Eri no Machi 恵莉の町

Cordoba House // Park51

28 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment

by CC in buildings, urban Tags: Cordoba House, Islam, Park51

Cordoba House, or now called Park51, NY.

I’ve been following this controversial story on and off for the past few weeks.

From tricycle:

“This is not the first time that a religious group has been denied a space to practice due to religious intolerance stemming from a traumatic and violent local event. Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II, Japanese living in the area were persecuted, especially members of Shinto organizations—a Japanese practice which has heavily influenced Buddhism in Japan…

…As is the case with the resistance to both the Shinto shrine and the Ground Zero mosque, a pervasive feeling of vengeance often befalls areas that have undergone violent trauma. Frequently, those who share an ethnicity or religion with the attackers become the perceived enemy—even if they have lived peacefully and harmoniously in the community for many years. The story of the Kotohira Jinsha shrine should serve as a reminder that unwarranted intolerance and oppression is hateful, thoughtless, and often totally unfounded.”

I haven’t read any valid arguments from the sides opposing the project, except ones that pander bigotry and implicitly agrees that somehow all muslims are responsible for september 11

Here’s the article I read which I thought  addressed any misguided hate/intolerance/opposition of the project : America, Home of the Free — Except for Muslims? by Doug Bandow

“Religious faith is too important to become a political punching bag. One does not have to like or even respect Islam to believe its practitioners have the right to build a worship center wherever they wish. Christians, especially, should avoid joining the Cordoba House mob. Those who most worry about living in a post-Christian world should most resolutely defend religious liberty for all”