Today in Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
5 September 2010

The Mosque near Ground Zero

The media has been buzzing with the story of the proposed construction of a mosque near the site of the September 11th World Trade Center attack. A New York real estate developer, Sharif El-Gamal has received the necessary permission from the Manhattan Zoning Board and is working with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is currently on a State Department sponsored trip in the Middle East. Even the president has weighed-in on the controversy and correctly supported the legal right for construction. Opponents of the mosque do not dispute the right, but question the wisdom of building a 13-story mosque and Islamic cultural center so near the site of Ground Zero. Throughout the coverage of this issue I have been amazed that few, if any, have managed to grasp what is really going on.

Any student of the Bible knows of the historical nature of the religions we now call Judaism and Christianity. Both of these ancient faiths are rooted in historical events. The patriarchs are recorded in the scriptures of both traditions, with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Book of Genesis and the apostles in the Books of the four Gospels. These individuals and many others comprise our contact with God within actual historical events. Sites in the current state of Israel and throughout the Middle East are visited by millions of pilgrims who seek to recapture some context of what we have come to call our salvation history. These “holy sites” include Mount Sinai, Bethel, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Throughout the history of Judaism and Christianity these sites have been commemorated with the construction of temples and altars, chapels, churches and ba


silicas. They are concrete reminders of the historical events and the actual persons who encountered God throughout the history of salvation. The significance of these events and those who witnessed them cannot be understated. Moses received the Law from God’s own hand at Sinai. David brought the Arc of the Covenant into Jerusalem and Solomon built the first Temple. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, taught in Galilee, prayed at the Mount of Olives and died at Calvary. The holiness of these sites is the compelling factor for the later construction that marks these historical events for future generations. The arrival of Islam is also marked by the historical event of the prophet Mohammed. Not unlike Judaism and Christianity, Islam has designated the significance of history with mosques. Mecca, Baghdad, Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are examples of the importance of these sites to Muslims. September 11th in New York City is another significant historical event in the history of Islam. It is not surprising that the construction of a mosque on or near the site is sought and desired. Even though American culture has become thoroughly covered with a veneer of secularization, the history of holy places is deeply rooted in our national memory and religious affectation. This is the true source of the opposition of some to the Ground Zero mosque and the real reason for the desire of others to see it become a concrete reality.

Fr. Ted