Last night I watched a segment on 60 Minutes where they talked about the mosque being built in NYC. Up to this point I had been very adamant that I did not think it would help and would do little for the community. I also felt that I did not understand why they wanted the mosque to be built there. I did not understand some of the people on here who felt that it was OK to do it, and now I need to admit that I may have been wrong.
The building they had chosen for the mosque lies about three or four blocks from Ground Zero, it is not being built directly beside the site.
It is being built in a building which was an old Burlington Coat factory, no longer used, and was damaged by a set of landing gear which came thru the roof on 9-11. The building had been abandoned since that time. However, for the past three years, church services by a Muslim sect have been conducted there daily, and there have been no problems.
The man who bought the building and plans the center is married to a Chrsitian woman. He is the son of an Egyptian father and a Chrisitian mother. He got the idea from a Jewish Community center he is a member of. The Center which is planned is open to everyone and will include a daycare center, swimming pool, and two floors with a chapel.
The Imam who has been bastardized was interviewed and very truthfully pointed out that he wants to stand between the non-Muslim and the radicial Muslim extremists. He plans to add Jewish leaders and Christians to the BoD for the Center in order to try and bridge a gap of understanding between the two cultures.
I don't beleive that Islam is a crual religion. Certainly no more so than the anti-abortionist Crhistian who will kill "in the name of God". There are crazy people on both sides. If there is to ever be peace in this world, there will have to be understanding on both sides and maybe this is the first step.
So, to my liberal friends who tried to convince me there was nothing wrong with this project, I say "I am sorry that I doubted you". I truly believe that the intentions for this project is good. Since it is not directly across from the WTC I do not think it more of a slap in the face than the porno movie store which is even closer.
If I am wrong, so be it, but my heart was changed by what I heard from the people involved.
BTW, for those who did not know it. There was a chapel built at the Pentagon in a portion destroyed on 9-11. There is an afternoon Islamic service held there very frequently. If there is nothing wrong with this, why should it matter what happens four blocks from WTC?
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