Mosque Near Ground Zero
English 1102
September 13, 2010
Mosque near Ground Zero Everyone remembers all the devastation the occurred on September 11th 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights. After September 11th there were weeks and months of coming to grips. Everyone had lost something, a child, an acquaintance, a skyline, a sense of safety, a center of business, a solid stock portfolio, a feeling that we knew where everything was heading. Nine years after that horrible event there has been controversy over a community center that the Muslims want to build just two blocks away from Ground Zero. The project is a collaboration between the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative, both of which work to improve relations with followers of the religion. The Cordoba House project calls for a 15-story community center including a mosque, performance art center, gym, swimming pool, and other public spaces. Many people believe that Muslims have a right to build the community center where ever they wish to. There are also people that believe they have no right to build a Mosque so close to sacred grounds. They feel as though it’s disrespectful to the thousands of lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. The Muslim community needs to be more sensitive and
September 13, 2010
Mosque near Ground Zero Everyone remembers all the devastation the occurred on September 11th 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights. After September 11th there were weeks and months of coming to grips. Everyone had lost something, a child, an acquaintance, a skyline, a sense of safety, a center of business, a solid stock portfolio, a feeling that we knew where everything was heading. Nine years after that horrible event there has been controversy over a community center that the Muslims want to build just two blocks away from Ground Zero. The project is a collaboration between the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative, both of which work to improve relations with followers of the religion. The Cordoba House project calls for a 15-story community center including a mosque, performance art center, gym, swimming pool, and other public spaces. Many people believe that Muslims have a right to build the community center where ever they wish to. There are also people that believe they have no right to build a Mosque so close to sacred grounds. They feel as though it’s disrespectful to the thousands of lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. The Muslim community needs to be more sensitive and
Cited: Bliman, Nicole. “Mosque to go up Near New York 's Ground Zero”. CNN.com. CNN U.S. 7 May. 2010. Web. 12 Sept. 2010 Blodget, Henry. “There Already Was A Ground-Zero Mosque -- On The 17th Floor Of The World Trade Center”. BusinessInsider.com. 10 Sept. 2010. 13 Sept. 2010. Gladstone. “3 Reasons the "Ground Zero Mosque" Debate Makes No Sense”. Cracked.com. 20 Aug. 2010. Web. 12 Sept. 2010. Hernandez, Javier C. “Giuliani Says Mosque Near Ground Zero Is Offensive”. NYTimes.com. The New York Times. 19 Aug. 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2010. Kaplan, Bennett. “Opinion: Ground Zero Mosque Controversy Provokes Blatant Racism”. Digital Journal.com. 3 Sept. 2010. Web. 13 Sept. 2010. Vitello, Paul. “Islamic Center Exposes Mixed Feelings Locally”. NYTimes.com. The New York Times. 19 Aug. 2010. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.