Three Views

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Three Views, November 2010, Pages 18-21

Ground Zero and Islamophobia in America

Helping Moderate Muslims

By Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. (AFP photo/files/Luke Frazza)

It is customary for Muslims to begin by first invoking the name of the all-merciful and all-compassionate creator, the creator of the

heavens and the earth and all that is between them, the God of Abraham, the God of Ishmael and Isaac, the God of Moses and Aaron, the

God of Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary, and the God of Mohammed. Peace and blessings upon all of these noble prophets and

messengers.

We come together at a time of great cris is and danger. What began as a dispute over a community center in lower M anhattan has

spawned and grown into a much larger cont roversy about the relationship between my beloved religion and my beloved country, between

Islam and America.

The events of the past few weeks have really saddened me to my very core. I regret that some have misunderstood our intentions. I'mdeeply distressed that in this heated political season, some have exploited this issue for their own agendas. And I'm deeply disappointed

that so many of the arguments have been based on deliberate misinformation and harmful s tereotypes.

But despite the disappointments, there is much I am thankful for. First, I'm grateful to our mayor, Michael Bloomberg, and to so many

others who have spoken out in favor of our project. Their positive responses have filled my heart, and I thank them all.

To our president, Barack Obama: Mr. President, I thank you for your support, for speaking out so forcefully and repeatedly on behalf of

religious tolerance and the values that make our country great. And I'm deeply grateful for your robust, persisten t efforts in making peace

in the Middle East a priority in your first term.

And for all of those who have voiced their objections to our plans with c ivility, with respect and with open minds and hearts, I am also

grateful. You affirm my belief in the decency and morality of the American people.

I do recognize that among the critics are some who have lost loved ones on 9/11. To a ll of them, I offer my heartfelt sympathy and my

prayers upon their departed souls. Every year, we mark the anniversary with great sadness, but with even greater resolve to fight against

the radical philosophies that have been used to jus tify these acts.

My goal here today is twofold: first, to re ach out to my brothers and sisters of different faiths in America, to explain and to share my love

of my religion; and second, to reach out to my Muslim brothers and s isters all over the world, to explain and share my love of America.

This is my personal mission, and is anchored in my own experience.


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Allow me, please, to begin by telling you my s tory. Like many of your ances tors, I came to America by boat when I was only 17 years old.

We sailed into New York Harbor on a sunny and cold winter day in December 1965, three days before Chris tmas. I remember seeing the

Statue of Liberty for the first timethat beacon of freedom rising and looming majestically in the h arbor. I remember admiring her

strength and her beauty and her colors in that morning, crisp sunlight. I had no idea what life would be like in America, but I looked

forward to it.

I was born in Kuwait to Egyptian parents. My father was a religious schol ar who studied and graduated at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, an

Islamic institution of great distinction and learning. He was sent to this country by Al-Azhar to head a growing Muslim community in New

York City. He was active in what used to be called the ecumenical movement, promoting understanding between different religions.

Today, we call it interfaith dialogue.

For me, coming from a country where the majority was Muslim, I found this society remarkably nonreligious, even anti-religious. In the

1960s, religion was considered by many to be pass; a crutch for the feeble-minded. I remember the cover of T ime Magazine that

screamed out, "Is God Dead?" This was shocking to me, extraordinary. And I thought to myself, "Wow, this place sure is different!"

I got my bachelor's in physics at Columbia University. I married, raised my children here, and I had a number of occupations: a high-school

teacher, a salesman of industrial products, and a struggling writer. I'm a typical New Yorker, ladies and gentlemen. I am an American.

In 1979, I became a naturalized U.S. citizen. I believed, and still believe, and pledged allegiance to the values of the United States

Constitution, and I know that these sacred r ights were won by the blood of brave American soldiers. My own niecemy own niece

currently serves in the United States Army.

I know that this country was founded by individuals who left their countries of origin because they were unhappy with their government

and with the restrictions imposed on religious life an d liberties. They wanted something better. Participatory government; freedom of

speech; separation of church and state: these were among my earliest lessons in American civic life.

In America, we do protect these differences. We protect different expressions of faith. We assemble in our various houses of worship to

pray, to chant, to recite our sacred scriptures, or simply to come together in communion and draw together and draw strength as a

community. But religion in America is not imposed on us: We can be as devout or as agnostic as we like.

That choiceto be or not to be religious, or anything else for that matterforced me to think about who I was, who I am, what I truly

wanted and chose to be; and has given me a profound appreciation for the country that provides these freedoms. In that sense, you could

say that I found my faith in this country. So for me, Islam an d America are organically bound together.

