Moving Away from Ground Zero

The proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero has polarized America. Feisal Abdul Rauf, the would-be Imam of the center, has been demonized by Republicans, Fox News stalwarts and their supporters as a terrorist sympathizer, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Most of them have probably not read the Imam’s book, “What’s Right with Islam is What’s Right with America.” If they had, and were honest about it, the wind would go out of their sails. When the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was killed by fanatics claiming to be Muslims, Abdul Rauf delivered a moving eulogy in a synagogue in Manhattan in 2003 in which he declared, “I am a Jew.” It was his way of condemning the killers and identifying with the victim.

But now the country is divided and emotions are high. To calm nerves and close wounds, what is needed is for a central figure in this drama to take the moral high ground. I hope Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf will soon give a speech along these lines:

(Disclaimer: I do not personally know the Imam. I only know him through his writings).

“My fellow Americans,

“My colleagues and I wanted to transform a shuttered store near ground zero into a symbol of America’s religious freedom, inclusivity and openness. The planned Islamic cultural center would include a community center open to all New Yorkers, an auditorium, a fitness center, a restaurant, a swimming pool, a basketball court, a Sept. 11 memorial and reflection space, and yes, a prayer room that would function as a mosque.

“Through this center, I wanted to let Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations know that they have failed – and will always fail - in their attempt to portray America as the enemy of Islam and Muslims. I hoped to remove your fear of my faith and to build a vibrant interfaith community of reason, reverence and reconciliation. I wanted to show that we are united as Americans in defeating those who use violence in the name of Islam. To reflect this unity, I made it a condition that our board includes Christians and Jews.

“But now it is clear that the location of the center has become a source of division, anguish and anger in America. While there are some Americans I could never placate, I recognize that there are many of you, with nothing against Islam and Muslims, who still feel that building an Islamic center at this location will be needlessly provocative and hurtful.

“I particularly recognize with humility such emotions coming from the families of the 9/11 victims. Although the loved ones of many of those who perished in the attacks support us, I believe that if the center at this location brings anguish to the family of a single 9/11 victim, it is one family too many.

“I, therefore, have decided not to build the center at 45-51 Park Place, two blocks north of ground zero. My associates and I are confident we can work something out with the city of New York to move it farther away from ground zero.

“Of the many Americans who have defended our right, even the necessity, of building this Islamic cultural center, no one has been more persuasive and passionate than mayor Bloomberg of New York City. His ringing endorsement of our center in the context of American history and the constitution will inspire us for years.

“The mayor asked us ‘not to cave to popular sentiment because that would be to hand a victory to the terrorists, and we should not stand for that.’ But I also believe that removing resentments and uniting Americans transcend any other consideration, particularly as we fight the malignant militancy of terrorists.

"Besides, my vision for the center is unchanged. Wherever it is built in this freest of cities, it will stand as a monument to religious freedom, inclusivity and openness. Those enduring American values are independent of geographical coordinates. They are what have traditionally made America a light among nations. They are what make America worth defending.”

Sharing Earth's Produce with Neighbors

Returning late from work one day, I found a bag of apricots at my door. I immediately knew where it came from. My neighbors have been growing apricots, lemons and tomatoes in their backyard for two decades, and unfailingly they have been sharing their harvests with us year after year.

The apricots are sweeter than any in grocery stores and farmers markets. Perhaps the mellow and golden rays of the California sun have something to do with it but I also know that the love that Don and Sandra pour into their garden make their harvest unique and inimitable.

I do not have a green thumb. In fact, mine is as anti-green as you can imagine. I tried to emulate my neighbors and being the selfless type, they shared their expertise with me in the many hours they spent helping me to reap what they hoped would be bountiful produce from my patch of the earth.

Since our homes are adjacent to each other, the soil is identical, and it would seem logical that what sprouts from their backyard would also sprout from ours. This expectation, however, never materialized. I used the same fertilizer, the same amount of water, the same zeal in pulling out weeds at their merest appearance, yet my produce was meager and tasteless. It slowly dawned on my neighbors that the rogue element in the equation was probably me.

In the beginning they were polite and speculated on some subterranean conspiracy that was thwarting my efforts, but it wasn't convincing. "Well," sighed Don one day, "I guess you will just have to get used to facts on the ground." The pun wasn't comforting.

Then one day, out of the blue, I decided that I was just going to buy some cherry and pear trees and plant them without any burden of expectations. Salvador Marquez, a gentle gardener with a mysterious knack for coaxing fruits and vegetables from even the most reluctant patch of earth, helped me bring the plants from a local nursery in his beat-up truck.

