Park 51 - To be or not to be?
Summary
15/09/2010
Learning to live together peacefully again?
Learning to live together peacefully again?
September 1, 2001 will be forever etched in our memories as the day when the world changed forever. The morning of 9/11 began for many like any ordinary Tuesday. For others, who left home with hasty goodbyes hoping to make it up later, it turned out to be a nightmare. A horrified world struggled to make sense of it amid confusion, debris and death; a group of bloodthirsty fanatics applauded. Sadly, as the twin towers collapsed, so did the world view as we knew it. Islam was suddenly thrust into the glare of international spotlight and scrutiny, and a new world order took shape within hours dominated by raw emotion – an order that continues to color our perceptions nine years hence.
The first time I heard about the plans for building a mosque at Ground Zero, I had instinctively questioned the wisdom of such a move. However, since then, I have had a chance to ponder the deeper implications of this proposal as more details and incidences have come to light.
The events that have ensued since have also caused us to make many difficult choices, unfortunately many of which have resulted in more death, and fueled terrorism around the world. Consider this: if the little girl who had to grow up with a picture in the frame instead of a warm parental embrace in one part of the world questions her right to that protection, a little boy also mourns a family he lost in the middle of the night to the roaring sound of an unseen enemy. Who is responsible for their tragic share and the resulting changed perceptions? Meanwhile, a breed of fanatics swells their ranks around the world taking advantage of actions which reaffirm their stand of a world pitted against their religion.
The serious consequences of this linking of isolated radical phenomenon to mainstream Islam have resulted in detrimental effects evident on several societal levels in the US. On one hand, the American society has become increasingly insecure despite investing heavily in internal and external security, on the other alienation of huge sections of its own population is causing a systematic breakdown of societal cohesion – neither of which can help the cause of peace. On the global level, this means fuelling of further hatred and acts of violence against innocent people through perceived association.
What many patriotic non-Muslim Americans have failed to realize is that 9/11 has done more damage to mainstream Muslims across the world, and especially in the US, than any other single event in recent history. Not only have they not been allowed to grieve the deaths of beloved family members, friends and mentors, and fellow citizens whom they lost on 9/11 as if they were guilty by association, American Muslims are also urged to choose between their national identity and their religious preference – a choice no one should have to make in a land that prides itself for freedoms many other countries can only dream about. Muslims and non-Muslims together must do their share to change this unproductive situation.
For their part, non-Muslim Americans need to stand with the majority of peaceful Muslim Americans who are being isolated by the rhetoric of hate-mongers. They have to acknowledge that the symbols of American power include all the patriotic citizens of this country who have upheld the values their forefathers sacrificed their lives for. The constitution itself would be a useless piece of paper but for the willingness of Americans of all faiths, and no faith, to abide by it. If America were to lose that one value, there would be a Pandora’s Box of issues waiting in the wings to challenge everything their country stands for.
Muslims are not confused. They know who they are. Yet, they have not been able to help non-Muslims distinguish clearly between themselves and those seeking violence in the name of their religion. Have the second and third generations of Muslims really failed to assimilate in their society to the extent that the slightest provocation causes mainstream society to view them as the ‘other’? Or is it because the hate-mongers in this society have been more successful in their manipulation of the psyche of post 9/11 non-Muslim Americans? Why does the average American not recognize that the revival of the ‘us vs. them’ politics and mass hysteria is merely a replay of previously applied strategies for fulfilling selfish agendas or gaining mileage in elections, and can only result in weakening them internally?
Park 51 may turn out to be the litmus test future generations would evaluate the strength of the American nation on. There is every probability the proposed center and mosque will turn out to be everything Imam Rauf proposes it will be – a center fully devoted to promoting moderate Islam to bring respectful engagement and interfaith harmony in a society widely fractured by suspicion and hatred. Americans can stand in its way and help those who would see them divided and failing, or resist and stand united.
While the proponents and opponents of this proposal are well within their constitutional rights to express their views, they must respond to each other with patience till they are able to address and acknowledge each other’s legitimate concerns and rights as citizens of this country. Whatever effort and time is put into resolving this issue peacefully would be well worth it simply because Park 51 is not about revenge; it is about learning to live together peacefully again.
Source: Tahera Sajid, Freelance Columnist.
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