But this is not my story alone. The American way of life has helped many Muslims make a conscious decision to embrace their faith. That

choice, ladies and gentlemen, is precious, and that is why America is precious.

I discovered that the country that at first had seemed so anti-religious in fact has a profoundly spiritual base and a religious purpose. The

Founding Fathers of this nation were men of faith. Within the governing documents they cre ated, the Declaration of Independence and

the Constitution, they affirmed their most sacred spiritual values. These documents are legal expressions of in fact a religious ideal, non-

parochial but substantively religious, that is rooted in the commandments and principles of the three faiths practiced by the People of

the BookJews, Christians and Muslims. And to remind us, even when we 're in the markets, they imprinted on our currency "In God we

trust."

Since 1983 I have served as imam, or prayer leader, of a mosque in Tribeca. It is in the same neighborhood as the World Trade Center,

just 12 blocks north. The twin towers defined our skyline and our neighborhood and were part of our daily lives . Our congregants come

from all over the world and from every walk of life, from congressmen to taxi drivers.

On Sept. 11, a number of them tragically lost their lives. Our community grieved alongside of our neighbors, and together we helped

slowly rebuild Lower Manhattan.


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I belong to this neighborhood, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm a devout Muslim. I pray five times a day, sometimes more, if I can, and I observe the rituals required by my faith.

And I'm also a proud American citizen. Let no one forget that. I vote in elections. I pay taxes. I pledge allegiance to the flag. And I'm a

Giants fan. [Laughter.] I'm glad they won yesterday. [Laughter.]

Both this country and the teachings of my faith have nourished me in fundamental, essential ways, have shaped me. Both have shaped up

and made up my core identity as a human being.

But ladies and gentlemen, as I intimated ear lier, this is not just my stor y. It is THE immigrantit is THE American immigrant story. I t is

your story and that of your parents and your grandparents.

As President Obama made clear in his remarks in Cairo last year, American Muslims have enriched this country throughout its history.

Since the 1800s American history has been intertwined with the history of Muslims. Many thousands of African Muslims were brought here

as slaves, and this became their home.

In the 1950s and 1960s, from the music of the blues and jazz , they took up the cause of free dom in the civil rights movement, and we

witnessed the emergence of Islam in the African-American community. Their struggle and their story is central to the story and the

narrative of Islam in America.

From them to the more recently immigrated Sudanese in Minnesota, to the Syrians and Lebanese in North Dakota, to the Egyptians and

North Africans in Astoria, Queens, they are Americans. We are Americans. It's not about them. It's about us and who we are and who we

want to be as Americans.

When we fast, pray, donate to chari ties, observe our commandments, we exemplify not only the ideals of the Founding Fathers but also

the deepest values of our faith traditions.

As immigrants, we absorb American culture, from generation to a generation. But the challenge of fitting in is of ten made more difficult

by rejection. Other groups and faiths have found themselves targets of such prejudiceJews and Catholics, Irish and Italians, blacks andHispanics. In time each group has overcome these challenges, and our core values have been affirmed. We must overcome. We shall

overcome. Now it is our turn, as Muslims, to drink from this cup.

Let me now address the subject of extremism. Every religion in the world has extremists. Sadly, Islam is among them. All faiths have

among their members those who distort and twist the core values for their own agendas. They advocate positions that we here and tha t

decent people all over the worldand, I assure you, 99-point-whatever percent of the Muslims in the world absolutely, totally find this

abhorrent. Let there be no mistake, ladies and gentlemen. Islam categorically rejects the killing of innocent people. Terrorists violate the

sanctity of human life and corrupt the meaning of our faith. In no way do they represent our re ligion, and we must not let them define

us.

Radical extremists would have us believe in a theory of a worldwide battle between Muslims and non-Muslims. And some intellectuals and

thinkers have furthered that idea. That idea, ladies and gentlemen, is false. The real battle front, the real battle that we must wagetogether today, is not between Muslims and non-Muslims . It is between moderates of all the faith traditions against the extremists o f all

the faith traditions. We must not let the extremists, whatever their faith, whatever their political persuasion, hijack the discourse and

hijack the media. That only fuels greater extremism. It is a dangerous, destructive cycle, and we must break it. How? By creating a

coalition of moderates from all of the faith traditions to combat the extremists. And I seek your help.

When irresponsible individuals or some in the media e quate Muslims with anti-Americanism or extremism, and when they say that Is lamic

values are fundamentally violent or domineering, all of us are obliged to refute it and to refute it loudly, clearly and unequivocally.


