I Know This Much Is True About Park 51

1. It is not a mosque. Technically, a "mosque" is a Muslim holy place in which only worship can be conducted. Instead, Park 51 is a proposed community center for anyone who wants to use it (not just Muslims) containing a culinary school, a swimming pool, basketball courts, a bookstore, a performing arts center, a childcare center, and an Islamic prayer center.

2. The center was originally called Cordoba House, meant to invoke 8th-11th century Cordoba which the project's sponsors considered to be a model of peaceful coexistence between Christians, Muslims, and Jews. When opponents of the project started attacking the name, claiming it was actually referring to the Islamic conquest of the Christian city of Cordoba (which is historically inaccurate), the project's developers changed the name to Park 51, a name they say embodies the city and culture of New York.

3. Park 51 will not be built on Ground Zero. It will not be built next to Ground Zero or even across the street from Ground Zero. It will be built more than two blocks away. In fact, due to other buildings obstructing the view, one will not even be able to see Park 51 from Ground Zero. You know what is planned to be built on, or rather IN Ground Zero? The One World Trade Center website says that, "The below-grade concourses will include approximately 55,000 square feet of retail space..." A mall. They're building a mall where over 2,700 people died in terrorist attacks. Where are the protests over that?

4. Islam is a peaceful religion. The vast majority of Muslims are moral, caring people who abhor the acts of terrorists done in the name of their religion. Lumping them all together as one group that should be condemned and feared is akin to equating all Caucasians with the Klu Klux Klan. It's simply not true. The fundamentalist Muslims who attacked the World Trade Center were extremists who misinterpreted the religion and then held up their misinterpretations as cause for their actions. Many Christians have also done abominable things in the name of their God, yet we don't condemn the entire religion or all of its followers. We recognize that the people who twist the faith and use it as an excuse to do terrible things are mentally ill and do not represent the majority.

5. America sets itself apart from so much of the rest of the world by priding itself on the fact that it accepts and encourages people from all walks of life, all races, and all religions to build a fulfilling life here. In practice, this has been far from true. From Native Americans to African Americans, women, to homosexuals, there is a significant history of discrimination in the United States. Millions of people have worked unbelievably hard to overcome much of this history. It would be an insult to the American citizens who came before us and fought for these freedoms if we were to backslide now and condone the hateful behavior of those who want to oppress a group of people in this country who have done no wrong. In America we stand up for people when we see a wrong being perpetrated against them. We take a stand against injustices. We treat people as we would want to be treated. In America, there is no room for people who go against these ideals.

6. Rather than see the building of a Muslim community center so close to Ground Zero as an affront to the atrocity that happened there, it is possible to see it instead as an extended hand. This could very well be the New York City Muslim community reaching out to other New Yorkers by saying, "This was a terrible thing that happened, to you and to us as well. We are also New Yorkers. We're trying to create a space that everyone can use and enjoy. In doing so, we want to revitalize the area and make it once more a place for happiness rather than sorrow." Muslims creating a place near Ground Zero where New Yorkers can learn, play, and thrive seems to me like a way to tell the extemists that they have not won and that with the help of Muslim-Americans, New York City has not been defeated.

7. The terrorists that attacked our country on 9/11 did so in the name of oppression, fear, and intolerance. What better way to honor the victims of the attacks than to do exactly the opposite of what the terrorists wanted? Bringing together the proverbial melting pot of religions, races, lifestyles, and ideas in a community of acceptance and tolerance would seem to be a pretty big slap in the face to those who, like the terrorists, propogate hatred, division, and oppression.

8. The reason Obama is supporting Park 51 is not because he's a Muslim. OBAMA IS NOT A MUSLIM. He is a Christian man who takes to heart the values of his religion, values of acceptance, tolerance, and unity. It's not hard to see how hatred and fear that leads to the suppression of a group of people can, when condoned, breed ever more hatred and fear leading to ever more suppression. It is this kind of vicious cycle that leads to atrocities like the Holocaust, the Sudanese genocide, and the Tutsi-Hutu conflict that resulted in the Rwanda genocide in 1994. These examples may seem like exaggerations of where we might be headed if the opponents to the community center win, but it doesn't take long before small steps in the direction of hatred turn into giant leaps.

9. The reason now given for the justification of the invasion of Iraq is that we were able to take down Saddam Hussein, dictator and leader of an oppressive regime that made life terrible for the people who lived in Saudi Arabia. Those people are Muslims. Why is it ok that we can give thousands of American lives to help the Muslims living under an oppressive regime, but it's not ok for those same Muslims to build a community center in New York City? Are we not participating in just another form of oppression?

10. I know my blog posts are not usually even close to being this serious, but this issue really has me all hot and bothered. Because denying a peaceful group of American citizens the right to improve a run-down and empty part of town simply because of their religion is not right. It's not noble, it's not honorable, it's not reasonable, and it's not constitutional. You know what is right? Looking past the needless fear and hatred to the fact that we're all just people who want the best for our country and ourselves.