Defriended Over a Mosque
Essays, Featured — By Emily Timbol on August 5, 2010 at 8:00 amMy grandfather just de-friended me on Facebook.
He didn’t have a moment of confusion or senior dementia (he is annoyingly savvy with the computer for a 75-year-old), but he did it intentionally and with a touch of snark – writing “bye” on my wall right before electronically disowning me. Like most riffs in family, this one was caused by politics, as I am about as far from him on the left/right spectrum as possible. I like to think of it as the political equivalent of him being Team Edward and me being Team Jacob, mostly because that makes him cold-blooded and old.
After I made a few public comments about Sarah Palin that were ill received, or should I say, 
“refudiated”, the last straw for Grandpa was a post I made regarding the proposed community center and mosque that is scheduled to be built two blocks from Ground Zero in NYC. While I am firmly grounded in my faith in Christ and am (obviously) anti-terrorism, I see this proposal as a potentially good thing for the city.
Some people do not agree. For instance, Newt Gingrich who said, “”There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia.” And, “It is simply grotesque to erect a mosque at the site of the most visible and powerful symbol of the horrible consequences of radical Islamist ideology.”
Or Sarah Palin, who said, “To build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks.”
And especially not the National Republican Trust committee who said in a television ad, “”On September 11th, they declared war against us. And to celebrate that murder of 3,000 Americans, they want to build a monstrous 13-story mosque at Ground Zero. A mosque at Ground Zero must not stand. The political class says nothing. The politicians are doing nothing to stop it. But we Americans will be heard. Join the fight to kill the Ground Zero mosque.”
It’s difficult for me to understand why we, as a nation, would choose to persecute an entire religion for the actions of some of its extreme fundamentalist members. Americans should be able to tell the difference between religion and people that use religion as a fuel and outlet for their hatred. After all, most Christians don’t go to www.GodHatesFags.com for their daily update on how to live a Christian life, since we can acknowledge that the WestBoro Baptist church is run by ignorant, hateful, despicable people who have no business calling themselves followers of Christ. And most Christians also don’t believe that just because we have a God who killed hundreds of thousands of people and commanded His followers to kill thousands more, that our religion is one of violence and hate. That’s because many have known how dangerous it is to try and understand the teachings of our religious text, the Bible, out of context. Context is everything.
While there is nothing wrong with disagreeing with the tenants of Islam, there is something wrong with deciding that Muslims cannot have a place to meet and worship. At least, it’s wrong if you claim to believe in the rights that America was founded on, which are the rights that set us apart from many other countries today: namely, in this case, the right not to be persecuted for your beliefs, even if others don’t agree with them.
I understand that people are afraid of what they don’t understand. It’s one of the reasons I am terrified of Sudoku, but that doesn’t give me, or anyone else, the right to discriminate. This center is a good idea because people can make it a place for both Muslim and non-Muslims to communicate with each other and learn from one another. People forget that the terrorists on 9/11 didn’t just take the lives of thousands of New Yorkers, they also affected the lives of millions of Muslims in the city who still today face discrimination and fear of retaliation.
It’s unfair for us, as Newt said himself, to recognize that 9/11 was carried out by Islamic extremists, yet lump an entire culture and people group into something that it is not. Just as I don’t decide to renounce Christianity every time I read a story about a Mormon minister who was sexually assaulting his young wives, we should not denounce a faith that millions of people carry out in peace.
The ironic thing is that the very freedoms that the extremists were furious at America for exercising, like the freedom of expression and freedom from religious intolerance, are the very freedoms that Americans who oppose this mosque being built are attempting to revoke. It’s almost fair to say that, if the opposition wins and construction on the mosque is halted, that the terrorists have finally won.
Tags: Facebook, Global Politics, Islam, Politics, Religion
19 Comments
Emily, it’s a complicated issue, and you are correct for pointing that out. That’s why the simplistic responses I have seen about this have been saddening. Besides, some are getting facts wrong. Yes, Newt is right when he says there are no churches in Saudi Arabia, but there are synagogues in several Arab or Muslim nations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_synagogues
I would disagree with you about one point, though: The act of 9/11 was perpetuated by a few extremists, but it’s well-documented that thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of Muslims in other countries were celebrating publicly right after the attacks. It’s still a minority of Muslims, but it’s a far cry from being just about 19 extremists.
I think it’s in bad taste to have a mosque built there, but I have a real problem with the idea that it would be OK for a government body to prevent them from building it there because of the attack. I certainly wouldn’t want the govt telling Christians they couldn’t build a church somewhere because of something Phelps did.
I’m not trying to pick a fight, but on a curious note: should we then push for the many Christian churches in Islamic lands to be torn down? I believe the crusades were as disastrous (if not more so) of an incident.
And the reason I wrote this reply was not because of everything you said. It was in response to this line:
“I think it’s in bad taste to build a mosque there…”
And I don’t think you and I disagree as much as my comments may seem to say otherwise, but my response is not only to you, but to many other people who seem to wholeheartedly agree with the above quoted statement.
Jared, that’s why it’s not usually a good thing to take one sentence out of context. The entirety of my post is saying that people who lobby for the city council, or whoever decides whether to allow the mosque to get built, are going down a path that I think is unwise. My “I think it’s in bad taste” remark is really beside the point. And it certainly is unfair to me to stretch that opinion into something like “should we push for Churches to get torn down”. It’s a pretty ridiculous association, to be honest, and not exactly thoughtful discourse.
