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9/11 Families Divided Over Mosque, Community Center
SAMANTHA GROSS
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Talat Hamdani traveled to Mecca to pray that her missing son, an EMT, was safe in the days after 9/11. She held out hope that his Muslim background had led to his detention as a suspect, considering it better than the alternative.
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Related
New York City Commission Opens WTC Site for Mosque Construction
When part of his body was returned to her - his lower half shattered into 34 pieces - it was final proof he had indeed been killed when Islamic extremists brought down the World Trade Center. As Americans take sides over plans to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque blocks away, Hamdani says it feels personal.
"Why are we paying the price? Why are we being ostracized? Our loved ones died," she said at her Lake Grove, N.Y., home. "America was founded on the grounds of religious freedom," and opposition to the cultural center "is un-American. It's unethical. And it is wrong."
The thousands of relatives of the 2,976 victims have no single representative and no unified voice, even as another 9/11 anniversary approaches. The conflict is dividing a group that in many ways has never been united, with some saying the cultural center would reopen old wounds too close to hallowed ground and others say that opposing it is tantamount to bigotry.
And some, like Vandna Jain, walk a middle ground.
"It is unfair to persecute the group, however, in turn, there should be some respect for the feelings of the people that are forever attached to this site due to their losses," the New City, N.Y., resident, whose father, Yudh, died in the north tower, wrote in an e-mail. "I think people have a right to be upset about it, just as much as people have a right to build a mosque."
Jim Riches, a former New York Fire Department deputy chief whose son, Jimmy, was killed at the trade center, believes the dispute has nothing to do with religious freedom.
"We're not telling them not to practice their religion. ... It's about location, location, location," he said, asking why the mosque couldn't be built farther away from the land that he still considers a cemetery. "It's disrespectful. You wouldn't put a Japanese cultural center at Pearl Harbor."
Liza Murphy feels differently. Her brother, Charlie, died at ground zero, but she says she doesn't lay claim to the sprawling, 16-acre site.
"It's a place where a terrible tragedy took place, but I don't see what makes it sacred," said the Brooklyn resident. "Nine years later, that now belongs to the public. And my brother and his death are private and belong to me."
Murphy says she has no objection to the planned mosque and wouldn't want to judge one group of Muslims based on the actions of another.
But Peter Gadiel says he owes no apologies for singling one group out. Since his son, James, was killed at the trade center, Gadiel has argued publicly that all Muslims should share some collective guilt for what happened on 9/11.
"The fact is that Islam does not coexist well with other religions, and you can't separate that from Islam," the Kent, Conn., resident said, explaining his stand against the mosque. "If that sounds intolerant on my part, that's too bad."
The families' impassioned responses to the prospect of the mosque have influenced the public debate.
Gov. David Paterson has suggested moving the project further away from the trade center site out of respect for opponents' feelings, while Mayor Michael Bloomberg came out in support of the mosque, calling it a test of the separation of church and state.
President Barack Obama has said he believes Muslims have the right to build the Islamic center as a matter of religious freedom, though he's also said he won't take a position on whether they should actually build it.
The imam leading plans for the center on Friday called extremism a security threat in both the West and the Muslim world. Feisal Abdul Rauf made his comments to Associated Press Television News in Bahrain during a Mideast tour funded by the U.S. State Department, but he wouldn't discuss the uproar over the Islamic center.
Relatives of those slain on Sept. 11 have made their diverging voices heard on a number of issues over the years _ from whether to try the suspects in a civilian court to the location of a proposed freedom museum at ground zero that is no longer planned for the site.
Charles Wolf, who lost his wife, Katherine, at the trade center, says emotions among family members are especially raw right now.
"This is anniversary season. It's really, really hard," the Manhattanite said. "Passions are up and this is bringing up a lot of hurt in people."
He says he worries that any decision to respond to public pressure and move the mosque would be used by extremists to paint Americans as intolerant.
"The powers of evil were piloting those airplanes," he said of the Sept. 11 attackers.
Now, with the mosque dispute, "here is where we're falling into the terrorists' trap ... trying to tear each other apart. Good people fighting other good people - does that sound like evil at work?"
___
Associated Press writers David B. Caruso and Karen Matthews in New York and Martha Raffaele in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Talat Hamdani traveled to Mecca to pray that her missing son, an EMT, was safe in the days after 9/11. She held out hope that his Muslim background had led to his detention as a suspect, considering it better than the alternative.
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Related
New York City Commission Opens WTC Site for Mosque Construction
When part of his body was returned to her - his lower half shattered into 34 pieces - it was final proof he had indeed been killed when Islamic extremists brought down the World Trade Center. As Americans take sides over plans to build an Islamic cultural center and mosque blocks away, Hamdani says it feels personal.
"Why are we paying the price? Why are we being ostracized? Our loved ones died," she said at her Lake Grove, N.Y., home. "America was founded on the grounds of religious freedom," and opposition to the cultural center "is un-American. It's unethical. And it is wrong."
The thousands of relatives of the 2,976 victims have no single representative and no unified voice, even as another 9/11 anniversary approaches. The conflict is dividing a group that in many ways has never been united, with some saying the cultural center would reopen old wounds too close to hallowed ground and others say that opposing it is tantamount to bigotry.
And some, like Vandna Jain, walk a middle ground.
"It is unfair to persecute the group, however, in turn, there should be some respect for the feelings of the people that are forever attached to this site due to their losses," the New City, N.Y., resident, whose father, Yudh, died in the north tower, wrote in an e-mail. "I think people have a right to be upset about it, just as much as people have a right to build a mosque."
Jim Riches, a former New York Fire Department deputy chief whose son, Jimmy, was killed at the trade center, believes the dispute has nothing to do with religious freedom.
