much of the responsibility for 9/11. Even so, Councilwoman Margaret Chin praised the imam ... and accused opponents of being prejudiced or anti-immigrant. We are neither. One of us is the child of Greek immigrants, with a sister married to a Muslim. Our son married the daughter of Korean immigrants. Councilwoman Chin and others need a new argument.[141]

Rosemary Cain, whose son was killed, called the project a "slap in the face", and said "I think it's despicable. That's sacred ground", and "I don't want a mosque on my son's grave".[7][99] Nancy Nee, whose brother was killed, said: "It's almost like a trophy. The whole thing just reeks of arrogance at this point."[142]

Evelyn Pettigano, who lost a sister, said: "I don't like it. I'm not prejudiced.... It's too close to the area where our family members were murdered."[68] Dov Shefi, whose son Haggai was killed, said: "the establishment of a mosque in this place ... is like bringing a pig into the Holy Temple. It is inconceivable that in all the city of New York, this site was specifically chosen."[143] Cindy McGinty, whose husband was killed, said she hoped that officials would keep an eye on the funding source for the mosque, adding: "Why did they pick this spot? Why aren't they being more sensitive? I don't trust it."[144] Barry Zelman, whose brother was killed, said: "We can say all Muslims did not do this, which is true. But they [terrorists] did it in the name of that religion. You wouldn't have a German cultural center on top of a death camp."[142]

Rosaleen Tallon-DaRos, whose brother died, urged that the mosque not be put on that site, as did Tim Brown, a New York City firefighter who survived the attack.[145] He said: "The families lost their loved ones to terrorists, Islamic, Muslim terrorists who do not believe in religious freedom."[146]

Maureen Basnicki, a Canadian whose husband Ken died, questioned the message of the mosque and said that "this all adds hurt and insult to our injuries."[147]

Muslims

The building of the mosque near Ground Zero has been criticized by some Muslims.

Muslim neoconservative[148] journalist Stephen Schwartz, Executive Director of the non-profit Center for Islamic Pluralism, said that building the mosque two blocks from Ground Zero is inconsistent with the Sufi philosophy of simplicity of faith and sensitivity towards others and disregards the security of American Muslims.[33] He also criticized what he termed Rauf's radical and suspect associations.[149]

Another founding member of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, Zuhdi Jasser, who is also the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a group of Muslim professionals in the Phoenix Valley of Arizona, strongly opposed the mosque, saying:

For us, a mosque was always a place to pray...—not a way to make an ostentatious architectural statement. Ground Zero shouldn't be about promoting Islam. It's the place where war was declared on us as Americans."[33]

Neda Bolourchi, a Muslim whose mother died in 9/11, said: "I fear it would become a symbol of victory for militant Muslims around the world."[150]

Authors Raheel Raza and Tarek Fatah, board members of the Muslim Canadian Congress, said:

New York currently boasts at least 30 mosques so it's not as if there is pressing need to find space for worshipers. We Muslims know the ... mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation, to thumb our noses at the infidel. The proposal has been made in bad faith, ... as "Fitna," meaning "mischief-making" that is clearly forbidden in the Koran.... As Muslims we are dismayed that our co-religionists have such little consideration for their fellow citizens, and wish to rub salt in their wounds and pretend they are applying a balm to sooth the pain.[151]

Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, while noting that blaming all Muslims for 9/11 was "ridiculous", said:

I don't think the Muslim leadership has fully appreciated the impact of 9/11 on America. They assume Americans have forgotten 9/11 and even, in a profound way, forgiven 9/11, and that has not happened. The wounds remain largely open [...] and when wounds are raw, an episode like constructing a house of worship—even one protected by the Constitution, protected by law—becomes like salt in the wounds.[152]

Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, general manager of Al-Arabiya television, also criticized the project in a column titled "A House of Worship or a Symbol of Destruction?" in the Arab daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat, saying:

Muslims do not aspire for a mosque next to the September 11 cemetery...the mosque is not an issue for Muslims, and they have not heard of it until the shouting became loud between the supporters and the objectors, which is mostly an argument between non-Muslim US citizens! [153][154]

Rima Fakih, the first Muslim-American crowned Miss USA as Miss USA 2010, opposed the mosque on the grounds of it being insensitive to families of 9/11 victims, telling Inside Edition:

I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on the constitutional rights of freedom of religion. [But] it shouldn't be so close to the World Trade Center. We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion.[155]

Politicians

A number of politicians across the United States spoke out against the mosque being constructed next to Ground Zero.

