18 August 2010 By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid US President Barack Obama adopted a difficult
position when he supported the building of a mosque
near ground zero, where 3,000 US citizens died at the
hands of Al-Qaeda terrorists on 11 September 2001. Despite the fact that the president adopted the
correct stance in principle, i.e. the principle of
freedom of worship, in my opinion he adopted an
unnecessary and unimportant stance, even as far as
Muslims are concerned. The mosque is not an issue for
Muslims, and they are not bothered by its
construction. This reminds us of another principled stance Obama
took when he insisted on putting the Guantanamo
prisoners accused of belonging to Al-Qaeda on trial
before civilian courts, and on closing down the
military prison. It is true that this stance deserves
appreciation. However, the fact is that he fought a
battle that does not concern Muslims across the world,
because there are tens of thousands of Muslims -
similar to those accused of extremism - who are
imprisoned in worse conditions in Muslim countries.
Muslims do not aspire for a mosque next to the 11
September cemetery, and are not bothered with Bin
Ladin's cook being put on trial in a civilian court.
Muslims have issues that encroach upon the destinies
of nations; these issues are the cause of isolation
and calamity, such as the establishment of the State
of Palestine. For Obama to focus his energy and
efforts, and fight for the establishment of peace in
the Middle East is more important and more valuable
than a mosque in New York. The fact is that building a mosque next to the site
of the World Trade Center Twin Towers, which were
destroyed during the 11 September attacks, is a
strange story. This is because the mosque is not an
issue for Muslims, and they have not heard of it until
the shouting became loud between the supporters and
the objectors, which is mostly an argument between
non-Muslim US citizens! Neither did the Muslims ask for a single building,
nor do the angry Muslims want the mosque. This is one
of the few times when the two opposing sides are in
agreement. Nevertheless, the dispute has escalated,
and has reached the front pages of the press and the
major television programs, demonstrations have been
staged in the streets, and large posters have been
hung on buses roaming the streets of New York calling
for preventing the building of the mosque and
reminding the people of the 11 September crime. It
really is a strange battle! I cannot imagine that Muslims want a mosque on this
particular site, because it will be turned into an
arena for promoters of hatred, and a symbol of those
who committed the crime. At the same time, there are
no practicing Muslims in the district who need a place
of worship, because it is indeed a commercial
district. Is there a side that is committed to this
mosque? The fact is that in the news reports there are
names linked to this project that costs 100 million
dollars! The sides enthusiastic for building the mosque
might be building companies, architect houses, or
politicized groups that want suitable investments?! I
do not know whether the building applicant wants a
mosque whose aim is reconciliation, or he is an
investor who wants quick profits. This is because the
idea of the mosque specifically next to the
destruction is not at all a clever deed. The last
thing Muslims want today is to build just a religious
center out of defiance to the others, or a symbolic
mosque that people visit as a museum next to a
cemetery. What the US citizens do not understand is that the
battle against the 11 September terrorists is a Muslim
battle, and not theirs, and this battle still is
ablaze in more than 20 Muslim countries. Some Muslims
will consider that building a mosque on this site
immortalizes and commemorates what was done by the
terrorists who committed their crime in the name of
Islam. I do not think that the majority of Muslims
want to build a symbol or a worship place that
tomorrow might become a place about which the
terrorists and their Muslim followers boast, and which
will become a shrine for Islam haters whose aim is to
turn the public opinion against Islam. This is what
has started to happen now; they claim that there is a
mosque being built over the corpses of 3,000 killed US
citizens, who were buried alive by people chanting God
is great, which is the same call that will be heard
from the mosque. It is the wrong battle, because originally there
was no mosque in order to rebuild it, and there are no
practicing Muslims who want a place in which to
worship. Al Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya television. He is also the
former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in the daily newspapers of
Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is a US post-graduate degree in mass communications.
He has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs. He is currently based
in Dubai. Comments 💬 التعليقات |