September 11, 2001, one of the most infamous and controversial dates in the history of the United States will be engraved in the minds of millions forever and is once more a resurfacing issue. On this horrendous date in time, Islamic terrorists hijacked a pair of commercial airplanes and flew them into the Twin Towers, murdering thousands and causing millions in damage. Nearly a decade later, an Islamic religious group named the Cordoba Initiative is stirring up more trouble and is planning to construct a mosque within only blocks away from ground zero itself. This is an extremely offensive and distasteful decision and should not be allowed for three main reasons: it is a direct attempt to aggravate the American public, compromise can be the solution and a way to elude future violent situations, and just because these individuals have the right, that doesn’t mean that they should feel compelled to go on with construction.
Building an Islamic mosque so close to ground zero is a direct, intentional provocation pointed towards the American public, who think that an Islamic place of worship should not be so near the site where the Twin Towers once stood before the 9/11 attack. The public believes this because the terrorists that claimed the lives of thousands were of Islamic faith, and having a mosque on this sacred site would be considered an insult upon the American people. This facility will be located literally only two blocks away. This is a completely unnecessary move that will slow the healing process of the wounds of the American public; there is no point in creating more hate and tension than necessary. Building a mosque on ground zero can be compared to constructing a Japanese place of worship on the island...
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...can be avoided through a compromise in which both sides are completely satisfied, and just because the mosque has the right to be built, it doesn’t mean that it should. The construction of a mosque so near to ground zero would outrage many Americans and cause outright turmoil; therefore, it is a completely unnecessary decision. Instead, the mosque should be constructed at a greater distance than two blocks from ground zero.
Works Cited
Esman, Abigal. “The Case Against the Ground Zero Mosque.” Forbes.com. Forbes.com LLC. 7 July 2010. Web. 3 March 2011.
“9/11 By the Numbers.” NYmag.com. New York Media LLC, 2011. Web. 27. Feb. 2011.
Vitello, Paul. “Islamic Center Exposes Mixed Feeling Locally.” The New York Times. 19 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
Weil, Dan. “Giuliani Argues Against Ground Zero Mosque.” Newsmax. Newsmax, 19 Aug. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
When a giant explosion ripped through Alfred P. Murrah federal building April 19,1995, killing 168 and wounding hundreds, the United States of America jumped to a conclusion we would all learn to regret. The initial response to the devastation was all focused of middle-eastern terrorists. “The West is under attack,”(Posner 89), reported the USA Today. Every news and television station had the latest expert on the middle east telling the nation that we were victims of jihad, holy war. It only took a few quick days to realize that we were wrong and the problem, the terrorist, was strictly domestic. But it was too late. The damage had been done. Because America jumped to conclusions then, America was later blind to see the impending attack of 9/11. The responsibility, however, is not to be placed on the America people. The public couldn’t stand to hear any talk of terrorism, so in turn the White House irresponsibly took a similar attitude. They concentrated on high public opinion and issues that were relevant to Americans everyday. The government didn’t want to deal with another public blunder like the one in Oklahoma City. A former FBI analyst recalls, “when I went to headquarters (Washington, D.C.) later that year no one was interested in hearing anything about Arab money connections unless it had something to do with funding domestic groups. We stumbled so badly on pinpointing the Middle East right off the bat on the Murrah bombing. No one wanted to get caught like that again,”(Posner 90). The result saw changes in the counter terrorism efforts; under funding, under manning, poor cooperation between agencies, half-hearted and incompetent agency official appointees and the list goes on. All of these decisions, made at the hands of the faint-hearted, opened the doors wide open, and practically begged for a terrorist attack. So who’s fault is it? The public’s for being
Hijacked planes were purposely flown into the twin towers in New York and killed about 3,000 innocent people. This was one of the most disastrous incident to ever occur during the era. After the release of who caused the attack, lots of people from the Islamic culture were the center of attention right after the event. They were falsely accused of being called terrorists without little to any evidence. It was mainly because of their appearance and beliefs. It was more like racism and stereotypes towards them. Society has painted them to be these terrorists because they were feared and immediately got the wrong idea when they approach them. The day the terrorist attack happened, it sparked a new beginning for their culture. They not only felt scared when they were around them, but they felt like they were going to become a part of a violent attack that they’re going to cause without them acknowledging it. It can be disrespectful and rude to assume they’re terrorist but they didn’t care. It was “[society] [who] feared what [they] don't understand. In a frenzied state of irrational behavior [they] will point fingers and name names and accuse the innocent because [they] are afraid” (Garcia). Society was terrified for their lives. They made them feel unwelcomed and unwanted. The fear exponentially rose and became a problem when they wanted to fly to a destination. Lots of “Americans became paranoid
September 11, 2001 was one of the most devastating and horrific events in the United States history. Americans feeling of a secure nation had been broken. Over 3,000 people and more than 400 police officers and firefighters were killed during the attacks on The World Trade Center and the Pentagon; in New York City and Washington, D.C. Today the term terrorism is known as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives (Birzer, Roberson). This term was clearly not defined for the United States for we had partial knowledge and experience with terrorist attacks; until the day September 11, 2001. At that time, President George W. Bush, stated over a televised address from the Oval Office, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” President Bush stood by this statement for the United States was about to retaliate and change the face of the criminal justice system for terrorism.
