Kinnamon supports building of a mosque at Ground Zero

>Cordova House and Mosque at Ground Zero
>is a gesture of neighborliness and healing

Editor's Note. Dr. Kinnamon's statement on Cordova House and Mosque at New  
York's Ground Zero is available to you for use and distribution as you see  fit.

>By Michael Kinnamon

For thousands of families, Ground Zero in southern Manhattan is holy ground . 
Thousands lost someone they love in the terror attacks of September 11, 2 001, 
and hundreds of thousands know someone who was directly or indirectly  scarred 
by the collapse of the World Trade Center. The emotional investment  in Ground 
Zero cannot be overestimated. 

That is precisely why Ground Zero must be open to the religious expression  of 
all people whose lives were scarred by the tragedy: Christians, Jews, Si khs, 
Buddhists, Hindus, and more. And Muslims.

No one knows how many Muslims died on 9/11, but they number in the hundreds . 
One was Salman Hamdani, a 23-year-old New York City police cadet, emergen cy 
medical technician and medical student. When Salman disappeared on Septe mber 
11, law enforcement officials who knew of his Islamic faith sought him  out 
among his family to question him about the attacks. His family lived w ith the 
onus of suspicion for six months until Salman's body was identified . He was 
found near the North Tower with his EMT bag beside him, situated w here he 
could help people in need. 

The point of this now famous story is simple. Not every Muslim at Ground Ze ro 
was a terrorist, and not every Muslim was a hero. The vast majority were  like 
thousands of others on September 11: victims of one of the most heino us events 
of our times. 

But for the family of Salman Hamdani and millions of innocent Muslims, the  
tragedy has been exacerbated by the fact that so many of the rest of us hav e 
formed our opinions about them out of prejudice and ignorance of the Musl im 
faith. 

It is that narrow-minded intolerance that has led to the outcry against the  
building of Cordova House and Mosque near Ground Zero. It is the same igno 
rance that has led many to the outrageous conclusion that all Muslims advoc ate 
hatred and violence against non-Muslims. It is the same ignorance that  has led 
to hate crimes and systematic discrimination against Muslims, and t o calls to 
burn the Qur'an. 

On the eve of Ramadan on August 11, the National Council of Churches, its I 
nterfaith Relations Commission and Christian participants in the National M 
uslim-Christian Initiative, issued a strong call for respect for our Muslim  
neighbors. 

"Christ calls us to 'love your neighbor as yourself' (Matthew 22:39)," the  
statement said. "It is this commandment, more than the simple bonds of our  
common humanity, which is the basis for our relationship with Muslims aroun d 
the world." 

The statement supported building Cordova House "as a living monument to mar k 
the tragedy of 9/11 through a community center dedicated to learning, com 
passion, and respect for all people." 

Now the National Council of Churches reaffirms that support and calls upon  
Christians and people of faith to join us in that affirmation. 

The alternative to that support is to engage in a bigotry that will scar ou r 
generation in the same way as bigotry scarred our forebears.
 
Three-hundred years ago, European settlers came to these shores with a dete 
rmination to conquer and settle at the expense of millions of indigenous pe 
oples who were regarded as sub-human savages. Today, we can't look back on  
that history without painful contrition. 

One-hundred and fifty years ago, white Americans subjugated black Africans  in 
a cruel slavery that was justified with Bible proof-texts and a belief t hat 
blacks were inferior to whites. Today, we look back on that history wit h 
agonized disbelief. 

Sixty years ago, in a time of war and great fear, tens of thousands of Japa 
nese-Americans were deprived of their property and forced into detention ca mps 
because our grandparents feared everyone of Japanese ancestry. Today th at 
decision is universally regarded as an unconscionable mistake and a blot  on 
American history. 

Today, millions of Muslims are subjected to thoughtless generalizations, op en 
discrimination and outright hostility because of the actions of a tiny m 
inority whose violent acts defy the teachings of Mohammed. 

How will we explain our ignorance and our compliance to our grandchildren?  

It's time to turn away from ignorance and embrace again the words of Christ : 
Love your neighbor as yourself. 

In that spirit, we welcome the building of Cordova House and Mosque near Gr 
ound Zero.

>Michael Kinnamon
>General Secretary
>National Council of Churches

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ  in 
the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Chri stians 
in the United States. The NCC's 36 member faith groups -- from a wid e spectrum 
of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African  American and 
Living Peace churches -- include 45 million persons in more t han 100,000 local 
congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact:  Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212 ( 
cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org