On September 11th, 2001, our nation came under attack by a twisted and evil man, Osama bin Laden, and his Al Qaeda movement, targeting the freedoms we enjoy. In his horrendous assault, two symbols of American financial prowess, the Twin Towers in New York City, were destroyed, killing thousands.
Nine years later, a new assault has been launched against our nation, targeting our founding beliefs. At risk is our Constitution, specifically, the enshrined rights of all citizens to speak and worship as they see fit. The argument over the proposed Manhattan Islamic community center and mosque is the battleground, and a group of extremists who oppose this “Ground Zero Mosque” are putting our fundamental beliefs as a nation at risk. Their argument is based on misconceptions of the nature of Islam and works to undermine the rights of our citizens, just as Al Qaeda wants.
Islam is a monotheistic religion, grounded in the Abrahamic traditions of Judaism and Christianity. By the very nature of its name (derived from its Arabic root), Islam preaches peace and service to God. Historically, the religion spread through peaceful means and negotiations, and it has been tolerant of other belief systems compared to similar religions. The concept of “jihad” in the religion is often misinterpreted- in fact, it is a very minor item that came about when the Muslim community, in its infancy at the time, was under direct attack from surrounding tribes. It has been rarely invoked, and does not rationalize the horrendous actions taken by terrorists.
Thus, it is clear that one of the greatest tragedies in our nation’s history was caused by a group of misguided individuals, much like the perpetrators of the Oklahoma City bombing. These criminals may veil their evil deeds by quoting a religion, but their bastardized Islam is nothing like the true religion. Any ties between Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and Islam are patently false.
Every time there is a push to curtail the ability of one group or another to voice their opinion in a peaceful manner, or the ability of a group to worship in a peaceful manner on their private property, it is one step closer towards the America that Osama bin Laden wants: an America that stands in opposition to liberty and discriminates against minority groups, especially Muslims. When they attacked America, Al Qaeda wanted us to be fearful and abandoned our defining freedoms in the pursuit of ‘security’. They wanted to blind us to the fact that America’s strength lies in the diversity of its citizens, that almost no other country on Earth has been as welcoming to people from all over who share our beliefs in self determination and equality. They realized that their dreams of dominating and oppressing the world will always be vanquished by the spread of freedom, and the only way to fight freedom is slowly deteriorate it with fear. If this project is blocked because of these baseless fears, then it starts a fall down a slippery slope that could limit more of our freedoms in the future.
We must fight terror, and we must respect the sacrifices made on that fateful day in September. The best way to do that is proudly embrace our nation’s diversity and freedoms. Barring any legitimate reasons to not construct this Islamic community center on Manhattan (such as financial improprieties, zoning concerns, etc), building this center would not only help build better national understanding of Islam, but will be a symbol of the strength of our nation and founding beliefs.
