Almost ten years after the September 11, 2001 tragic collapse of the World Trade Center towers at the hands of Al Qaeda, an Islamic extremist terrorist network, the passionate emotions surrounding what the attack and the lives lost that day mean for America once again have been yanked to the forced to the forefront of the political battle.
This new source of controversy revolves around plans to build a thirteen story Islamic Cultural Center, Park51, two blocks away from Ground Zero at 45 Park Place. Islamic Cultural Center, frequently refereed to as a Mosque, will contain an auditorium, swimming pool, 9/11 memorial, and mosque.
Initially, the building of the Cultural Center existed only in local scope, a dispute upon whether the building currently standing, built in the 1800's, deserves landmark status.
Stop the Islamicization of America, an organization claiming to be a human rights group with branches in Europe and a track record of protesting mosques across the country, caught wind of the story.
Newspapers and news networks across the country jumped on the issue, capitalizing on the fiery emotions still surrounding September 11. Quickly, the Islamic Cultural Center two blocks away from Ground Zero, from which the site cannot be seen, became the 'Mosque at Ground Zero', springing onto the national stage.
American news sources across the board latched onto the story, following the progression of obstacles and public opinion. Even international publications picked up the battle cry of protesters or supporters.
With emotions still running high, media sources continue to track the story, digging up connected threads to follow. The sources of funding for the planned Islamic Cultural Center recently have recently been subjected to strict scrutiny.
Opponents of the project frequently link Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the most visible planner of the Islamic Community Center, to terrorism, citing for instance, his contributions to the Malaysian organization responsible for the flotilla's that tried to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza.
Fox News also reported that Hisham Elzanaty, an Egyptian business man funding part of Park51, donated $6000 to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) in the late 1990's. Two years later HLF was shut down on suspicions of terrorist supporting activity.
Curiously enough, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the second largest shareholder or News Corp's, the parent company of Fox News, has also contributed more than $300,000 to the project.
So, once again, and just in time for the November elections, the country stands divided. Martha Rinehart, a stay-at-home mother said of the issue, "I guess my sense is that it's a tempest and a tea pot. Our country is still so polarized around Ground Zero that they can't step back and look at the issue".
The dispute over the Islamic Cultural Center amassed such a swell of coverage that politicians up the ladder have been forced to give public opinions, especially as mid-term polls released show the majority of Americans opposed to the project. Estate attorney Chaz Wampold commented, "If this had come in December nobody would have said a word about it after the election."
Among politicians, the issue has largely been divided into two parts, legal and a claim of a personal sense of respect that echoes with the sentiments of those still reeling from 9/11. Many of these politicians, particularly those up for reelection, take a stance similar to Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid that, "the First Amendment protects freedom of religion," yet, "this Mosque should be built someplace else" (qtd. RTT News).
Politicians in opposition the Islamic Cultural Center in the proximity of Ground Zero ride hard on the sentiments of September 11, 2001. Former Alaskan Governor and 2008 VP candidate Sarah Palin passionately spoke against Park51, "to build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks" (qtd. RTT News).
The building today of Park51 proves impossible to separate from the feelings of nine years ago, even for supporters. In a forceful defense of the planned Cultural Center, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg insisted, "We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights and the freedoms the terrorists attacked (qtd. New York Times)".
Whether or not Park51 materializes as planned, the story has gained such scope that the nation once again is polarized in the wake of 9/11, approaching the November elections.
-Maeve Dwyer
American news sources across the board latched onto the story, following the progression of obstacles and public opinion. Even international publications picked up the battle cry of protesters or supporters.
With emotions still running high, media sources continue to track the story, digging up connected threads to follow. The sources of funding for the planned Islamic Cultural Center recently have recently been subjected to strict scrutiny.
Opponents of the project frequently link Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the most visible planner of the Islamic Community Center, to terrorism, citing for instance, his contributions to the Malaysian organization responsible for the flotilla's that tried to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza.
Fox News also reported that Hisham Elzanaty, an Egyptian business man funding part of Park51, donated $6000 to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) in the late 1990's. Two years later HLF was shut down on suspicions of terrorist supporting activity.
Curiously enough, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, the second largest shareholder or News Corp's, the parent company of Fox News, has also contributed more than $300,000 to the project.
So, once again, and just in time for the November elections, the country stands divided. Martha Rinehart, a stay-at-home mother said of the issue, "I guess my sense is that it's a tempest and a tea pot. Our country is still so polarized around Ground Zero that they can't step back and look at the issue".
The dispute over the Islamic Cultural Center amassed such a swell of coverage that politicians up the ladder have been forced to give public opinions, especially as mid-term polls released show the majority of Americans opposed to the project. Estate attorney Chaz Wampold commented, "If this had come in December nobody would have said a word about it after the election."
Among politicians, the issue has largely been divided into two parts, legal and a claim of a personal sense of respect that echoes with the sentiments of those still reeling from 9/11. Many of these politicians, particularly those up for reelection, take a stance similar to Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid that, "the First Amendment protects freedom of religion," yet, "this Mosque should be built someplace else" (qtd. RTT News).
Politicians in opposition the Islamic Cultural Center in the proximity of Ground Zero ride hard on the sentiments of September 11, 2001. Former Alaskan Governor and 2008 VP candidate Sarah Palin passionately spoke against Park51, "to build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks" (qtd. RTT News).
The building today of Park51 proves impossible to separate from the feelings of nine years ago, even for supporters. In a forceful defense of the planned Cultural Center, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg insisted, "We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights and the freedoms the terrorists attacked (qtd. New York Times)".
Whether or not Park51 materializes as planned, the story has gained such scope that the nation once again is polarized in the wake of 9/11, approaching the November elections.
-Maeve Dwyer
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