Why the Mosque at Ground Zero is Neither

There has been a lot of talk in the past few months about the so-called Mosque at Ground zero. This media-promoted name is enough to make any red-blooded American protest. But if you examine further, you will find that this is not what is going on at all.


This building is not going to be a mosque. It is to be a community center. Sound like semantics? Not really. A mosque is a building used for Muslim worship, education and the settling of disputes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque). While prayer space will be available on one of it's 15 floors, it is primarily a community center. It will boast a 500-seat auditorium, conference rooms, library, banquet room, classrooms, gym and pool. (http://www.cordobainitiative.org/?q=content/frequently-asked-questions)

The proposed building is not at the location of ground zero, but two blocks away. It is not even visible from ground zero.

This project, named the Cordoba Initiative, is being spear-headed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. He is a Sufi Muslim, author of the book What's Right with Islam is What's Right with America, and Imam of Masjid al-Farah in New York City. His life's work has been to serve as a bridge between the faiths. Sufi Muslims are a minority in Islam. They are a mystic sect and are not accepted by many Sunni and Shia Muslims. The terrorists on the planes on 911 were Sunni Muslims from Saudi Arabia but, more importantly, they were religious extremists.

Ashura - Perpetuating Differences

I fail to see why Shiite Muslims still commemorated this date. It highlights and celebrates the differences between the two largest sects in Islam, under the guise of commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali. Violence often errupts on this day. Wouldn't it be better to try to reach across the differences in these two Islamic sects and heal the pain of the past?

Bombs Kill 36 in Iraq on Shiite Holy Day - news -comcast.net
Day of Ashura - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Muslim Fatwas Against Terrorism

Click The American Muslim (TAM) to find a list of Muslim Fatwas against terrorism.

Pope apologizes

The Pope apologized for his speech and said the words that he quoted did not reflect his own opinions. See article below.

Mixed reaction as pope expresses regret - Yahoo! News

My analysis of the Pope's speech

The transcript of this speech can be found on the Vatican Website at: Meeting with the representatives of science at the University of Regensburg

The speech the Pope made, the source of current controversy, was delivered at a university and was about Faith and Reason. The Pope describes his time teaching at the university and their tradition of the faculty meeting as a group before the students in order to discuss how the different departments fit together to form a whole of knowledge.

The Pope speaks about the relationship between faith and reason. He states that he was recently reminded of this subject while reading a 1391 dialogue between Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and a Persian educated in Islam and Christianity. The quote the Pope specifically mentions is:

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".

He goes on to explain that violent conversion is contrary to Christian/Greek Philosophical notion of reason, and therefore is against the nature of God. The Pope continues with: " But for Muslim teaching, God is absolutely transcendent. His will is not bound up with any of our categories, even that of rationality. Here Khoury quotes a work of the noted French Islamist R. Arnaldez, who points out that Ibn Hazn went so far as to state that God is not bound even by his own word, and that nothing would oblige him to reveal the truth to us. Were it God's will, we would even have to practise idolatry." In these statements it appears (to me, at least) that the Pope is declaring that Christianity is based on reason and Islam is not.

The Pope uses the rest of the speech to describe the evolution of Christian philosophy, from its fusion with the reason of Greek philosophy, through its various stages of dehellenization, up through the present conflicts/potential partnership with modern science.

Nowhere in the speech does the Pope contradict the insinuation that Islam is evil and without reason. (Some may argue that all religion is without reason. Please, see the transcript linked above if you are interested in the Pope's treatment of this subject.)

Muslim Brotherhood is right to be upset about the Pope's speech

It is gravely irresponsible for a religious leader of such international significance as the Pope to make these statements. His remarks, in effect, equate the basis of Islam with evil and alienate all Muslims. There are individuals who use their own twisted vision of Islam as an excuse for violence and terrorism. But Islam on the whole does not advocate violence, and Muslims are not evil. The Pope should be building bridges of understanding between the major world religions.

Muslim leaders condemn Pope's speech, want apology - Yahoo! News