　On May 11th, I received a Google alert about a poorly written article entitled ""Community Board 1 and The Cordoba Mosque." The article accurately listed my name as a member of the Financial District Committee of Manhattan's Community Board 1. I am hesitant to out myself as the type of person who wants to be alerted when her name is mentioned on the internet. However, my motivation to voice my opinions regarding the Cordoba House and some of the disgusting statements that have been made since the Financial District's meeting trumped my hesitancy. It's not just vanity that caused me to set up the Google alert. I also want to know when my name is mentioned in the context of something ignorant, incorrect or hateful.
At the Financial District committee's most recent meeting, stakeholders and supporters of Cordoba House publicly unveiled their plans for a community center in Lower Manhattan. The center will include a mosque, theater, aquatic center and public meeting space amongst other amenities. According to the Cordoba Initiative, the organization which is spearheading the community center, the goal of the project is to improve Muslim - West relations through cross cultural engagement. The center is scheduled to be built at the former Burlington Coat factory building, which was damaged during the events of September 11th. The building was vacant until the organization's recent purchase of the property. The general sentiment of the committee members present at the May 5th meeting was that the proposed center had the potential to be an asset to all members of the community, Muslim or not. The committee voted in favor of a resolution that essentially stated that we are entering into an ongoing dialogue regarding the project. For those that are unfamiliar with New York's community board system, it is important to understand that while the opinions of community boards are often valued, our actions are entirely advisory.
Following the meeting, I was disappointed but not surprised to find that thousands of people took to the internet to leave comments of resentment and in some cases threats of violence against the Cordoba House and the members of the community board. It's clear that adverse sentiment exists regarding the project, but not a single dissenter bothered to show up to the public meeting to let their opinions be known. These "emphatic" disinters prefer, instead, to lurk anonymously and cowardly within the confines of the internet. Or can not be bothered to form an opposing view point until a reporter contacts them for comment.
Disappointed, but not surprised, an indication that some cynicism has taken root in the nine years since I moved to the Financial District. A college freshman at the time, I moved to NYC a week before September 11, 2001. My proximity to the World Trade Center Site forces me to reflect upon the events and the after effects of 9/11 on a daily basis. The Cordoba House is slated to be built two blocks away from the World Trade Center site and is by no means adjacent. The Cordoba House is an as of right project, meaning that the proposed project can move forward without special approvals from the City of New York. To make assertions that Muslims will potentially gather at the Cordoba House to plot another attack, as one woman did in a recent Associated Press article, is akin to simple-minded bigotry. People of all faiths and backgrounds are capable of evil. I sympathize with those who were physically hurt by or who lost a family member during the tragedy, but I am unwilling to accommodate xenophobia even in the face of intense grief.
As a community, we can not allow our well intentioned and peaceful Muslim neighbors to be equated with extremists. To that end, a number of civil society organizations and religious institutions in the area have endorsed Cordoba House, including Trinity Church. As an Episcopalian, I regularly retreat to the confines of Trinity at Wall Street and Broadway for spiritual guidance and camaraderie. It is not wrong for a Muslim who lives or works in Lower Manhattan to desire a similar refuge. Let us not forget that Muslims hold congregational prayers on Fridays, therefore, the proximity of a mosque or other suitable facility to ones place of business is important to many practitioners of Islam.
The concept of tolerance is often discussed in the context of interracial and inter-religious relations. As a country, we need more than the aloof indifference that the term tolerance connotes; if we are ever going to realign our so called "American Values," of religious freedom and justice with how we view and understand Islam. From a community perspective, we can not simply "tolerate" from a distance and expect the relationship between the West and Islam to improve. We must engage, on both a social and cultural level. We must open ourselves up for a shift in mindset. As I currently understand it, this is the type of work that the Cordoba Initiative proposes.
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Rev. Chloe Breyer and Matthew Weiner: The Faithful Search: A Civics Primer for Real Patriots
The proliferating nature of these anti-mosque demonstrations and their shifting tenor to panicked claims about the imminent threats of "Islamization" and "Shariazation" begs a moment of national introspection.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is a key figure in Malaysian-based Perdana Global Peace Organization, according to its Website.
