This is what the controversialIslamic community center and mosque being planned in Lower Manhattan means to Ehab Zahriyeh: not having to play basketball in church leagues.
For Fatima Monkush, it would be a place to swim -- sans cap and layers of clothing -- with other Muslim women.While the national debate about the center has elicited passionate statements for and against it from Democrats and Republicans, what Muslims have been left with is a great deal of disappointment. And for the young American-born New Yorkers who hope to use the site as a fitness center, meeting space and prayer hall, among other functions, the sense of rejection is personal.
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1 hour ago
I suppose that would depend which Muslims you're talking to:
ReplyDeletehttp://dailycaller.com/2010/08/18/moderate-muslims-oppose-location-of-cordoba-mosque-%E2%80%94-on-religious-grounds/
I'm sorry, but that's just a shockingly bad article. It doesn't quote any local New York City Muslims, and the three sources it does quote are all from political foundations with obvious agendas. And one of them is from Canada, for fuck's sake!
ReplyDeleteIt's also highly problematic for me that two of these sources -- Schwartz and Jasser -- are essentially neo-conservatives who frequently align themselves with right-wing media outlets and causes. It doesn't seem like the foundations they head even do all that much other than target other mainstream Muslim-American organizations.
I particularly like it when Schwartz scratches his head and says, "I really can’t think of anyone else who will speak on the record about this." Right. Of course not. Seriously, Esquire -- if you're going to get your news only from right-wing outlets, at least put on a filter first.
Just to be clear: I wasn't trying to engage in a silly game of "My Muslims, Your Muslims." I liked the article because it asked local New York Muslims what they stood to gain, if anything, from the proposed facility. It shifted the debate from this abstract, silly, make-believe discussion we've had lately to the very real needs the local community has. That's all.
ReplyDeleteMan, the Daily Caller infuriates me. Especially that headline. The "religious grounds" the three sources offer are absolutely, thrillingly meaningless -- Muslims shouldn't build the mosque because the Quran says its adherents shouldn't offend anybody? Because it says Muslims should be respectful to Christians and Jews?
By that standard, Muslims wouldn't be able to do anything!