Prejudiced people can’t run the show

This media campaign fuelled many protests against mosques being opened in US cities. Despite this, many interfaith groups in the US — led by Catholic priests, rabbis, Protestant ministers and Muslims — defended the mosques.
 
On September 11 they declared war against us. And to celebrate that murder of 3,000 Americans, they want to build a monstrous 13-story mosque at Ground Zero.” These were the words of a TV ad in the US made by the National Republican Trust Political Action Group. The ad used footage of the 9/11 attacks and over this footage it added the sound of the Muslim call to prayer. I must point out that NBC and CBS, two of the major US TV networks, refused to air the ad.
 
In response to the heated debate about this mosque, Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the US House of Representatives, wrote, “America is experiencing an Islamist cultural-political offensive designed to undermine and destroy our civilisation”.
 
In addition, Sarah Palin, former US vice-presidential candidate, tweeted, “Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing”. Both Palin and Gingrich are probable 2012 US presidential aspirants.

So what exactly is this mosque that has caused so much controversy? It’s called “Cordoba House”, a project led by the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative. It consists of a 13-storey religious and community complex housing an arts centre, gym and swimming pool, in addition to a mosque.

The centre is about “promoting integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion through arts and culture. Cordoba House will provide a place where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds, will find a centre of learning, art and culture; and most importantly, a centre guided by Islamic values in their truest form — compassion, generosity and respect for all”.

According to Gingrich, “The proposed ‘Cordoba House’ overlooking the World Trade Centre site — where a group of jihadists killed over 3,000 Americans and destroyed one of our most famous landmarks — is a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites ... most of them don’t understand that ‘Cordoba House’ is a deliberately insulting term. It refers to Cordoba, Spain — the capital of Muslim conquerors who symbolised their victory over the Christian Spaniards by transforming a church there into the world’s third-largest mosque complex”.

Actually, Cordoba is symbolic of a setting, in the Middle Ages, where Muslims, Jews and Christians lived peacefully side by side, in an age when such a notion was unheard of.

What is amazing and ironic is the similarity of logic of extremists whatever their ideology. Politicians such as Palin and Gingrich — in their rhetoric and mindsets — are a mirror reflection of the mindsets of extremist groups that share qualities of intolerance, demagogy, feeding on people’s fears, paranoia, prejudices and the incitement of mob mentalities.
 
The propaganda espoused by these types of mindsets is dangerous because it can shape people’s behaviour. Propaganda can become policy when good people remain silent and the intolerant and prejudiced mindsets take seats of power.

I have to confess that while following this debate over the summer I did not think, at this stage in time, the Islamic centre/ mosque in New York would be given official approval based on the rhetoric in the US media. To my surprise, however, the mosque was recently approved, which is a testament to the tolerance and religious freedom that America espouses, and to its place in the world.

Be heard
Immigrant communities must go through periods of assimilation which are often marked with hardship. However, as law-abiding citizens they must not cower but rather they must persevere by standing up for their rights and remaining proud of their beliefs.

While we should be activists and advocates to bridge the gap between cultures, we should also acknowledge that there is much work to be done in Muslim societies. Reforms need to be addressed within our Muslim societies: reforms that seek progressive systems of governance, quality and accessible education and health care, vibrant economies, independent judiciaries, civil rights, sustainable environments and enlightened interpretations of Islam. We must also justly resolve political grievances to eradicate elements or “causes” that are used to turn people into extremists.

“To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards out of men” wrote 19th century poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox. To claim to be civilised moral human beings, who are active citizens in the global community, requires wisdom, foresight and insistent results-driven action. We live in an interconnected world; we cannot allow the narrow-minded or those who act based on prejudices and fear to run the show.

- Najla Al Awadhi is a member of the Federal National Council

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