For a second, the U.S. stood still. Looking up at the towers, one can only imagine the calm before the storm in the moment when thousands of pounds of steel went hurdling into its once smooth, glassy frame. People ran around screaming and rubble fell as the massive metal structure folded in on itself like an accordion. Wounded and limping from the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, America carried on, not without anger and fear against a group of innocent Americans, Muslim Americans. Nietzsche’s error of imaginary cause is present in the treatment of Muslim Americans since 9/11 through prejudice in the media, disregard of Muslim civil liberties, racial profiling, violence, disrespect, and the lack of truthful public information about Islam. In this case, the imaginary cause against Muslims is terrorism. The wound has healed in the heart of the U.S. but the aching throb of terrorism continues to distress citizens every day.
After 9/11 many people thought, people that come from Middle-Eastern decent or people that practice the Islamic region were looking to harm America. It changed these people’s lives and their futures. When someone is looking to get a job, housing or even education, first impressions are crucial. Since people look at them differently they can be denied all of these necessities. If someone is not granted these necessities, it is not fair but more importantly it can be hard to make an adequacy living. In
This decision proved to be divisive to the American public because it degenerated quickly into a national debate and a political issue. The perpetuation of lies, half-truths and truths by the opponents and the proponents of the construction of the Islamic center characterized the debate about the issue raising the tensions between the opponents and the proponents of the construction of the Islamic center. The approval of the construction of the mosque was a setback to the opponents of its construction because they equated it to the insolence of the memories of the people killed in the September eleventh attacks (McFarland).
According to the Quran and supporting Islamic texts, jihad means striving. However, there are several words and phrases, that when coupled with jihad, display a variety of sentiments. The phrase fi sabil Allah, "in God's path," can be interpreted as fighting for the sake of God. When paired with the word ribat, jihad is related to warfare or pious doings/activism (Bonner 2006). Jihad represents a fight that has provided Muslims with a solid base of military efficiency demonstrated historically in early Islam.
When it comes to the modern relationship that Islam shares with both Christianity and Judaism, it is not difficult to recognize mutual hostility. Islamic extremism has been gradually dominating the Western perception of Muslims—in the midst of this, the World Trade Center attacks could only exacerbate the situation. On that account, it was no surprise when these hostile attitudes were unmistakably revealed during the “Cordoba House” mosque controversy at which point in 2010, it was proposed that a mosque dubbed the Cordoba House be established near ground zero. Sure enough, the proposition was met with overwhelming opposition and rebuke (Barbaro). Most of the country objected to the mosque while many of those with more personal experiences regarding 9/11 felt deeply offended and unsettled. What is more, the event garnered picket signs, protests, and contempt from local civilians (Goodstein). Among the mosque’s prominent opponents was former house speaker Newt Gingrich. Speaking out against the proposal, he claims that the push for the Cordoba House mosque “is a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites” (Gingrich). Gingrich goes on to say that calling the mosque the “Cordoba House” is a deliberate insult in that “it refers to Cordoba, Spain – the capital of Muslim conquerors who symbolized their victory over the Christian Spaniards by transforming a church there into the world’s third-largest mosque complex,” and “every Islamist in the world recognizes Cordoba as a symbol of Islamic conquest. It is a sign of their contempt for Americans.” However, an investigation into Cordoba’s state of affairs during Muslim rule might lead one to believe that the existing hostility between these cultures has not ...