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For 35 years, I have been explaining the faith of Islam at schools and universities, churches and synagoguesand, yes, in mosques too.

And in recent years I've traveled abroad explaining the values and institutions of America to people of other nationalities, Muslim and

non-Muslim. Skeptics might askand they havewhy spend time in dialogue? From experience, I can tell you, talking can be powerful . As

Churchill said, better to jaw-jaw than to war-war.

But genuine understanding can only happen when there is honesty, sincerity of motive, and an open heart. For when issues are politicized

or used as fodder for commentators on the right or on the left, we just pour fuels on the flames of misunderstanding.

The need to clear up the many misconceptions about Islam and America is greater now than ever. Haven't we seen, these last few weeks,

how hurtful and how destructive the power of extremist acts and language can be? That is why I remind you that the story is not yet over.

What happens right here, right now, in this city, in our city, matters. And it matters more than ever.

The way we confront our problems, the way we speak about them, the way we seek to reconcile our differences, is watched and is

resonating all over the world. I recently returned from a trip abroad, on a mission by the State Department. I went to Bahrain, Qatar and

the United Arab Emirates. It was my fourth trip representing the U.S. government and the American people. On two occasions , I was

asked to go on this mission by the Bush administration, and twice by the Obama administration. I'm bipartisan .

These trips are important, ladies and gentlemen, because people all over the world admire and look up to our freedoms and our

institutions, and[inaudible word]really want them for themselves, within their own cultural expression.

As an American and as a Muslim, I believeand I've been toldI can make and have made an important contribution by serving as a

messenger, as a bridge; by explaining what life is like here in the Uni ted States; and by helping clear up the many misperceptions and

false ideas.

And I hope and am committed to continuing with this work.

In recent days, some people have asked is there really a need for an Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan? Is it worth all this

firestorm?

The answer, ladies and gentlemen, is a categorical yes. Why? Because this center will be a place for all faiths to come together aspartners, as stakeholders in mutual respect. It will bring honor to the city of New York, to American Muslims across the country and to

Americans all over the world. The world will be watching what we do here. And I offer you my pledgewe will live up to our ideals.

That is why eight years ago I also founded a multifaith organization called the Cordoba Initiative, name d for the time in Cordoba, Spain

when Jews, Christians and Muslims li ved together and built together the most tolerant and enlightened society on earth. The goal of the

Cordoba Initiative is to repair the damage done to Muslim-American re lations in recent years and to use this formula of a partnership

between faith traditions to build such a new Cordoba.

Inspiring the initiative and our projects are the two commandments, the two most important commandments at the heart of the Jewish,

the Christian and the Muslim faiths: to love the lord our God with all of our hearts, all of our minds, all of our souls and with all of our

strength. And the second, as Jesus said, co-equal to the first, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Let us therefore reject those who would use this crisis and the sacred memory of 9/11 to achieve their own ends. Let us especially not

exploit the memories of the victims of that tragedy or the suffering of their f amilies and friends. Let us condemn the use of holy texts or

religious symbols for political or financial gain or even for fame. Let us affirm that the values of Islam co-exist in harmony with tolerant,

peace-loving nations everywhere.

I therefore, ladies and gentlemen, call upon youupon each of youto think of what you can do to make a difference. To the heads of

government, some of whom have already reached out to me, make the spirit of Cordoba multinational. Let us share it with the world.


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To the politicians among us, reject those who would sell America's soul for short-term gains in public opinion.

To the media, remember that while the campaign against terrorism is fought with troops and armaments, the campaign against radical

ideologies is about winning hearts and minds. You, the media, can fuel the radicals or you can limit their airtime.

To the business community, do I need to remind you that in supporting moderation and peace, there is really even greater profit and

prosperity?

To my fellow faith leaders, many of whom I see here, let us continue the extraordinary dialogue that has emerged from this crisis.

To my fellow Americans, Muslims and non-Muslims, I call upon you to reach out to each other in your communities. Open your homes;

break bread together and extend your hearts in the spirit of friendship and goodwill.

In closing, I want to remind you of an incident from the presidential campaign of 2008 involving Gen. Colin Powell, a man I deeply

respect. In October 2008, General Powell talked about seeing a photo essay on American troops serving abroad. One picture was of a

mother grieving in Arlington National Cemetery.