Perdana is the single biggest donor ($366,000) so far to the Free Gaza Movement, a key organizer of the six-ship flotilla that tried to break Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip Monday.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/imam_unmosqued_0XbZMwCvHAVdRZEKgx29AK#ixzz0qAwDY6jI
http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=20990
WHAT:
Manhattan Community Board 1 Full Committee Meeting on the Proposed Mosque
WHEN:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 @ 6:00 P.M. (EST)
WHERE: Three Legged Dog Art and Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street
(at Rector Street)
In the year ended June 30, 2009 — days before Feisal closed the purchase — ASMA received at least $1.3 million. The largest donation, $576,312, came from Qatar.
Does that concern you at all?
Thanks for your very important article! Please let me know if we might be able to collaborate in our efforts against the smear campaign being unleashed against the cultural center and its organizers. It would be great to be in touch -- at the very least via twitter or facebook to start the conversation.
All the best,
Josh
Perhaps you view the following with equanimity:
From The Boston Globe:
According to financial documents supplied to The Boston Globe, major funding for the mosque is being provided by the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In December 2005, for example, two payments of approximately $250,000 each were wired from Jeddah to the Citizens Bank account of the mosque's general contractor in Boston. Messages confirming the payments were faxed from Jeddah to the Islamic Society of Boston on Dec. 19. Other documents suggest that subsequent payments have been made as well. Yesterday, the ISB for the first time acknowledged receiving $1 million in financing from the Saudi bank.
It's President, Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani, was a former president of the Muslim World League, whose mission is:
... states its functions and objectives to be the following: advocating the application of the rules of the Shariah either by individuals, groups, or states; coordinating the efforts of Islamic preachers the world over; developing methods for the propagation of Islam in accord with the dictate of the Qur'an and the Sunnah; upgrading the productivity of the Mass-Media as well as Islamic propaganda, education and culture; holding symposia, rehabilitation, and refresher courses; bringing intellectuals and opinion leaders together during the pilgrimage season with the aim of fostering closer relations among them and urging them to develop practical methods of raising the standard of Muslims in the world; overseeing the activities of the Fiqh Council and lending it the support it needs to find Islamic solutions to contemporary problems; promoting activities that aim at spreading the Arabic language and raising the standard of teaching to both Arabs and non-Arabs; setting up branch offices as well as Islamic centers to serve the purpose of Islam; extending urgent relief to Muslims affected by war and natural disasters; and making the activities and construction of mosques more effective.
I view the selection of the date of opening and the location as a provocation. I also want to know the sources of funding for both the current purchase and the proposed building. Far too many of theses buildings, like the most recent mosque in Boston were financed by Saudi Arabian institutions. I view that development with alarm. The fact that you do not also worries me. Perhaps if you drove from the airport in Riyadh to the hotel you would see this more clearly. Oh. I forgot. You're a woman, so that would not be allowed.
For those who feel as I do:
49 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007-4004
(212) 442-5050
Be Polite.
totally agree with you . . . the Islamophobia has to stop . . . and there have to be huge changes in America's relationship with israel . . this is the font of all the problems in the Middle East . . . israel cannot continue to be sheltered by the US in its gross violations of international law and human rights . . .
I don't think most of your emailers had the courage to attend the meeting.
In the event Israel ceases to exist, you will find the collective neighbors setting at each other quite independent of any outside prodding.
"Let us not forget that Muslims hold congregational prayers on Fridays, therefore, the proximity of a mosque or other suitable facility to ones place of business is important to many practitioners of Islam."
Why should that be anybody's concern? Religion is private business and should be practiced privately. Can't we just have some sort of cultural center or museum like one in Paris without mixing the religion in? There are very few Muslims living there and I doubt that there is a big need for a mosque.
The 9/11 perpetrators were "nominally" Muslim? (Or did Bush hire them?)
There is no long history of conflict of which the 9/11 perps were a part?
What long-standing conflict was McVeigh part of--cranks? What flag would he plant in OK?
We know exactly what flag the 9/11 perps want to plant on ground zero.
Who celebrated McVeigh's actions?
Who celebrated on 9/11?