By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times
"Can't we all just -- co-exist."
That's the message hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons sent his fellow New Yorkers as they protest the plan to build a $100 million, 13-story Islamic center and Sharia mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site.
Tourists seemed to agree with the overall message Simmons' was trying to convey, though they may not agree to the mosque being built at that particular site.
Cory Baulia, who was visiting New York from Wisconsin told the NY Post that she didn't have a problem with the mosque itself.
"But I don't think building a mosque near here is a good idea, since the people who did this are from that religion," said Baulia, 22.
Simmons owns a condominium on Liberty Street directly across from ground zero placed religious and spiritual symbols in the arched windows of his home spelling out the word "coexist," with six symbols, starting with an Islamic crescent for a "C" and ending with a Christian cross for a "T."
Simmons, who was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Slavery Memorial in May 2009, is a strong advocate of the mosque, which would be part of the estimated $100 million Islamic cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero.
Retired Marine, Master Gunnery Sergeant Leotha Brown told the Black Urban Times that the overall argument against building the mosque near ground zero is "flawed from a constitutional basis" if one were to look at the separation of church and state.
"The government cannot and should not interfere with religious organizations or where they decide to worship," said Brown, who shares
the stance of President Obama, who has said that the Muslims have a right to build the center at the site but has not commented on whether he thinks they should.
Brown added that while he believes the mosque should be built somewhere else, "I believe that there is a constitutional right to build it at the current desired location."
Manhattan construction worker L.V. Spina echoed Brown's sentiments.
"Hell, you could do it next to my house in Rockaway Beach, I would be fine with it. But I'm not fine with it where blood has been spilled," Spina told the New York Daily News.
Protesters like event coordinator Beth Gilisky, head of Women United, do not share Brown's views of constitutionality or otherwise.
“I hate to disappoint the Imam, but we are not a Sharia state yet!” shouted Gilisky.
“We shall not comply [as a Sharia state]!” she protested.
The Coalition to Honor Ground Zero – a network opposing the growth of Sharia law - organized a rally on the corner of Park Place and West Broadway in the financial district, near the site where an Islamic community center and mosque will be built and located just blocks from where nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Many of the events organizers acknowledged that not all Muslims are radical, but stated that they are concerned that those who are trying to build the mosque near ground zero “preach against our [country’s] founding principles.”
Steve Ayling, a 40-year-old Brooklyn plumber said the people behind the mosque project are “the same people who took down the twin towers.”
“They should put it in the Middle East,” said Ayling, who added that he still vividly remembers watching television on 9/11 “and seeing people jumping from the towers, and ashes falling on my house.”
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan, who is leading the project to build the Sharia mosque, insists that the center will promote moderate Islam.
The dispute has sparked a national debate on religious freedom and American values and is becoming an issue on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans have been critical of President Barack Obama’s stance: He has said the Muslims have the right to build the center at the site but has not commented on whether he thinks they should.
Andy Sullivan, the construction worker (and former Ground Zero volunteer) who launched the Hard Hat Pledge on his blog, Blue Collar Corner said that while he respects the civil liberties of Muslims and those wanting to build the mosque, he argued economic justice, revealing the social frustration fueling the debate around the mosque meme. “Most people right now are living the American Dream in reverse... The middle class is gradually racing to lower class, almost to poverty class,” said Sullivan.
But what does this have to do with the proposed community center? In Sullivan's view, the elite supporters of the development are essentially telling desperate workers, “'We have jobs for you and money for you. But you have to sell your values and principles and your soul.... and then you can participate in building this brilliant victory mosque so the whole world can hear the message that radical Islam took down the United States.'"
“It's not just the mosque now,” he said. President Obama and Mayor Michael Bloomberg's defense of the Park 51 project show that “It's just another example of the ruling class once again going against the will of the people. And it's time we stood up... Enough is enough.”
Brown argued, "To protest the building of the mosque by refusing to aid in its construction is ludicrous in a depressed economy.
Writer Michelle Chen said, "Leave aside the fact that the proposed community center is not a mosque but a YMCA-like recreational facility, supported by many community groups. From a worker's standpoint, aren't there potential new jobs that could come from Park 51? And wouldn't the interfaith development add some much needed color and economic activity to an area still marred by a ragged hole where the Twin Towers once stood?"
Like it or not, the proposed development has sparked a lot of rage and it seems the overall consensus appears to be that the majority see the center and mosque as a slap in the face to victims and survivors of 9/11.
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The Black Urban Times
"Can't we all just -- co-exist."
