The Little Mosque That Could and The Mayor Who Said It Should

So the mosque near Ground Zero is set to be built, and I couldn't be happier to hear that. I normally don't like wading into political battles but this is more than about politics, this is about healing and understanding. I lost someone I knew quite well on 9/11...in fact I saw her the night before and was too consumed with the headache I had at the time to say good night to her, and that makes me pause when 9/11 rolls around every year. Those extremists took 3000 lives because of a misconstrued and perverted notion of the religion they practiced. So when those who practice the mainstream and true version of that same religion are willing to open up share it with others, let's not shut them out because other practitioners wronged us, let's do our best to embrace their efforts and take a little time to learn something in the process.

And that is why I applaud Mayor Bloomberg. "Hizzoner" stood up and proclaimed that now is the time for moving forward, for building towards peace together. Here's an excerpt of his words I gleaned from this article http://gawker.com/5603633/lets-give-michael-bloomberg-a-hand?skyline=true&s=i : 

"The attack was an act of war, and our first responders defended not only our city, but our country and our constitution. We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting. We honor their lives by defending those rights and the freedoms that the terrorists attacked...it is my hope that the mosque will help to bring our city even closer together, and help repudiate the false and repugnant idea that the attacks of 9/11 were in any ways consistent with Islam...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..."

I invite you to read the article, in it you'll find the entire excerpt that they pulled from his speech and a link to where you can find the speech in its entirety. 

I write this post from the futon in my apartment as the sun sets lower in the sky and my Beirut (the artist) playlist plays from my pc.

Posted via email from Diggs' Posterous