Ground Zero - Essay Example

Sami Al Otaibi English Comp June 14, Ground Zero Before I came to America I had developed a sense of belonging here. The land of the free has a reputation that not too many countries can claim. The founding fathers of this country were some of the most intelligent and righteous people to ever live. They wanted to escape the oppressive regimes in Europe and to claim their right to live in the way they believed was best. Basic rights such as freedom of speech and religion were considered farfetched to Europe at the time. Freedom of speech was not guaranteed and people could not state their honest opinion about something. There was also no freedom of religion to believe in whatever they wanted. Even Christians killed other Christians and prosecuted them for believing in a different church than the government. That is the reason why a lot of Christians found it better to live under Islamic rule in Andalusia, Turkey, or Egypt rather than live in their own medieval European country. The founding fathers recognized the problem early on and wanted to create a country where people can state their opinion peacefully, worship their God freely, and have many other privileges and freedoms. And they have succeeded. Benjamin Franklin, for example, wanted the House of Speakers to be a place for anyone, including Jews, Buddhist, Hindus, “Mohammadans” or Muslims, etc. to come and speak knowing that their freedom of speech and other rights are protected. The U.S. Constitution was very well drafted to ensure the rights of everyone in the community. However, as I have now learned in my studies, it seems that people have been trying to manipulate the constitution in various ways. When the debate about whether or not to allow for a mosque to be built on Ground Zero New York New York came about I was shocked to see what this country has come to. Separation of church and state is supposed to be one of the strengths of the government, but recently it seems that is not the case. Even more so, it seems as if the problem is even worse. There seems to be a full blown religious war going on. Even though there are many churches all around the area, the proposition of building a much needed mosque by the private sector has sparked a heated debate on a whole other level. This is something that makes no sense. Believers would attend the mosque about five times a day, in comparison, believers would report to a church once or a twice week! I have learned that the American constitution is valuable and appropriate for a country of many cultures like the United States, but some people pick and choose the parts that they like, and the parts that support their prejudices, and throw out the rest. This is just like the 14th Amendment which was there since the beginning, but was never enforced until the civil rights movement! I find the debate of the Ground Zero mosque a ridiculous one for several reasons. First, Islam is a religion of peace. Those who wreck lives and kill people have automatically eliminated themselves from being Muslims (or believers in translation). Secondly, the conspiracy of 9/11 could not have been the work of true Muslims. It was all a part of a big plan to start a religious war, to keep people in fear and in control, and to create a reason to go to take advantage of the natural resources of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East in general. Only the educated would know this. The fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world comes from the truth and honesty in the message. Going back to the Generous Quran I’ve discovered a few things that I’ve never looked at before. The 3rd chapter in the holy book is named Aal Emran. This is the name of the people of the holy Mary. And after talking to some people about this, I’ve came to realize that most don’t even know the heritage of the holy Mary. And I think that it is critical that this is one of the first few chapters, and one of the longest chapters that tell the story of the majestic prophet Jesus in detail. It states in the Quran that the meaning of that this message is to re-enforce the message of all previous prophets, yet most won’t believe because they did not really believe in their own prophets. People do not have to believe in the Islamic religion to be open to freedom of expression. Anyone should be able to believe in any religion they want. But the talk on TV about this subject is usually very heated and biased. I think many people today are disappointed that the ideas of the founding fathers have not been carried through to the present day. Even here in Denver at Auraria Campus Downtown one can find three or more churches, on campus, yet there is not a single mosque or temple for any other kind of worship. This is the case even though a mosque would have more usage a day than all three churches combined. And this is supposed to be government property? So why are church and state not separate on government land? I have been surprised to find that is such a big deal to some people. It seems that I have been quite wrong in my assumptions. A priest has been on TV saying how the person proposing this should be burnt alive and other such things. Others have used the black box and the internet to claim that we as Americans should not be lenient with these terrorists who are trying to take over New York or the US. Some people took it to the extreme that they would literally discriminate against any Muslim by causing property damage to their businesses and harassing Muslim women who are easily identified by the Islamic wardrobe. For me personally, that was quite shocking, and the last thing I would have expected in the land of the free. Read More