James,
You *may* be correct that thousands of Muslims in other countries were celebrating the 9/11 attacks, but I think it’s unfair to the general Muslim population to focus on the (much) smaller portion of the that pie. I have friends who were living in Iraq and Turkey at the time who received calls and personal visits from the Muslims in their community on 9/11–the same calls we all made, making sure that our friends had no loved ones in the trade center, mourning the tragedy. I think that this is a far more accurate picture of what the overwhelming majority of Muslims feel. They’re moderate. Regardless of how they feel about the U.S.’s military or foreign policies, of course they’d be sad to hear that someone’s loved ones were killed out of hate–especially in the name of a religion believed by its moderate members to be one of peace and submissiveness to the goodness of God. Riverbend, a well-known female Iraqi blogger, wrote about 9/11 that every she and everyone she knew were stunned…I could go on and on.
I just want to zoom the lens back out to fit in all those *millions* of moderate Muslims you left out with that comment.
If you are interested, you may enjoy this article which does a pretty good job of summing up a few schools of thought on the matter:
http://politics.usnews.com/news/religion/articles/2008/04/07/why-did-so-many-muslims-seem-to-celebrate-911.html?PageNr=1
Also, if anyone is interested, a few weeks ago there was an extremely well-reasoned letter in the Oregonian written by a local Muslim Portlander about this issue of a mosque at Ground Zero. You can find it here:
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/07/siting_mosques_portland_exampl.html
Tyler, I in no way inferred that the majority of Muslims were happy about 9/11, and I resent the accusation that I did. My comment to Emily was specifically to her assertion that 9/11 was the “actions of some of its extreme fundamentalist members” My point was that it was endorsed by many many more than the 19 attackers, and then I specifically pointed out that I am aware that it’s still a minority of Muslims. How you can go from my comment about “a minority of Muslims” to some sort of general comment about Muslims is unfathomable and really hurts your credibility.
James,
You certainly didn’t insinuate that the majority of Muslims were celebrating. I know that. You simply threw out speculative numbers, and I wanted to briefly mention the other side of the coin. Perception of Islam is especially important right now in history, and it’s easy for casual readers skimming through comments to see your numbers without thinking about the fuller picture. That’s all. At any rate, I do not think my reaction is “unfathomable.”
I certainly hope I haven’t offended.
This takes on a whole new significance when we consider the sensitivity of location in the ground zero mosque:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;”
That is the first amendment.
Thanks Emily for sharing. Well said. We are in tough times as Christians when it is we who are challenging the basic rights to worship that we sought in the eighteenth century. Oh the irony.
http://www.hudson-ny.org/1447/ground-zero-mosque-who-is-behind-it
Please check out the above link. This is not just a harmless group wanting to worship.
I believe we are called to “put on the armor of God”, read the scriptures and pray. We are heading into trouble folks and I think that many of our churches have been infiltrated by “social justice” political activists and we are fiddling while our country burns around us.
Please wake up!
When did Glen Beck change his name to “Virginia”?
Virginia, I am concerned about the future of Islam in America, but I feel that we Christians need to see this as an opportunity to reach people who may not otherwise hear about Christ. Banning them from their places of worship doesn’t seem to be the best way to do that.
Granted the symbolism of the location is very sticky and I don’t have a good answer on whether or not that is the best place for a mosque.
My main point is we need to realize that Islamic immigrants are in America and they have the same right to worship publicly that we do. The challenge will be to learn how to share the love of Christ with American Muslims and to foster peace as a Church collective in the pluralistic religious climate that is growing.
The Church has an incredible opportunity. I do not see this as all “burning,” but as a missional moment when the gospel can truly reach all peoples.
Michael,
Thanks for citing the founding documents of this country. It seems bizarre that those opposed to the building of the mosque are usually the ones that speak of Constitutional freedoms. I think, out of all people, conservatives, the self-proclaimed defenders of the Constitution, should support this initiative. On a final note, the protections that allow Americans to practice religious freedom are what makes us a great nation. Let’s protect that right. Let them build!
Emily, thank you. I hope your grandfather comes around soon and friends you again. :0)
jared, did you read the article?
I did read the article, Virginia. Frankly, it sounded like a lot of the kinds of things I grew up hearing in my church growing up. Islamic leaders may talk about “domination” but evangelicals have the same goals, whatever they call it: Christianity spread across the earth, with laws reflecting Christian principles.
I don’t think the way for Christianity to “win” is to restrict the rights of other religions.
Is the goal for Christianity to “win”? I don’t think so. I believe we are to share the good news of Jesus Christ and let Him do the rest. Are there those who use religion to further their political views and agendas…you bet! And there is where we need the separation between church and state.
I don’t want to restrict anyone’s right to worship as they see fit.
My concern is the insensitivity to the location of that mosque and the underlying political reasons for it…not with the Muslim people.
Emily, not to sound like a creepy stalker, but I was actually following that FB comment string when it happened. It sounded like your grandfather defriended you on FB but was not defriending you in real life. I hope that is the case, and I hope that even if you don’t see eye-to-eye on politics your relationship can remain intact and loving. It made me sad that so many people here were so quick to jump into politics without commenting on how politics can effect family relations. I think this is a really interesting topic, and a really personal one.
As you mentioned in the article, the community center (Cordoba House/Park51 — it’s technically not a mosque) is two blocks away from Ground Zero; it’s not actually at Ground Zero. While they are both off of Church Street, the community center will be at 45-51 Park Place, and the World Trade Center is between Vesey and Liberty. Perhaps some may find this “near” vs. “at” an important distinction.
The community center is slated to be 13 stories high, while the World Trade Center I think will be 105 floors. There’s no denying that the World Trade Center will architectually overshadow the community center. (Interestingly, the World Trade Center will be 1,776 feet to artistically/symbolically represent the year of America’s independence.)
Rumor in the publishing world is that Conde Nast will be moving to One World Trade Center.