"We're not telling them not to practice their religion. ... It's about location, location, location," he said, asking why the mosque couldn't be built farther away from the land that he still considers a cemetery. "It's disrespectful. You wouldn't put a Japanese cultural center at Pearl Harbor."
Liza Murphy feels differently. Her brother, Charlie, died at ground zero, but she says she doesn't lay claim to the sprawling, 16-acre site.
"It's a place where a terrible tragedy took place, but I don't see what makes it sacred," said the Brooklyn resident. "Nine years later, that now belongs to the public. And my brother and his death are private and belong to me."
Murphy says she has no objection to the planned mosque and wouldn't want to judge one group of Muslims based on the actions of another.
But Peter Gadiel says he owes no apologies for singling one group out. Since his son, James, was killed at the trade center, Gadiel has argued publicly that all Muslims should share some collective guilt for what happened on 9/11.
"The fact is that Islam does not coexist well with other religions, and you can't separate that from Islam," the Kent, Conn., resident said, explaining his stand against the mosque. "If that sounds intolerant on my part, that's too bad."
The families' impassioned responses to the prospect of the mosque have influenced the public debate.
Gov. David Paterson has suggested moving the project further away from the trade center site out of respect for opponents' feelings, while Mayor Michael Bloomberg came out in support of the mosque, calling it a test of the separation of church and state.
President Barack Obama has said he believes Muslims have the right to build the Islamic center as a matter of religious freedom, though he's also said he won't take a position on whether they should actually build it.
The imam leading plans for the center on Friday called extremism a security threat in both the West and the Muslim world. Feisal Abdul Rauf made his comments to Associated Press Television News in Bahrain during a Mideast tour funded by the U.S. State Department, but he wouldn't discuss the uproar over the Islamic center.
Relatives of those slain on Sept. 11 have made their diverging voices heard on a number of issues over the years _ from whether to try the suspects in a civilian court to the location of a proposed freedom museum at ground zero that is no longer planned for the site.
Charles Wolf, who lost his wife, Katherine, at the trade center, says emotions among family members are especially raw right now.
"This is anniversary season. It's really, really hard," the Manhattanite said. "Passions are up and this is bringing up a lot of hurt in people."
He says he worries that any decision to respond to public pressure and move the mosque would be used by extremists to paint Americans as intolerant.
"The powers of evil were piloting those airplanes," he said of the Sept. 11 attackers.
Now, with the mosque dispute, "here is where we're falling into the terrorists' trap ... trying to tear each other apart. Good people fighting other good people - does that sound like evil at work?"
___
Associated Press writers David B. Caruso and Karen Matthews in New York and Martha Raffaele in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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I wasn't patronizing you, I was addressing your question(s):
"So the question still remains, do we uphold the constitutional rites that are to be applied to all americans, or take some sort of actions to try to prevent another unprevoked attack from the "extriemest" who are apparently very good at getting lost in the crowd so to speak."
You ask whether or not we should uphold constitutional law but when I point out that it's not a cafeteria menu you feel patronized and offended? Why am I not at all surprised.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Anyway that you look at this situation there are going to be people that are unhappy.
Yep. And that is also the price of freedom. The constitution isn't there to make everyone happy, it is there so that everyone is treated fairly.
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Permalink Reply by Asst Chief Tim Cook on
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Ever read the Koran? I find your statement un-iformed at best, if notmisleading. If that makes me narrow minded,so be it. Build it somewhere else. The current location would make it a giant slap in the face to all who died there.
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It's done every day. We OWN property that CANNOT be built on. Simple as that. There are many (owned)buildings in NYC that are not used for any number of reasons,including code violations.And there ARE other places in the City for THIS project,again probably OWNED.
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Chief,
Right, but they own the building, and it is zoned and approved for what they want to do with the building. So zoning regulations are NOT the case here, they are within their legal rights to build that building.
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Permalink Reply by J.R. Fitzgerald on
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The fact that you compared our countries constitution to a cafeteria menu was enuff.Now granted it may have been just an anoligy, but its still in my mind a derogatory comment. I have lost qiute a few friends and loved ones that were fighting for our rights, as have other americans.
And as for my question, you are correct, perhaps I stated it wrong. I wasnt saying to pick and choose who or what is protected by the constitution. perhaps what i should have said was what are some viable solutions to this everpresent threat of terrorism.
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JR
Show me where I compared our constitution to a cafeteria menu?
Me:
"The constitution, amendments etc is not a cafeteria menu from which you pick what most suits you or the occasion. They are the bedrock this nation was built on.
I was very clear in saying that it was NOT a cafeteria menu. I find it patronizing of you to grant me that "it may have been just an anoligy but its still in my mind a derogatory comment." Frankly, your reading skills suck.
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Maybe you should get a dictionary and look up the definition of a comparison. And as for my reading skills go, they are adequte enuff for this type of conversation. maybe you should brush up on your comprehension skills. What you said was a comparison although it be a negative one, a comparison never the less.
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Permalink Reply by John Carder on
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How hard did the AP reporter have to work to find one relative of a victim that favors locating this 17-story mosque so close to the site of the attack?
They have a right to build the mosque there. It shows a total lack of sensitivity to do that. The Japanese did not build cultural centers next to the Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor.
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So by my saying our constitution is NOT a cafeteria menu you were offended because I said that it wasn't? And by saying something is not something else is not a comparison. It's clearly the opposite. Check your redneck to english dictionary. And I don't really agree with you that your reading skills are ..."adequte enuff." (Nor for that matter, your spelling ones.)
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..."adequte enuff."
You missed the sarcasim there huh? Thats ok. From now on I will try really hard to use correct grammar just for you.
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