News

by Sameer Ahmed

(Ahmed, a Kansas City native, is a staff attorney and Skadden Fellow at AALDEF.)

There is no “ground zero mosque.”

Despite widespread hysteria from politicians and the media, there is no mosque being built at Ground Zero. I should know; I work a few blocks away. What is being built is called Park51, a Muslim community center located on Park Place, a busy street in lower Manhattan blocks away from Ground Zero. Park51 is modeled after the YMCA, and will have a gym, swimming pool, auditorium, culinary school, and yes, a prayer room. It will be open to members of all faiths who live, work, and visit lower Manhattan.

The opposition to Park51, including E. Thomas McClanahan’s op-ed “Building a mosque at Ground Zero is distasteful,” is based on the false and hurtful premise that Islam and America’s 7 million Muslims are inextricably linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks carried out by 19 extremists.

This could not be further from the truth. In fact, Al Qaida has killed more Muslims than members of any other religion. As an American and a Muslim, Al Qaida is a common enemy for all, including more than 1 billion Muslims around the world. Why should we be held responsible for the heinous acts of a crazy and despicable few?

As founders of the Crescent Peace Society, my parents have worked for years throughout the Greater Kansas City area to enhance the understanding of Muslim cultures and dispel connections between Islam and violence and other misunderstandings of our faith. It is people like my parents and me who represent the vast majority of Muslims in the United States, and we strive daily to live in peace and harmony with our neighbors.

Why support the construction of Park51? It serves a need for thousands of Muslims, like myself, who work and live here, and do not have a proper place to practice our faith. Muslims have been in lower Manhattan for centuries. African Muslim slaves were buried at the African Burial Ground just blocks from Ground Zero. Dozens of local Muslims died in the attacks. Hundreds more, including police and firefighters, volunteered to help the injured and the needy. Before Park51, two small mosques existed in lower Manhattan without controversy for decades. During Friday prayers and Muslim holidays like Ramadan, they routinely turn away congregants. Park51 will offer an adequate, peaceful place to pray and contemplate our relationship with God.

As a community center, Park51 will also serve a huge need for people of all faiths who live and work in the area, with its variety of services and activities (Manhattan’s YMCAs and Jewish Community Centers are located further north). That is why the local Community Board’s Financial District Committee voted unanimously to support the project.

McClanahan says that Muslims should “accept an alternative site.” But I ask him, how many blocks does he want me to travel so I can practice my religion?

https://voices.kansascity.com/entries/ignore-hysteria-over-ground-zero-mosque