She had her weeping head on the headstone of her son's grave. You could see the writing on the headstone. It gave his awardsthe Purple

Heart, the Bronze Starshowed that he died in Ir aq. He was only 20 years old. And then, at the top of the headstone, it didn't have a

cross, didn't have a Star of David. I t had the Crescent and the Star of I slam. His name was Kareem R ashad Sultan Khan, and he was an

American from my home state of New Jersey. He was 14 years o ld when 9/11 happened, and he couldn't wait till he was old enough to

serve his country. And he gave the ultimate sacrifice: his life.

The photo came out around the time that a controversy had broken out over President Obama's faithan issue that still hasn't gone away

till today. "He is a Christian," Powell said, speaking about President Obama, "He has always been a Christian." But then, General Powell

added, "But the really right question is: So what if he were a Muslim? Is there something wrong wi th being a Muslim in this country?" Our

answer as a nation, then and now, is , no, there's nothing wrong with being a Muslim in America. Our answer as a nation, then and now, is,

there is everything right with being an American Muslim.

I pray to the Almighty God, creator of us all, to bless you, to bless America, to bless all na tions on Earth, and to bless all of those who arecommitted to peace on Earth; for, as He has said, blessed are the peacemakers. Amen. And thank you very much.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Sept. 13, 2010.

Isn't Tolerance an American Virtue?

By George S. Hishmeh

Observing the shameful and venomous debate raging in the U.S. over plans for a Muslim civic center and a mosque in downtown

Manhattan two blocks from Ground Zero, I could not help but recall the time when my father took me to visit Syria and Jordan while I was

a student at the American University of Beirut.

One of the most striking revelations for me, as a Christian, was seeing the tomb where the head of John the Baptist was said to lie inside

the famous Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.


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Many years later, after I moved to the U.S., I took my family on an extensive tour of Spain. My younges t child, Leila, was fatigued by the

number of churches, mosques, synagogues and other historic buildings we visited.

I could only convince her to make one more sightseeing and educational s top when I told her that this building in Cordoba, described as a

city that was "tolerant, interfaith oriented, [and known for] embracing diversity," housed a beautiful mosque and a church in the same

building, adjacent to a synagogue.

Leila was convinced, especially after she learned that we would then feast on paella , a sumptuous Spanish dishthen her favorite.

There are other examples of religious tolerance, especially in Istanbul and Jerusalem, where the Caliph Omar once refused to pray inside

the Church of the Holy Sepulchre lest his fellow believers turn this all-important church, which is believed to house the tomb of Jesus,

into a mosque. Instead, the Caliph stepped outside into the square and prayed there. The Mosque of Omar still s tands today on this very

spot.

The unfortunate hoopla in the U.S. surfaced because of growing, unjus tified Islamophobia and the approach of mid-term elections. The

American right, led by the Republican party and extremist groups, is trying to shake up the Obama administration and his Democratic

party. None of the critics are aware of the background of the proposed Cordoba House.

Although an argument can be made that the center could have been located in other parts of Manhattan, the fact remains that it was not,

as has been claimed, envisioned as a "victory monument" in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist massacre in 2001, perpetrated by 19 terrorists

linked to al-Qaedain itself a minority group that does not have any significant support among Muslims in the Arab world and elsewhere.

More striking are the impressive credentials of Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, the architect of the Cordoba Initiative, which envisions an inter-

religious community center in Lower Manhattan tha t will focus on improving relations between the Muslim world and the West. In 1997,

the Kuwaiti-born cleric founded the American Society for Muslim Advancement and is cons idered "a leader in the effort to build religious

pluralism and integrate Islam into modern society."

Interestingly, he traveled to Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE recently as part of a U.S. government-sponsored initiative to discuss "Muslim life

in America and religious tolerance issues."

Cordoba House has been endorsed by New York's Jewish Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose approval of the project was essential to bring it

to fruition, and President Barak Obamadespite what some mistakenly saw in his off-the-cuff remark to a journalist that he was not

commenting on "the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there."

The president's ringing declaration, much to the satisfaction of attendants at an iftar dinner at the White House, le ft no doubt about his

feelings. "Let me be clear," he declared, "as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their

religion as anyone else in this country."

He went on, "That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in

accordance with local laws and ordinances."

Though the media and officialdom in the U.S. gave the Muslim undertaking in New York their top attention, and the Jewish-run Anti-Defamation League its surprise condemnation, there was hardly any mention, let alone criticism, of what the Israelis are doing to a

famous Muslim site in occupied Jerusalemthe historic Mamilla Cemetery.

The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center has unlawfully started working on a Museum of Tolerance and Human Dignity on the

grounds of the cemetery just as its director, Rabbi Marvin Hier, sounded off on a U.S. television program about the Manhattan project.

