The Church and the Mosque

There was a church in the shadow of the World Trade Center. It was destroyed when one of the towers fell on September 11. The parishioners of St. Nicholas Church, a Greek Orthodox church have so far raised about four million dollars to rebuild. Today, almost nine years later, there is still no church. The parishioners would like to rebuild on or near the original site but the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey which owns 16 acres of the WTC site has not approved a final plan to rebuild.

And yet, plans are going ahead for the building of Cordoba House/Park 51. I wonder why this is so. It seems the only thing holding this project up is the lack of sufficient funds. They have received all clearances to build.

I decided to some research into this project. The Imam in charge was the Imam in charge of a mosque 12 blocks from Ground Zero for the last 27 years. Why can't he expand this mosque for his "community center"? Why MUST he build so close to Ground Zero? Some people who approve of this mosque claim that it's not that close. IT IS THAT CLOSE. IT'S TWO BLOCKS AWAY. That's close enough that the building was damaged by landing gear of one of the planes that attacked the WTC. I was about eight blocks away and my building shook when the second plane attacked. Two blocks in downtown Manhattan is not like two blocks elsewhere.

Contrary to the opinions of several politicians, it's not about religion. It's about sensitivity and consideration for the feelings of others.

The Imam has shown his insensitivity to the families of 9/11 victims by insisting on building on that particular block. He has further shown insensitivity by not meeting with New York Governor Paterson who has suggested such a meeting to discuss another site. The Governor has even suggested finding state land for such a project.

We're still waiting to hear from the Imam. Oh wait, he can't make the meeting. He's very busy visiting his friends in the middle east not fundraising.