Park 51 / Muslim Cultural Center supporters gather in Lower Manhattan to show their support
Photo courtesy CAIR-NY
September 10, NYC: Hundreds of supporters of the proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero gathered this evening near the site in Lower Manhattan, where they lit candles, sang and prayed on the eve of the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The participants of the vigil, organized by the `New York Neighbors for American Values' coalition, said they came to show solidarity with the plan to build the Park51 Islamic Center on Park Place, about two blocks from the World Trade Center site. The project has sparked fierce debate in recent weeks about whether it was appropriate to build such a facility so near the "hallowed ground" of the trade center's fallen twin towers, and it has prompted fears among some that anti-Islam sentiment is on the rise in the United States.
Organizers said they decided to hold the gathering a day before the Sept. 11 anniversary so that Saturday could remain a day of solemn mourning for those killed in the attacks nine years ago.
You can read the entire article, "Near Ground Zero, mosque supporters gather to show their support," in The Washington Post, from which this was adapted, here. And you can read the statement "In Support of the Cordoba Initiative / Park 51 / Muslim Cultural Center," by Stuart Appelbaum and Martin Schwartz, President and Executive Director, respectively, of the Jewish Labor Committee, here.
The `New York Neighbors for American Values' noted in a public statement:
"We have come together on the eve of a great national tragedy that is also an important date in both the Muslim and Jewish traditions. Tonight is the end of a month-long period of reflection and self-challenge in the Muslim tradition and falls at the beginning of a similar period of reflection and self-challenge in the Jewish tradition. So it is particularly fitting, on the eve of September 11 that we gather to ask all Americans to make this week-end not only a time of mourning and remembrance, but also a time of reflection and self-challenge. We call on all Americans to reflect on what was attacked on September 11, and what it means to be an American. We live in a nation that has a proud history of religious freedom and freedom of speech and assembly. We call on all Americans to challenge ourselves to live up to the core values embodied in our constitution, to call on our higher and better selves to stand for the principles on which our country was founded and to help make real the American dream for people of all faiths and backgrounds. We want to mark this time as one to join together, in recommitment and quiet celebration of those core American values that have made our country great."