As September 11th Approaches, 9/11 Mosque Site Stays Quiet.

by Esmé Ellis

Today is September fifth. The nine year anniversary of 9/11 is less than a week away, and yet the intended site of Park 51, the “9/11 mosque”, is quiet, almost abandoned. The building of the memorial is well underway at Ground Zero- the sunlit space is packed with construction cranes and surrounded by fencing. Park 51, by contrast, seems almost dormant. Located a full two blocks away from Ground Zero, Park 51 is halfway down a quiet shady side street, located next to a bar and a coffee shop. The former Burlington Coat Factory is in serious disrepair- paint is peeling from the outside, the windows have been sealed up, and an iron gate that protects the main entrance seems permanently rusted in place.

Tourists amble by the site, and are greeted by a few protesters, who speak to them and answer questions about the intentions of the mosque. Is it run by members of a radical sect? No. Have religious services already been conducted here? Yes. Is it also going to be a community center? Yes. The passersby are all tourists- there are no crowds of indignant New Yorkers camped in front of the building. Rather there are two or three dedicated supporters in favor of the mosque with T-shirts and far too many protesting signs than is perhaps appropriate for such a small force. There is a general sense of incredulity among passersby that this tucked away ruin is the glaring slap in the face the media has portrayed it as for the last couple of months.

As to the other side of the argument, there is only really speculation at the site as to motive for protesting the construction of the center. “ A lot of people act like it’s a revenge thing,” mused Kathy Stelford, a native of the Chicago land area. She looked up at the cracked and run-down remains of the Burlington Coat Factory. “ Maybe that’s a New York sentiment. I don’t really know for sure- but do you think the firemen asked, ’ What religion are you’ before they pulled someone out of the collapsed buildings? I keep asking myself what the reaction would have been if this had happened in Chicago. ”

Where are the New Yorkers? The area in front of the intended mosque is virtually abandoned. The New Yorkers have not taken to the streets on this issue, as many tourists walking by expected, given the extensive coverage it has been given in the media recently. Arguably, New Yorkers are the most affected by the issue- it was their city which bore the weight of the attacks, and their city which resonated the most heavily with the losses of September 11th." New Yorkers are relatively divided over the issue of the constitutionality of building a mosque in proximity to Ground Zero but as noted in the recent Quinnipiac University poll “ 71 - 21 percent majority, New York voters agree "that because of the opposition of Ground Zero relatives, the Muslim group should voluntarily build the mosque somewhere else. (http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1318.xml?ReleaseID=1493). The planned mosque is not considered unconstitutional, but strikes some New Yorkers as insensitive.

People standing in front of the planned “Park51”site praised perhaps the ‘ultimate’ New Yorker, Mayor Bloomberg, for his recent speech in support of the new Islam Community Center near Ground Zero. Mayor Bloomberg offered a few words on the subject at Governors Island on August 3rd, calling the planned mosque an" important test of the separation of church and state”. Bloomberg challenged the opposition, citing the fundemental freedoms of the Constitution as defense. “Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center,” he said, “lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question – should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here. This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions, or favor one over another.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyq0Ulsa2UM)

Lynn Mayo, a native of California, spoke solemnly in front of the “Hero’s Cross” a giant installation made from the intersecting iron support beams of one of the towers. “It’s freedom of religion,” she said, echoing Mayor Bloomberg. “ At the end of the day, constitutionally, they have every right to build their mosque, whether it’s two blocks away or twenty-five.” She looked over at Ground Zero, lit up with the afternoon sun, a gleaming space surrounded by towering skyscrapers.” I guess that’s all I have to say.”