Among them have been Republicans Senator John McCain (AZ, 2008 presidential nominee; "would harm relations, rather than help"); Sarah Palin (AK, 2008 vice presidential nominee; posted to microblogging site Twitter, "Ground Zero Mosque supporters: doesn't it stab you in the heart, as it does ours throughout the heartland? Peaceful Muslims, pls refudiate [sic]." Controversy later arose surrounding Palin's use of the non-existent word "refudiate"), Mitt Romney (former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate), Senator Johnny Isakson (GA; "could be totally insensitive"), Senator Olympia Snowe (Maine; "insensitive to the families"), Idaho Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (not "proper"), Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson ("inappropriate and insensitive"), Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, and North Carolina congressional candidate Ilario Pantano ("It is about ... territorial conquest. This mosque is a Martyr–Marker honoring the terrorists").[156][157][158][159][160][161]

Newt Gingrich

Former House Speaker Republican Newt Gingrich said: "It's not about religion, and is clearly an aggressive act that is offensive".[91] Commenting on the project's name, he wrote:

"Cordoba House" is a deliberately insulting term. It refers to Cordoba, Spain–the capital of Muslim conquerors, who symbolized their victory over the Christian Spaniards by transforming a church there into the world's third-largest mosque complex... every Islamist in the world recognizes Cordoba as a symbol of Islamic conquest.[162][163]

Gingrich also decried the proposed Islamic center as a symbol of Muslim "triumphalism", and said that building the mosque near the site of the 9/11 attacks "would be like putting a Nazi sign next to the Holocaust Museum."[164] Commenting on what Gingrich said The Economist pointed out that "Like Mr bin Laden, Mr Gingrich is apparently still relitigating the victories and defeats of religious wars fought in Europe and the Middle East centuries ago. He should rejoin the modern world, before he does real harm."[18]

Rick Lazio

New York Republicans who criticized the plan included former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani (a "desecration"; "Nobody would allow something like that at Pearl Harbor ... Let's have some respect for who died there and why they died there."), former NY Governor George Pataki, Congressman Peter King (R-NY; ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee; "offensive to so many people"), and former NY Congressman and current NY gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio.[165][24][76][77][91][166][167][25][111] NY gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino (R) noted: "The vast majority of New Yorkers and Americans have rejected their idea. If a bridge was their intent, why jam it down our throats? Why does it have to be right there?"; he said that if he were elected Governor of New York, he would use the power of eminent domain to stop construction of the mosque, and instead build a war memorial in its place.[168][169][170][171][172]

New York Republican Congressional candidate George Demos also objected. He said that the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the only religious structure destroyed in the 9/11 attacks, should be rebuilt before moving forward on building a mosque in the area, and called for an investigation into the mosque's financing.[173][174][175]

New York City Council Member Dan Halloran became the first elected official in New York City to publicly criticize the project, "If we want a nation of peace," said city councilman Dan Halloran, whose cousin died on 9/11, "then peace comes with understanding. And they need to understand that this is sacred ground to New Yorkers." [176] He went on to add, "New York City is the greatest city in the world," a place of religious tolerance, but that tolerance "starts when you say 'I understand your pain, and I am not going to inflict more on you.'" Halloran described Ground Zero as "sacred ground to New Yorkers".[177]

Paul Sipos, a member of NYC Community Board 1, said:

If the Japanese decided to open a cultural centre across from Pearl Harbour, that would be insensitive. If the Germans opened a Bach choral society across from Auschwitz, even after all these years, that would be an insensitive setting. I have absolutely nothing against Islam. I just think: Why there?[63]

A Republican political action committee, the National Republican Trust Political Action Committee, a Washington-based organization, created a television commercial attacking the proposal, saying "we Americans will be heard".[91][178][25][179] Tea Party activist Mark Williams called it a monument to the terror attacks.[100]

Democratic Independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman indicated that he felt the project should be halted, pending further evaluation of its impact on the families and friends of 9/11 victims, project's sponsors' intentions, and their sources of funding.[75]

New York Democratic Assemblyman[clarification needed] and Attorney-General-candidate Richard Brodsky said it was: "offensive to me...raises concerns and bad memories, and needs to be dealt with on a human level. The murder wasn't an Islamic crime, but it was a crime committed in the name of Islam by people most Muslims reject."[180] Other Democrats to come out in opposition include Harry Reid and Howard Dean.

