Common ground in an uncommon place

Over the last several weeks there has been ongoing conversation about the "Ground Zero Mosque." My understanding is that people are up in arms over an Islamic community center planned for a lot close to ground zero where the World Trade Center towers once stood. I have been incredibly frustrated with the anger and ignorance that has come out surrounding this issue and cannot believe that after nine years there is still so much hatred of "the other."

One of the main arguments I have heard in opposition to the project is that having a mosque so close to Ground Zero is disrespectful and painful for the people who lost loved ones in the attacks on 9/11. I feel and respect the pain of the families affected by the attacks that shook our country, but I do not and will never understand the hatred against Muslim Americans. We are a country that prides ourselves on religious tolerance and freedom, but because of fear of what we do not know, we are intolerant of those that we characterize as the other. What is also frustrating to me as this issue continues to unfold is the media's role in perpetuating the discrimination and hatred. By referring to Park 51, the proposed name of the community center, as a "mosque," they misrepresent the project and allow the pubic to focus on the differences between the Christian and Muslim communities, instead of the similarities.

I am beginning the Master of Divinity program at Vanderbilt University with hopes of going into ordained ministry. One of the reasons I am so drawn to ministry is because I want to provide a positive voice for the church. Not every Christian follows the tenants of Pat Robertson or Glenn Beck, but oftentimes I feel that my voice and others like mine get drowned out. I think in this day and age of the 24-hour news cycle, we get so focused on the negative. The media plays off of the fear of "the other" and the prejudices we all experience at one point or another instead of trying to unify the country under the banner of tolerance and respect. More and more, I feel that we are called as Christians and more importantly as a community of faith, whether that be in God or Allah, to speak out against hatred and ignorance and seek to find common ground.

I do not believe that the builders of Park 51 had any intention to disrespect the memory of those who lost their lives on September 11th. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or anything else, we all felt pain and anger that day. But, it is past time to put away our anger and begin to rebuild relationships across religious lines and it is up to each individual to make the effort.