so it was just approved that there will be a mosque built a few blocks away from ground zero. not only do i feel this is completely disrespectful to the families who lost loved ones there but also do i find this a complete slap in the face from the president after hearing his comments on the building of it.
this is a space where more than 2,000 people lost their lives at the hands of Islamic people who did it in the name of "Allah". i do not blame every Muslim or everyone who believes in this faith for what happened - but i do feel it is EXTREMELY disrespectful to build a religious establishment damn near on the grounds of the world trade centers. just like Obama said - it is American way to let people pick and practice their own religion in America, that is all well and dandy, so in that case, can we build a synagogue, cathedral, and temples as well? why approve one religions place of worship over the others? and why does it have to be a few minutes walk from where "Allah" told them people to fly a plane into 2 of our buildings and kill that many people?
some people will argue that we are doing the exact same thing to them but need i remind you 9/11 happened before we started doing what we are doing over there. 2 wrongs certainly dont make a right but i wonder where both countries would be if 9/11 didnt happen? but it did and we are currently at war with them. although, wasn't it promised to us that the war would be over once the president was elected? that's another one of those promised changes huh ... i sure hope we're all alive to see the changes that have been promised to us.
i was reading articles all day. here are 2 New York resident's opinions:
"Lower Manhattan should be made into a shrine for the people who died there," said Michael Valentin, a retired city detective who worked at ground zero. "It breaks my heart for the families who have to put up with this. I understand they're [building] it in a respectful way, but it just shouldn't be down there."
"[The 9/11 terrorists] did this in the name of Islam," Zelman said. "It's a sacred ground where these people died, where my brother was murdered, and to be in the shadows of that religion, it's just hypocritical and sacrilegious. "
on the other hand, other people said:
"I understand the anger, the bitterness and hatred, but it only generates more hatred," Ouida said. "Such a large part of the world has this faith, and to say anyone who has this faith is a terrorist, it's terrible."
"Three hundred of the victims were Muslim, that's 10 percent of the victims," she said. "We are Americans too. The 9/11 tragedy hurt everybody including the Muslim community. We are all in this together and together we have to fight against extremism and terrorism."
www.cnn.com
at the end of the day, its all in the way you look at things. this was only 1 of the articles that i read off of cnn.com but ive read numerous. i can understand the other side of things - that by not agreeing with this we are only letting racism continue instead of trying to diminish it. truth be told - there will always be racism in the world. i witness it every day and while i myself, do not appreciate it, i also know that its not going to go away. i dont expect people to like it or agree with it, i just expect them to keep their opinions to themselves. i dont shove it down their throat or be disrespectful to their beliefs or views. this is my opinion and my opinion only - i do not think that its the right thing to have this mosque built .. 2 blocks away or on the actual grounds.
no one will ever agree on this situation .. and again - i dont expect anyone to agree or disagree with me. im just venting on how i feel about it. i feel disrespected and i feel for those families who lost loved ones in the towers and in the planes that day.