Organizations

New York City fireman Tim Brown opposed the mosque, saying: "A mosque ... that's using foreign money from countries with shariah law is unacceptable, especially in this neighborhood". Brown allied with the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), a conservative law firm founded by Pat Robertson that champions the rights of Christians to build and worship freely.[22] Brown sought to pressure Rauf to disclose fully the project's funding sources.[22] Peter Ferrara, General Counsel of the American Civil Rights Union (not to be confused with the ACLU), observed: "The Cordoba Mosque was the third largest mosque complex in the world ... built on the site of a former Christian church, to commemorate the Muslim conquest of Spain. This perpetuated a cultural Muslim practice of building mosques on the sites of historic conquests."[181]

More than 20,000 people signed an online petition for the Committee to Stop the Ground Zero Mosque, and unsuccessfully lobbied the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to give the location landmark status, which would have added a major hurdle to construction.[22]

Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said "putting a mosque ... very close to Ground Zero is unacceptable.... Even though the vast majority of Muslims ... condemned their actions on Sept. 11, 2001, it still remains a fact that the people who perpetrated the 9/11 attack were Muslims and proclaimed they were doing what they were doing in the name of Islam."[182] Bill Rench, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church which is located near the proposed mosque site, also spoke out against its construction.[183]

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a U.S. Jewish civil rights group that had spoken out against anti-Muslim bigotry, denounced what it saw as bigoted attacks on the mosque.[184][185][91][186][187] Its head opined that some of those who oppose the mosque are "bigots", and that the plan's proponents may have every right to build the mosque at that location.[185][91][186][187] Nevertheless, he appealed to the builders to consider the sensitivities of the victims' families, saying that building the mosque at that site would unnecessarily cause more pain for families of some victims of 9/11.[185][91][186][187] As a consequence of their statement Fareed Zakaria the winner of the ADL's 2005 Hubert Humphrey First Amendment Freedoms Prize has returned the prize and the prize money.[188]

The Zionist Organization of America opposes the construction of Park51 due to its location, and questions about Rauf.[189] The Simon Wiesenthal Center also opposes the location of the planned Park51.[190]

Criticism of Rauf's views

See also: Feisal Abdul Rauf

Rauf, a Kuwaiti-American Muslim Sufi, is the chief proponent of the project.[19][58][4][67] Some U.S. politicians and others voiced concerns about his views.[19][58][4] Others, including The Economist have described him as "a well-meaning American cleric who has spent years trying to promote interfaith understanding".[18]

Support for the location

9/11 families

Some relatives of victims of the 9/11 attacks expressed support for the project.

Colleen Kelley, who lost her brother William on 9/11, says, the "irony in the debate over the section of the building that would house a mosque is that one might assume that God (the same God to Jews-Christians-Muslims) would be pleased with any type of effort that involves prayer and service to others."[191]

Orlando Rodriguez and Phyllis Schaefer Rodriguez, whose son died in the attack, say they "support the building of the Islamic community center in lower Manhattan" and "feel that it would honor our son and other victims".[192]

Herb Ouida, whose son Todd died, said: "To say that we're going to condemn a religion and castigate a billion people in the world because they're Muslims, to say that they shouldn't have the ability to pray near the World Trade Center—I don't think that's going to bring people together and cross the divide."[142]

Marvin Bethea, a former EMS worker who was forced to retire in 2004 because of breathing problems caused by working at the 9/11 site, believes racism is a factor in the controversy, He said "even though my life has changed, I don't hate the Muslims. Especially being a black man, I know what it's like to be discriminated against. I've lived with that."[142]

Donna O'Connor, whose pregnant daughter died on 9/11, expressed the opinion that "This building will serve as an emblem for the rest of the world that Americans ... recognize that the evil acts of a few must never damn the innocent."[193]

Ted Olson, former Solicitor General in the George W. Bush administration, whose wife, television commentator Barbara Olson, died in the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, has expressed support for the rights of the Park51 organizers to construct the new site. In remarks on MSNBC, Olson said "we don't want to turn an act of hate against us by extremists into an act of intolerance for people of religious faith."[194][195]

Bruce Wallace, whose nephew died as he rushed in to help the victims, says "the media seems eager to trumpet the feelings of those hurt by the idea of the center. They mostly ignore my feelings and those, like me, who feel the center is an important step for Americans."[196]

Judith Keane, whose husband was killed on 9/11, says "To punish a group of Americans who live in peace for the acts of a few is wrong. The worst atrocities in history found their base in fear of those who were different."[197]

