Prior to the destruction of the twin towers on 9/11, there
were two mosques located close to the site that would eventually be named the
World Trade Center. The New York Times profiled two mosques
that have been in existence for years not far from ground zero. Masjid
Manhattan, founded in 1970, is four blocks away from the World Trade Center
site, on Warren Street, and Masjid al-Farah, which used to be on Mercer Street,
is 12 blocks away on West Broadway. Prayer services have actually been held at
the 45 Park Place location since the latter part of 2009. According to the Park51 website, one of the main reasons for including
a mosque in the new center is that the previously existing ones aren’t large
enough. These mosques, of course, were in addition to the prayer rooms that
were in each of the towers when they were completed in 1970.
Park51 (originally named Cordoba House) is a development that
was originally envisioned as a 13-story Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan. The developers hoped to
promote an interfaith dialogue
within the greater community. Due to its proposed location two blocks from the World Trade Center
site, it was widely and controversially referred to as the "Ground
Zero mosque" .
That title,
obvious, attracted a lot of negative publicity, which you can read about at the
link below:
The project would replace an existing 1850s building of Italianate style
that was damaged in the September 11 attacks.
The original design was by Michel Abboud,
principal of SOMA Architects, who wrestled for months with the challenge of
making the building fit naturally into its lower Manhattan surroundings: on the
one hand, it should have a contemporary design, and, at the same time, it
should look Islamic. His design included a 500-seat auditorium, theater, performing arts
center, fitness center,
swimming pool, basketball court, childcare area, bookstore, culinary school, art studio, food court, and
memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks. It also included a prayer space
for the Muslim community, which would accommodate 1,000–2,000 people.
In late September 2011, a temporary 4,000-square-foot
(370 m2) Islamic center opened in renovated space at the Park51
location. In summer 2014, it was announced that there would instead be a
3-story museum with a prayer space, as well as condos, at 49-51 Park Place. The
plans were changed again in September 2015, when the owner announced a 667-foot
(203 m), 70-story luxury condominium building at the site. In May 2016,
financing was secured for a 43-story condominium building with room for an
Islamic cultural museum.
One of the primary opponents to the Park 51 development was a
woman named Pam Geller, who felt victorious when plans for the original site
were changed. Her column, on the less than reputable site called Breitbart, is
shown below:
Pamela Geller (born 1957/1958) is an American
political activist and commentator. She is known for her anti-Islamic writings,
opposition to the proposed construction of an Islamic
community center near the former site of the World Trade Center, and sponsorship of the
"Draw the Prophet" cartoon contest
in Garland, Texas.
She describes her blogging and campaigns in the United States are against what
she terms "creeping Sharia" in the country. The Southern Poverty Law Center have
described Geller as "Islamophobic".
Pamela Geller has
been targeted by Islamic fundamentalists, including most notably a plot
inspired by an ISIS supporter as retaliation for her "Draw the
Prophet" cartoon contest. She is currently the president of the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI)
which she co-founded with Robert Spencer. The American Freedom
Defense Initiative (also known as Stop Islamization of America) has been
designated an anti-Muslim hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The British
government barred Geller's entry into the UK in 2013 saying her presence would
"not be conducive to the public good."[
She and Spencer co-authored the book The Post-American Presidency: The Obama
Administration's War on America in 2010. Multiple media outlets have called her "far
right", while others, such as the BBC, contrast her
right-wing support for small government with her culturally liberal positions on abortion and
same sex marriage.
Not surprisingly, Donald Trump also tried to take credit
for the change of plans at the Islamic Center at Park 51. An article titled, “How Donald Trump Stopped the Building of a
Mosque at Ground Zero” turned up on a website titled “stumpinfortrump.com”.
When I tried to open it up, tough, the computer I was on said that it was
blocked due to the strong possibility that it contained a virus. Again, I am
not surprised.
One of the prayer
rooms in the World Trade Center was in a stairwell just outside the restaurant
known as Windows On The World. To my knowledge, there is no restaurant planned
for the new Liberty Center, but there are PLENTY of dining options close by. For
a trip down memory lane, though, here’s a magical view from a place that no
longer exists:
Although Pam Geller will likely be pleased that there will be
no mosque at Ground Zero, the rest of us can rejoice in the fact that the
Muslim community is finally becoming an accepted group in American society.
Allah be praised.
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