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New York bishop supports Islamic center

 
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7:00 A.M. EST Sept. 2, 2010 | NEW YORK (UMNS)

Bishop Jeremiah Park (center) is shown at a rally in support of immigration in this 2006 file photo. UMNS photos by John C. Goodwin.
Bishop Jeremiah Park (center) is shown at a rally in support of immigration in this 2006 file photo. UMNS photos by John C. Goodwin.
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The United Methodist bishop for metropolitan New York has announced his support for the building of an Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero.

To deny such religious freedom, Bishop Jeremiah Park said Sept. 1, “makes us less as Americans and weaker as a nation.”

Organizers of the proposed Islamic cultural center in Lower Manhattan, which won the unanimous approval of New York City zoning authorities, say their goal is to promote tolerance and community cohesion. Some opponents consider the close location to the former World Trade Center site to be insensitive to those who lost loved ones there.

In a letter to members of the denomination’s New York Annual (regional) Conference, Park acknowledged the “sincere desire” of some who want to preserve the sanctity of ground zero and seek justice in regard to those responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

Other voices fear that Muslim extremists “could claim the building as their trophy,” he noted. But he said arguments could be made that an Islamic center near ground zero could have the opposite effect.

“Denying the fundamental right of a religious community, as long as it fulfills the same legal requirements applied to all other religious communities, by singling it out for the wrong reasons, compromises the integrity of who we are at our core,” Park declared. “If allowed, a serious crack opens in the foundation of our nation.”

Park said he supported the community center project “based upon what is known at this time,” but also paid tribute to those who died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

“However, to truly honor them, to truly preserve the historic significance of Ground Zero, and to truly triumph over the evil force of 9/11, it is necessary to stand firm on what America believes in and be willing to pay whatever the price to protect and preserve freedom and equality for all,” the bishop wrote.

Other church leaders respond

A cross made out of steel beams from the wreckage of the World Trade Center Towers sits at ground zero in New York City.
A cross made out of steel beams
from the wreckage of the World
Trade Center Towers sits at
ground zero in New York City.
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Other local church leaders have also weighed in on the controversy. The Rev. Stephen Bauman, senior minister of Christ United Methodist Church in Manhattan, has worked with Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, the religious leader who is spearheading the project and believes the church should support it.

New York Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan first seemed to support moving the Islamic community center, but modified that position after an Aug. 24 meeting with New York Gov. David Paterson, calling for dialogue, the New York Daily News reported.

In an Aug. 30 commentary, Bishop Robert Alan Rimbo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Metropolitan New York Synod did not take a position on where the mosque should be located. But Rimbo said the situation provided an opportunity for Christians to learn more about Islam.

“Islam is complex, just as Christianity is complex,” he wrote. “I would not want the world to judge all of Christianity on the basis of a few violent extremists; so, too, we should not condemn all of Islam because of a strand of that tradition.”

In a July 28 statement, the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization, said the controversy “is counterproductive to the healing process” related to the 9/11 attacks and recommended the mosque be located elsewhere.

Abdul Cader Asmal, past president of the Islamic Council of New England, told the Associated Press he thought many Americans have genuine questions about Islam and extremism and suggested the ground zero project organizers dramatically scale back the project to a simple mosque.

Park said he prayed for a time when people of all faiths would embrace liberty, peace and justice in reconciliation.

“I ask you to continue to pray that our conversation will be a positive force that reflects who we are as responsible citizens, as well as faithful Christians,” he told church members.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service multimedia reporter based in New York. Follow her at http://twitter.com/umcscribe.

News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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