That's the message hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons sent his fellow New Yorkers as they protest the plan to build a $100 million, 13-story Islamic center and Sharia mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site.
Tourists seemed to agree with the overall message Simmons' was trying to convey, though they may not agree to the mosque being built at that particular site.
Cory Baulia, who was visiting New York from Wisconsin told the NY Post that she didn't have a problem with the mosque itself.
"But I don't think building a mosque near here is a good idea, since the people who did this are from that religion," said Baulia, 22.
Simmons owns a condominium on Liberty Street directly across from ground zero placed religious and spiritual symbols in the arched windows of his home spelling out the word "coexist," with six symbols, starting with an Islamic crescent for a "C" and ending with a Christian cross for a "T."
Simmons, who was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Slavery Memorial in May 2009, is a strong advocate of the mosque, which would be part of the estimated $100 million Islamic cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero.
Retired Marine, Master Gunnery Sergeant Leotha Brown told the Black Urban Times that the overall argument against building the mosque near ground zero is "flawed from a constitutional basis" if one were to look at the separation of church and state.
"The government cannot and should not interfere with religious organizations or where they decide to worship," said Brown, who shares
the stance of President Obama, who has said that the Muslims have a right to build the center at the site but has not commented on whether he thinks they should.
Brown added that while he believes the mosque should be built somewhere else, "I believe that there is a constitutional right to build it at the current desired location."
Manhattan construction worker L.V. Spina echoed Brown's sentiments.
"Hell, you could do it next to my house in Rockaway Beach, I would be fine with it. But I'm not fine with it where blood has been spilled," Spina told the New York Daily News.
Protesters like event coordinator Beth Gilisky, head of Women United, do not share Brown's views of constitutionality or otherwise.
“I hate to disappoint the Imam, but we are not a Sharia state yet!” shouted Gilisky.
“We shall not comply [as a Sharia state]!” she protested.
The Coalition to Honor Ground Zero – a network opposing the growth of Sharia law - organized a rally on the corner of Park Place and West Broadway in the financial district, near the site where an Islamic community center and mosque will be built and located just blocks from where nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Many of the events organizers acknowledged that not all Muslims are radical, but stated that they are concerned that those who are trying to build the mosque near ground zero “preach against our [country’s] founding principles.”
Steve Ayling, a 40-year-old Brooklyn plumber said the people behind the mosque project are “the same people who took down the twin towers.”
“They should put it in the Middle East,” said Ayling, who added that he still vividly remembers watching television on 9/11 “and seeing people jumping from the towers, and ashes falling on my house.”
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan, who is leading the project to build the Sharia mosque, insists that the center will promote moderate Islam.
The dispute has sparked a national debate on religious freedom and American values and is becoming an issue on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections. Republicans have been critical of President Barack Obama’s stance: He has said the Muslims have the right to build the center at the site but has not commented on whether he thinks they should.
Andy Sullivan, the construction worker (and former Ground Zero volunteer) who launched the Hard Hat Pledge on his blog, Blue Collar Corner said that while he respects the civil liberties of Muslims and those wanting to build the mosque, he argued economic justice, revealing the social frustration fueling the debate around the mosque meme. “Most people right now are living the American Dream in reverse... The middle class is gradually racing to lower class, almost to poverty class,” said Sullivan.
But what does this have to do with the proposed community center? In Sullivan's view, the elite supporters of the development are essentially telling desperate workers, “'We have jobs for you and money for you. But you have to sell your values and principles and your soul.... and then you can participate in building this brilliant victory mosque so the whole world can hear the message that radical Islam took down the United States.'"
“It's not just the mosque now,” he said. President Obama and Mayor Michael Bloomberg's defense of the Park 51 project show that “It's just another example of the ruling class once again going against the will of the people. And it's time we stood up... Enough is enough.”
Brown argued, "To protest the building of the mosque by refusing to aid in its construction is ludicrous in a depressed economy.
Writer Michelle Chen said, "Leave aside the fact that the proposed community center is not a mosque but a YMCA-like recreational facility, supported by many community groups. From a worker's standpoint, aren't there potential new jobs that could come from Park 51? And wouldn't the interfaith development add some much needed color and economic activity to an area still marred by a ragged hole where the Twin Towers once stood?"
Like it or not, the proposed development has sparked a lot of rage and it seems the overall consensus appears to be that the majority see the center and mosque as a slap in the face to victims and survivors of 9/11.
Tweettwitter.com/thebutmsdotcom
facebook.com/theblackurbantimes
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