...7, the Pentagon, and Shanksville. Things outcome of events cannot be changed now, but the American people can be informed as to what the government is capable of doing to its own people. Amid the attacks, political corruptions, and many other government scandals, Americans have stayed loyal to their nation. Although there is nothing positive to be said about what happened on that dark day in 2001, the best thing that can be taken out is that perhaps the United States nation was brought closer together in a time of need. For a while after the attacks, people didn’t look at each other as black or white, young or old, and rich or poor, they were all Americans. Despite the side taken towards the argument, it is just sad to see thousands of innocent people lose their lives in the attacks, and numerous soldiers had to go fight for a nation’s selfish political agenda.
The tragedy of 9/11 affected Americans with an everlasting effect. It open American people’s eyes to the world of terrorism causing an array of emotional, behavioral and ethical changes. Understanding the history of terrorism will help us determine the why behind such acts. Is Terrorism political? Is it a religious cause? Is it to cause confusion amongst a nation so that they don’t trust their government and seek out something or someone else for it? As (Nigdy, & Ritchie, 2018) have identified, terrorism has its roots from first century AD. A terrorist Jewish organization broken down into two groups, the Sicarii and the Zealots. The Sicarii who targeted other Jews that were collaborating with the Roman government and the Zealots who targeted
On September 11, 2001, the most disastrous terrorist attack in U.S. history left a countless number of innocent Americans both dead and missing. The Taliban’s assault on the Pentagon and annihilation of New York’s World Trade Center caused the entire country to wonder what was going on in the rest of the world to cause so much animosity toward our great nation. Little did many American citizens know that this shocking catastrophe was the result of years of unrest and chaos in the Middle East. The tragic events of September 11th occurred as a result of the recent, political history of Afghanistan, the development of the radical Islamic group, the Taliban, and the monetary and military support that the Taliban has received.
Many non-muslims after 9/11 have judged and criticized Muslims for their ethnic, religion, and the Islamic terrorist groups in America. (4) Surprisingly, most Muslim Americans in our population are completely against Isis. Together as a country, we must create more unity and peace within Muslim communities in the United States. Building Mosques for Muslims is a great way to bring communities together! A Mosque is a Muslim place of worship like a church. (1) The first Mosque structure built in America, was in North Dakota, 1929.”The number of Mosques built in the United States has risen up to seventy-four percent since 2000 and there are over two-thousand Mosques built today. (1) “Mosques help Muslims integrate in U.S. society, and in fact have a very productive role in bridging the differences between Muslims and non-Muslims in the United States.” Mosques encourage social and political speech. (5) “Many American Muslim leaders and non-Muslim organizations have spoke out against terrorism and extremist violence.” Working together to prevent terrorism plays an important factor in uniting Muslims and non-Muslims. American will continue to help increase unity with Muslims and non-Muslims across our
On March thirteenth I attended open mosque day at the Naperville mosque. When it comes to mosques and the Muslim religion many people are skeptical to learn more. They just assume all the common rumors and stereotypes that everyone expresses are true. Unfortunately, I’d have to admit that this was my thinking before open mosque day. I’m embarrassed to say that I too was skeptical to attend this event.
Driving along the highway, all eyes are drawn as a magnet to the unique building with its golden dome and unusual architecture. The Islamic Center is located at the base of a residential street in a small neighborhood. The center houses an Islamic school, a community center, an international school and the Mosque, which is the place of worship for Muslims.
The amount of corruption within the United States’ violent involvement in the Middle East is almost unreal. Unfortunately, the wars have been too real—half a million deaths in the first year of Iraqi Freedom alone (Rogers). These wars have been labeled--the violence, filtered-- to fit a specific agenda. Whether the deaths are deemed an acceptable loss in the name of national security, or as a devastating injustice, the reality doesn’t change. Lives have been lost. Lives that will never be brought back. The intention of wars is in part due to attacks on the twins towers on September 11th 2001. When the buildings fell, almost three thousand people died, according