Comment
Comment
With due respect to all, I suggest everyone read the ADL’s statement on the subject, which is reproduced below in its entirety. As you will see the ADL clearly (1) stated that the proponents of the center have every legal right to build and (2) catergorically rejected those who appealed to religious bigotry in their opposition to the center. The ADL urged nothing more than that, given the relative proximity of the proposed center to the World Trade Center site, the City of New York might be better served if a different location was found for the center. One may criticize the ADL for taking any position on the matter, but those on this board who suggest that the ADL’s position had anything to do with opposition to the rights of Moslems has either not read or forgotten what the ADL actually said.
That said, the original ADL statement follows:
We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths – to build community centers and houses of worship.
We categorically reject appeals to bigotry on the basis of religion, and condemn those whose opposition to this proposed Islamic Center is a manifestation of such bigotry.
However, there are understandably strong passions and keen sensitivities surrounding the World Trade Center site. We are ever mindful of the tragedy which befell our nation there, the pain we all still feel – and especially the anguish of the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001.
The controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process. Therefore, under these unique circumstances, we believe the City of New York would be better served if an alternative location could be found.
In recommending that a different location be found for the Islamic Center, we are mindful that some legitimate questions have been raised about who is providing the funding to build it, and what connections, if any, its leaders might have with groups whose ideologies stand in contradiction to our shared values. These questions deserve a response, and we hope those backing the project will be transparent and forthcoming. But regardless of how they respond, the issue at stake is a broader one.
Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain – unnecessarily – and that is not right.
