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A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
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.
View in Photo Gallery
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.
View in Photo Gallery
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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