I soon realized that Salvador's only response to any query directed at him was, "Oh yeah?" "I think we should alternate the pears and the cherries," I said to him as we dug deep holes along the fences. "Oh yeah?" he asked. I took this as an yes but wondered if the arrangement would hinder pollination. "You think the bees will be confused?" This time Salvador didn't question me. "Oh yeah," he said.

We began around ten on a Saturday morning and after about four hours, with much rest in between for snacks, we planted all of them, six cherries (four bing and two rainier) and six Asian pears. A sense of elation swept over me. It was as if I had conquered Mount Everest.

Well, as they say, the rest is history. I didn't shower much love on the trees, treating them as casual acquaintances who needed some tender loving care now and then but otherwise were best left to their own devices. And that was the wisest decision I ever made in my life, nature-wise.

The trees grew rapidly. In the third year we were blessed (I can think of no other appropriate word) with so many cherries and pears that my wife was convinced this would be the one and only time we would see the fruits. "They have used up everything they have," she explained, "to produce this bumper crop. It will be a sin for us to expect the same next year." I had to agree. Eating a pear with relish, Salvador thought for a while and said, "Oh yeah."

We shared our harvest with our neighbors in the block - ten families - and also with friends and a few relatives across town. This, after robins, sparrows, jays, swallows, sparrows and crows had their fill of the cherries. The fruits are almost as sweet as my neighbor's apricots. Finally, some parity!

It turned out that my wife was wrong about subsequent harvests. The trees just keep giving, year after year. All I do is a little bit of pruning in January. That's all the loving care I can muster. The scandalously riotous produce has shown no sign of abating in the fifteen years since Salvador and I planted the trees. Our neighbors have come to regard our cherries and pears as part of their summer! Can anything ever beat this?

America's Enduring Values

War in Iraq. War in Afghanistan. Over 14 million Americans out of work. Gulf oil spill. Widening gap between the wealthy and the debt-ridden, paycheck-to-paycheck families. The bitter polarization between blue and red states. The simmering summer of discontent.

It is easy to give in to cynicism, to lose hope, to become despondent in this time of doom and gloom. Yet it is when we think we have hit the bottom that something happens to lift our spirits, to remind us of the enduring values that make America great.

The Cordoba House planned near Ground Zero in New York would include a mosque and an interfaith cultural and community center. The plan was attacked by Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and other conservatives and political opportunists who considered it an insult to the 9/11 victims. After all, didn't Muslims kill almost 3000 Americans on that fateful day in September?

Many politicians, columnists and commentators came to the defense of the Cordoba House but none more forcefully and eloquently than the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg. With the Statue of Liberty in the background and flanked by religious leaders, the mayor summarized what America was about and why the mosque could become a beacon of hope in a nation troubled by deep division and discontent. His speech reminds us why, in spite of the difficulties we are now facing as a nation, America will (to paraphrase William Faulkner) not only survive but endure. Excerpts:

“Our doors are open to everyone. Everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it's sustained by immigrants -- by people from more than 100 different countries speaking more than 200 different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here or you came here yesterday, you are a New Yorker ..."

“On that day (9/11), 3,000 people were killed because some murderous fanatics didn't want us to enjoy the freedoms to profess our own faiths, to speak our own minds, to follow our own dreams, and to live our own lives. Of all our precious freedoms, the most important may be the freedom to worship as we wish ..."

"Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question: Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here."

“This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions or favor one over another. The World Trade Center site will forever hold a special place in our city, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans if we said no to a mosque in lower Manhattan."

“Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11, and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values and play into our enemies' hands if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists, and we should not stand for that."

"For that reason, I believe that this is an important test of the separation of church and state as we may see in our lifetimes, as important a test. And it is critically important that we get it right ..."

"On Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of first responders heroically rushed to the scene and saved tens of thousands of lives. More than 400 of those first responders did not make it out alive. In rushing into those burning buildings, not one of them asked, 'What God do you pray to?' 'What beliefs do you hold?'"

"Muslims are as much a part of our city and our country as the people of any faith. And they are as welcome to worship in lower Manhattan as any other group. In fact, they have been worshipping at the site for better, the better part of a year, as is their right. The local community board in lower Manhattan voted overwhelmingly to support the proposal. And if it moves forward, I expect the community center and mosque will add to the life and vitality of the neighborhood and the entire city."

"Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure, and there is no neighborhood in this city that is off-limits to God's love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us can attest."

The Cordoba House may or may not materialize but the enduring values of America that mayor Bloomberg touched on in his stirring speech will continue to challenge and inspire us for years to come.