Talat Hamdani, whose son was a first responder in the rescue effort and died in 9/11, co-wrote an article supporting the center in the interest of pluralism.[140] She has also criticized the argument about sensitivity arguing that it was more about the legality of the situation and "our rights as Americans. We are protected under the Constitution. There is freedom of religion." Implying that the ban could be the thin edge of the wedge she said "You know, if it’s one faith today, it’s going to be another faith tomorrow. That is scary. And to scapegoat the Muslims for the acts of a foreign terrorist, that is — that is hatred." She went on "... if that argument is valid, then, by that token, Timothy McVeigh’s actions also makes all Christians terrorists. So, that is wrong."[198]

The anti-war group September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, released a statement in support of the center, saying "we believe that welcoming the Center, which is intended to promote interfaith tolerance and respect, is consistent with fundamental American values of freedom and justice for all," adding it will be "an emblem for the rest of the world that Americans stand against violence, intolerance, and overt acts of racism and that we recognize that the evil acts of a few must never damn the innocent".[199][144]

Terry Rockefeller, whose sister was killed, said: "this doesn't insult her at all. This celebrates the city she loved living in. It is what makes America what we are."[144]

Sue Rosenblum, of Coral Springs, Florida, whose son Josh was killed in the WTC attacks on 9/11, said in reference to the planned Mosque: "What are we teaching if we say you can't build here? That it's OK to hate? This is a country based on freedom of religion."[200]

Politicians

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Michael Bloomberg

On August 13, 2010, in a speech at the annual White House Iftar dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, President Barack Obama expressed support for the right of Muslims to build the Islamic center. Obama said, "Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. And 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."[201][202] Obama clarified the next day that he was only speaking of legal rights and that he, "was not commenting and ... will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there."[203]

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg strongly endorsed the project, saying that Ground Zero was a "very appropriate place" for a mosque, because it "tells the world" that the U.S. has freedom of religion for everyone.[204] Responding to opposition, he said:

The government should never, never be in the business of telling people how they should pray, or where they can pray. We want to make sure that everybody from around the world feels comfortable coming here, living here, and praying the way they want to pray.[22][19]

"Democracy is stronger than this," he added.[205] Remarking on opposition to the mosques' location, he said: "To cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists. We should not stand for that."[206] Responding to a question about the pain the mosque plan is causing some family members, he said:

I don't see an enormous number of people. I was at a fundraiser ... maybe 50 ... people who had lost [family] members. 100% in that room kept saying, 'please keep it up, keep it up'.... our relatives would have wanted this country, and this city, to follow and actually practice what we preach.[207]

Bloomberg was asked if he was satisfied that "he is indeed a man of peace given his background where he's supposedly supported Hamas, blamed the U.S. for 9/11 attacks?" The mayor responded: "My job is not to vet clergy in this city.... Everybody has a right to their opinions. You don't have to worship there.... this country is not built around ... only those ... clergy people that we agree with..... It's built around freedom. That's the wonderful thing about the First Amendment – you can say anything you want."[207]

Community Board 1 Financial Committee Chairman Edward "Ro" Sheffe opined: "it will be a wonderful asset to the community."[7][68] New York City Councilwoman Margaret Chin said: "The center is something the community needs".[10]

Additional New York politicians supported the proposal. They included Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer ("I'll do everything I can to make sure this mosque does get opened"), U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler ("the government has no business deciding"), NY State Senator Daniel Squadron, NYC Comptroller John Liu , NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.[8][100][101][208][99][209][210]

Nadler remarked that "a mosque in the Pentagon ... hasn't drawn any criticism", despite the Pentagon also being a target of the 9/11 attacks.[211] What is referred to as the "Pentagon mosque" is, more precisely, a non-denominational chapel which was built and dedicated in 2002 in honor of Pentagon employees and passengers of American Airlines Flight 77 who died in the September 11 attack.[212] Daily Muslim prayer sessions are held there weekday afternoons, and weekly Muslim services are led by an imam from a local mosque every Friday, which means the room can be considered a mussallaah, a sacred space where Muslims "consistently perform their mid-day prayer when they do not have access to a mosque".[213] This Muslim use of the Pentagon facility has drawn no complaints.[214][215][14]

Orrin Hatch, a Republican Senator from Utah, voiced support of the project on religious freedom grounds. Hatch is a Mormon and cited an instance where a neighborhood tried to prevent a Mormon church from being built.[216]

Congressman Ron Paul (TX-14) published a statement of support[217] on August 20, 2010 to his campaign website defending the Corboba House's planned Islamic community center. Congressman Paul attributed the controversy over the community center to Islamophobia and neo-conservatives who disregard their commitment to the First Amendment and property rights to agitate voters.