With police protection, the workers began their digging a t 2:30 a.m. in the hope that Arab residents of the city would not notice their

disgraceful action on the hallowed ground of this ancient cemetery, which dates back to the 7th century.


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In fact, a previous Israeli regime had recognized it as "one of the most prominent Muslim cemeteries, where 70,000 Muslim warriors of

[Salah Al Deen's] armies are interred along with many Muslim scholars."

Jeff Helper, director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, pointed out that "some 1,500 Muslim graves have been cleared

in several nighttime operations." And to add insult to injury, the digging began on the eve of Ramadan.

What "tolerance and human dignity" is this?

G eorge Hishmeh is a Washington, DC-based columnist for Gulf News and Jordan Times. Contact him at: < [email protected] >. Reprinted

with permission.

The Angry Tide Against Muslims

By Paul Findley

The sustained outcry against the Islamic Community Center two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City is not the first time U.S.

Muslims have been on the defensive. During the 1990s, long before 9/11, they were suffering discrimination in the workplace and often

the target of physical threat and attack. Places of worship were the target of vandalism and crude graffiti, and sometimes arson.

While lecturing across America during those years, I became convinced that anti-Muslim passions based on false stereotypes are a cancer

that threatens the well-being of all Americans, not just followers of Islam. At home, they nurture bigotry and fear. In the Middle East,

they are a massive roadblock to balanced, fair U.S. policies.

Hoping to ease these dangerous passions I wrote Silent No More: Confronting America's False Images of Islam , a book inspired by personal

acquaintance with hundreds of Muslims here and abroad.

It was published one month before 9/11, the day professed Muslims carr ied out the horrible suicide bombings in New York, Pennsylvania

and Washington, DC that killed nearly 3,000 innocen t Americans. The bombings were a gross violation of Islamic doctrine, which

condemns suicide and injury to innocent people, but they left millions of misinformed Americans convinced Muslims approved the

massacre.

Three years later, a Cornell University poll disclosed that 44 percent of those surveyed were so apprehensive about Islam they wanted the

civil liberties of all U.S. Muslims curtailed. This year, Gallup polls reported nearly half our citizens fearful of Islamic intentions.

At the same time, anti-American passions have risen worldwide, especially in Muslim countries. Our government makes no effort to

explain why foreigners protest our policies. Nor does it lift a finger to correct legitimate Muslim grievances.

9/11 was payback by a few people infuriated over our pro-Israel bias. Anti-American protests rise mainly from the same bias: U.S.complicity in Israel's brutal treatment of mostly-Muslim Palestinians and its illegal seizure of their land. Wars initiated by the United

States in Iraq and Afghanistan, both Muslim countries, magnified the outrage.

Although Israel's daily conduct clearly violates international law, massive, unconditional U.S. aid keeps flowing to Tel Aviv.


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The chief planner of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, plainly and publicly stated his motivation. It was his "violent disagreement with U.S.

policies that favored Israel." This s ignificant revelation was buried in the report of the 9/11 Commission but mentioned nowhere else . The

commission twice voted against holding hearings on motivation.

Nothing could justify 9/11, but the American people deserve to know why it happened and why our government made no serious effort to

stop Israel's criminal policies.

If our government had refused to help Israel when it decided to des troy Palestine and brutalize its people, 9/11 would not have

happened, our government would not have started wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Is rael would not have been able to carry out its

illegal takeover of Arab land. The main motivations for anti-Muslim passions in the United States and anti-American passions abroad would

not exist.

The revelation by the chief planner of 9/11 should have served as a wake-up call for every American, but the members of the president-

appointed 9/11 Commission, like most other Americans, tip-toed in silen t retreat rather than embarrass I srael and risk being called anti-

Semitic.

It is never too late to do the right thing. Our president should suspend all aid until Israeli forces withdraw from all Arab territory seized in

June 1967. Barack Obamaany presidentwill win massive public support for this showdown if he explains the crisis in clear language

directly to the American people. Based on my years in Congress, where I was a close witness of presidents in crisis, I know Obama could

prevail. Congress is populated with puppets for I srael, but enlightened public opinion will ch ange their behavior overnight.

Future historians will be amazed at the u tter stupidity of our government. Rather than end bias in Middle East policy, our officials keep

our nation in the black hole of war, fear, hate, and bankruptcy.

Paul Findley, who resides in Jacksonville, IL, served 22 years as a U.S. representative from Illinois. He is the author of six books,

including the bestseller They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israels Lobby and Silent No More: ConfrontingAmericas False Images of Islam (both available from the AE T Book Club). His latest, a memoir, will be published in April.

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