When thinking about writing this, I debated on waiting another year. To wait until the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 but I decided against it for a number of reasons. This particular anniversary holds a lot of tensions, political and religious. This anniversary is clouded in religious zealots and fear. We have people butting heads over a mosque near "ground zero", and a misguided backwoods pastor wanting to burn the Quran on this day as way to make an invalid religious point.
What I want to point out about these particular events is A: lack of proper knowledge and B: it's rubbing salt in the still very fresh wounds. We’re angry, we want justice still because it's still so soon after the event. It’s something burned into our memories.
First to the mosque, unfortunately, the mass world media has it all wrong. It’s not going to be a "mosque"; it's a Muslim community education center with a prayer room. The location of the community center isn't AT ground zero, it's 4 city blocks away. (And everyone knows a city block in Manhattan isn't something to shake a stick at) and they're not doing it to disrespect or anger anyone. It is a piece of property that hadn't been used or even bought since the attacks on 9/11 and wasn't even damaged in the attack because it’s so far away. It was abandoned property at a cheap price, guess who the previous business owners were? Burlington Coat Factory. I know I know, shock and awe.
Now, we have people saying it's disrespectful, it's a slap in the face, and it’s this it's that yadda yadda yadda. You want to know the truth, here ya go. The 9/11 attacks were committed by religious zealots who were misguided and angry. (Which by the way has happened over and over throughout history) they picked a target, and the followed thru because we are an arrogant country, and assumed something like this would never happen. It wasn't political, it was the misguided angry insanity of a very sick person who brainwashed his followers into thinking dying for his cause would send them to heaven. The loss of life was unbelievable, the images even more so. What they did was a horrible, sickening event in our recent history. They hated us for our freedoms, our ability to accept anyone and everyone into our country to live the American dream. Those of us who are 3rd and 4th generations have ancestors who came here with that same dream. We have freedom of speech; we give ourselves and others a choice. To the radical extremist Muslims, that's a sin. There’s only one way to live, and it's their way. But...not all Muslims believe that. Just like Christians, Catholics, Lutherans, Mormons, any real major religious denomination, they have faith in their higher power which DOES NOT condone murder, DOES NOT condone the harming others, but it DOES condone love, peace and generosity. But because of a few bad apples, we're going to condemn the entire religious denomination? No...That’s wrong, plain and simply wrong. What better way for the Muslims who actually follow their religion properly to stand up against adversity and build a community center a couple miles away? It’s their way of saying "we are not like them!" I admire that bravery, and I would admire it just the same if a group of Mormon missionaries went to Iraq and opened a prayer temple.
All religious denominations have terrible events in their history. The war over Jerusalem is a prime example of that. Muslims, Christians, and Israelites have all committed heinous crimes against one another, all in the name of their god(s). No single religion is exempt from such horrible atrocities against humanity. If you're going to judge one and the race of people who follow it, you might as well stop being a hypocrite and judge them all. Although I was personally raised Roman Catholic, and I am of Arab, Irish and Italian heritage, I have no religious denomination. I am an Atheist thru and thru. I feel organized religion is the core of all that is evil in this world because of all the death, famine, destruction that has taken place throughout history in the name of "God" or "Allah" or whatever under the guise of wanting territory when it’s all power hungry greedy hate mongers at the core. 9/11, and this nut bag in Florida are perfect examples of why I feel religion is just an excuse for people to justify terrible behavior. How does this guy have the right, the power to decide that Allah and Muslims are evil, and the path to the devil? Where, in what book does it say this, and who said so? By him doing what he plans on doing, not only is he reminding those who lost loved ones on 9/11 of the terrible events that took place on that day, but he’s instigating more hatred and anger towards us by those extremists who WILL want revenge, and it’s a blatant insult to the entire religion. It is the VERY reason we were attacked. He’s categorizing all Muslims, not just those responsible for what they’ve done. Can you imagine the backlash if the entire Arab Muslim community banded together and said “Let’s have a Bible burning day!” I shudder to think of the repercussions of that. But we’re allowed to do it to them. The injustice makes me sick to my stomach. And let’s not forget the quotes of… “God told me to do it” or “Allah told me to do it” the misinterpretations of religious scripture because people just can’t take words at face value so they come to their own conclusions. The original writings of said scriptures are far from what the writings say today because man has this uncanny ability to make things say what they want it to say out of convenience or what sounds good at the time. “Thou shall not kill…most of the time”. And since we have the option to be absolved of sin, why not sin and sin again since we can repent at the end of the day? That’s the wide open hypocrisy that religion teaches. The positive lessons it teaches is, love yourself, love thy neighbor, we are all created equal, do not harm others, be there for one another, be peaceful. Those are the lessons that the human race is over looking and no longer practice. We’re an angry species, driven by personal opinion and misguided emotion. We need to stop. Something’s got to give people. The old saying “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” needs to be beat into everyone’s head. If we retaliate, we are no better than the crazy people who do these things. We are no better than Osama Bin Laden. We are no better than that Quran burning, closed minded, backwoods hick in Florida. We are no better than Fred Phelps who’s followers burn the American flag and protest the funerals of our service members who die in the war.
On a day like today, no matter your religious background is, no matter what your opinions are, stop the hate, the killing, the injustice. We have the power to do this, we can take all the negative energy we waste on things we can’t change and turn it into positive energy towards things we can change. Give those people who died 9 years ago some peace and respect.
Imagine there's no Heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one
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