Keith Ellison

Representative Keith Ellison, the U.S.'s first Muslim congressman, supported the mosque's location on the basis of the First Amendment and religious tolerance, and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick also voiced support, saying: "The sooner we separate the peaceful teaching of Islam from the behavior of terrorists, the better for all of us."[218][161]

Mark McKinnon, a former advisor to Republican President George W. Bush, criticized Republican opposition to the project: "And here we are, reinforcing al Qaeda's message that we're at war with Muslims."[219] Another former Bush aide, speechwriter and policy advisor Michael Gerson, agreed that prohibiting the mosque would "undermine the war on terrorism":

The militants hope, above all else, to provoke conflict between the West and Islam -- to graft their totalitarian political manias onto a broader movement of Muslim solidarity. America hopes to draw a line that isolates the politically violent and those who tolerate political violence -- creating solidarity with Muslim opponents and victims of radicalism.[220]

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a founding member and leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said of the planned Cordoba House: "We have to build everywhere," and "In every area we have, (as) Muslim(s), we have to pray, and this mosque is the only site of prayer." Zahar also said "We have to build the mosque, as you are allowed to build the church and Israelis are building their holy places."[221][222]

Organizations

Ibrahim Hooper, Communications Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), charged that the controversy was "manufactured" by "bigots".[152] He also asserted that only a vocal minority was complaining.[152] And Nihad Awad, CAIR's Executive Director, said that the opinion of Republican Congressman Peter King "should not be considered, because his ideas are extreme".[4] Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek journalist and CNN host, also strongly supported the mosque, and returned a prestigious award he received in 2005 from the Anti-Defamation League, saying he was "personally and deeply saddened" by their opposition towards the subject mosque.[34] He wrote: "...Rauf, is a moderate Muslim clergyman. He has said one or two things about American foreign policy that strike me as overly critical—but it's stuff you could read on The Huffington Post any day. On Islam, his main subject, Rauf's views are clear: he routinely denounces all terrorism—as he did again last week, publicly."[223]

The Muslim Public Affairs Council also supported the project.[224][225]

The Jewish political group J Street also supported the construction on religious freedom grounds.[226][227]

The New York Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union supported it as well, citing principles of religious freedom.[228] The Interfaith Alliance also supported the mosque, while indicating that it agreed with the need for transparency as to who is funding the project.[185][91]

Academia

Mark R. Cohen, Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Near East in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, opined that "The presence of ... mosques like the one planned near Ground Zero, which will be an educational center as well as a place of prayer, is one good way of transcending ... ignorance."[229] Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis, of the University of North Texas Jewish Studies Program said that when it comes to the issue of freedom to practice religion in a private sphere, such as on a piece of private property in Lower Manhattan, freedom of religion is virtually inviolate.[230]

Boston University Department of Religion professor Stephen Prothero spoke out against the arguments that Cordoba House should not be built near Ground Zero.[22][231][117] As did Padraic O'Hare, Professor of Religious and Theological Studies and Director of the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College, arguing that prayer leads to peace: "Build a Muslim house of prayer near Ground Zero? ... Hand me the shovel."[232]

Sponsors

Those behind the project, the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative, claim it is intended to foster better relations between Islam and the West.[7][233] In an interview, Daisy Khan said: "We decided we wanted to look at the legacy of 9/11 and do something positive." She added that her group represents moderate Muslims who want "to reverse the trend of extremism and the kind of ideology that the extremists are spreading".[234] Pointing to the fact that ordinary Muslims have been killed by Muslim extremists all over the world, Khan also said about the mosque, "For us it is a symbol... that will give voice to the silent majority of Muslims who suffer at the hands of extremists. A center will show that Muslims will be part of rebuilding lower Manhattan."[235]

Others

Columnist Errol Louis pointed out that a mosque, Masjid Manhattan, has been located "a stone's throw" away from the World Trade Center site since the 1970s, and that a strip club, New York Dolls, is currently in the same area. "The nightly boozing and lap dances do not seem to have disturbed the sensibilities of those now earnestly defending the sacred ground near the World Trade Center site."[236]

The Economist criticised people for being against the project by saying "Every single argument put forward for blocking this project leans in some way on the misconceived notion that all Muslims, and Islam itself, share the responsibility for, or are tainted by, the atrocities of 9/11."[18]

See also

References

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