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When reason prevails

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The well publicized Islamic community center, notoriously known as the “ground zero mosque” due to its proximity to the site of the terrorist attack that destroyed the World Trade Center, opened last week in lower Manhattan with little fanfare and no clashing protesters.

Although the center had been in the planning for years and is still far from complete, it became a rallying point for some in an increasingly polarizing political atmosphere that attracted election year-politicians and political groups looking for a bandwagon to jump on.

Opponents decried the project as a slap in the face to the country, and especially to the victims of 9/11 and their families. They claimed the site would become a “victory mosque” and a “Mecca on the Hudson” among other things. Defenders pointed to constitutional guarantees of freedoms of religion and speech and urged cultural tolerance.

Ironically, the Muslim developer of the center was inspired by the Jewish Community Center on Manhattan's Upper West Side, where he lives. He often took his daughter there for swimming lessons. The Islamic center is open to all faiths and eventually will include a 9/11 memorial as well as a health club, theater and mosque.

The opening featured an exhibit by Danny Goldfield, a Jewish photographer from Brooklyn. The photos were of New York children of every color and ethnicity with roots in 169 countries, designed to show the basic humanity we all have in common.

Goldfield's idea for the project was inspired by the story of Rana Sodhi, a Sikh immigrant from India who settled in Arizona. Sodhi's brother was murdered four days after the attack on September 11 in a retaliatory hate crime.

We live in times of uncertainty. We always have. The future is filled with frightening possibilities. It always is.

There are politicians and civic leaders who know how to exploit our fears and open our wounds with half truths, exaggerations and sensational leaps of logic to further their own agendas. They point out our differences and lead us to look at each other and see the enemy when they know that the real enemy resides within us and depends upon our fear and lack of knowledge to survive.

And so the center opened quietly. No angry protests. No hysterical speeches, flag waving or finger pointing. Just a collection of photos meant to provoke thought and promote understanding.

When we are able to step back from inflammatory rhetoric and knee-jerk responses, reason prevails. And when reason prevails it frees us to move forward. Then we can confront other issues more worthy of our concerns.

Jim Black is a community blogger and is not a part of the Walworth County Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of Walworth County Today staff or management.