Muslimah Writers Alliance Credited for Pro-Active Efforts in Response to Park51 Related Islamophobia

It will take the wisdom of Solomon to answer the question "what would be best for the common good" as what may be the final chapter in the Park51 controversy unfolds.

PRLog – Sep 12, 2010 – WASHINGTON, D.C. (MWA-Net) – On September 11, 2010, Sheila Musaji, Founding Editor of The American Muslim (TAM), published an eye-opening follow-up to an extensive list of articles written by American Muslims and Arabs that is well worth the time to absorb, as she attempts to unravel the inauspicious background and 'leadership' of the Cordoba Initiative/Park51 project, which appears now to point in the direction of all things related to money. 

In her opening comments Musaji stated, "For all of us in the American Muslim community who have spent a lot of time defending Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan, and defending this Cordoba House project because we believed that they were the primary leaders of the project, and because they were under attack unfairly by Islamophobes – it may be that we were misled, or that we at least didn’t understand the structure of this project. What Imam Feisal or the Cordoba Initiative stand for may be irrelevant to the core issues involved.

"Since this project was announced, the American Muslim community has experienced not only an alarming increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric, but has also seen this rhetoric lead to actual acts of intimidation and even violence."

The Islamophobic backlash being a key factor that Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA) Director Aishah Schwartz has focused on since mid-August in an article titled, "Park51: Here is the Fruit of Your Labor", wherein she addressed the rise in hate-filled rhetoric and bigotry threatening not only the Muslim community at-large, but also its potential for adversely affecting the Muslim student population recently starting a new school year. 

Opening comments aside, the background and 'leadership' of the Cordoba Initiative/Park51 project unravels as Musaji details with the resourcefulness Schwartz has long admired her for, information that she states had, unfortunately, been previously overlooked as the race to defend the project steamrolled worldwide.

As the tangled web of leadership and lack of transparency is revealed throughout Musaji's extensive article titled, "Cordoba House – Yes!: Park51 – No way?", she credits several individuals and organizations with attempting to respond in a pro-active way to the controversy and Islamophobic media frenzy.

Schwartz's MWA issued request for federal action against Islamophobia was listed, in addition to the efforts of Michael Wolfe and Alex Kronemer's website 'Ground Zero Dialogue' - My Faith My Voice: American Muslim voices PSA's released as a grassroots effort; a CAIR PSA campaign produced a series of separate PSA's; a Majlis Ash-Shura of Metropolitan New York, a coalition of 55 New York City American Muslim organization leaders, issued a statement on combating ethnic and religious intolerance and defending the continued building of mosques in America; a Coalition of African American Muslims (CAAM) held a press conference in Washington, D.C.; ISNA called an emergency meeting of top interfaith leaders to address anti-Muslim fear and intolerance; and CAIR, ISNA, MPAC, etc. issued advisories and community response tips and safety guides.

With questions surrounding leadership and direction for Park51, which remain at the heart of the debate, Musaji acknowledged that the Muslim and Arab communities are now left to deal with the problems unnecessarily raised by the ensuing controversy, stating that the project is, indeed, the catalyst for the subsequent turmoil; dealing with rampant Islamophobia while defending citizen rights.

Musaji added, "The fact that the leadership and vision for the project may not be what we were led to believe only adds one more complication to our situation. Even if this project turns out to be a purely business venture on the part of the actual project leadership, the core issues that the project has raised go well beyond this one project, or the individuals directly involved – that of the legal, civil, and constitutional rights of all Muslims in the United States."

As Musaji suggested, and Schwartz has been asking from the onset, "what would be best for the common good?"

"This will take the wisdom of Solomon to solve," Musaji concludes. 

RELATED:
Cordoba House – Yes!: Park51 – No way? By Sheila Musaji

Muslimah Writers Alliance Director Commends U.S. Officials for Speaking Out Against Quran Burning - Sep. 9, 2010 (Supporting national leadership and reminding community of 9/11 Freedom Coalition Rally in Washington, D.C.)

9/11 Freedom Coalition Launches Petition Calling on President to Enforce Religious Land Use Act - Sep. 2, 2010 (MWA'S participation in proactive coalition with Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV), Responsible for Equality and Liberty [R.E.A.L.] and United for Pluralism Rallying in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11)

Muslimah Writers Alliance Director Requests Federal Action Against Islamophobia - Sep. 1, 2010 (Item referred to in Musaji's report)

Muslimah Writers Alliance Announces 'The Non-Islamophobic Muslim News' on Facebook - Aug. 29, 2010 (Pro-Active Facebook platform designed to be a one-stop resource for NON-Islamophobic Muslim News)

Park51: Law Passed 10 Years Ago Trumps Religious Freedom Debate - Aug. 25, 2010 (Highlighting the fact that the debate was never really a debate as the project was protected from its onset by the Religious Land Use Act of 2000)

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Established in 2006, MWA is an internationally-based collaboration of Muslim women writers and advocates working together to counter negative and inaccurate perceptions regarding members of the Muslim community and the Islamic faith.

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Muslimah Writers Alliance Announces 'The Non-Islamophobic Muslim News' on Facebook

PRLog – Aug. 29, 2010 (MWA-Net) The recent controversial decision of Park51 organizers to construct an Islamic center/mosque in the area of downtown Manhattan, otherwise known as 'Ground Zero', NY (or 'hallowed ground'), highlights a spike in the increase of Islamophobic, hate-filled rhetoric spewed out daily from certain media outlets, bloggers and even politicians. It is evident, now more than ever, that a need exists for an immediate influx of 'good' Muslim news.

In an effort to bridge the gap in resources available to the public for learning more about the positive contributions members of the Muslim community are making not only in the United States, but worldwide, Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA) announces a new Facebook campaign, 'The NON-Islamophobic Muslim News' (NIMNews).

Similar to the concept behind MWA's Muslim Women Making History project, which focuses on the achievements of Muslim women, NIMNews aims to showcase worldwide Muslim community member news, stories, and events, in an effort to provide the general public, and the media, with easy access to 'NON-Islamophobic Muslim News'.

As recently reported Facebook now has over 500 million subscribers. What better free Muslim community news resource and advertising/promotional venue could there be?

Now it is up to you, the Muslim community member. Are you tired of the Muslim-bashing propoganda and Islamophobic outpouring of hate-filled rhetoric reported daily? This is your chance to be a part of the wave of change.

The nation and in fact, the world, has been waiting for President Obama to make all the changes; but the Muslim community has to own its share of responsibility for how the world perceives Muslims and the Islamic faith.

It's time to clean up our own back-yards, step-up-to-the-plate, and be participants in the change we want to see in the world.

Join MWA in sharing your Muslim community news, events, stories, photos and discussions. Visit NIMNews with just one click.

RELATED
MWA Muslim Women Making History
PARK51: Law Passed Ten Years Ago Trumps Religious Freedom Debate
NIMNews Short-Cut Link: http://tinyurl.com/nimnews
Also published at The American Muslim (TAM) Aug. 30, 2010
 
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Established in 2006, MWA is an internationally-based collaboration of Muslim women writers and advocates working together to counter negative and inaccurate perceptions regarding members of the Muslim community and the Islamic faith.

Visit Press Room: http://pressroom.prlog.org/mwa-net

Park51: Ten Year Old Law Trumps Religious Freedom Debate

If Muslims expect to be perceived as peace loving people of consciousness, piety, and worthy of being shining examples of the Islamic faith - let not one of them side with the President or even myself, but with the knowledge that, as Muslims, respecting the area of Manhattan known as 'Ground Zero' is the least we can do as one of the most significant demonstrations of good faith, charity and above all, the utmost compassion. After all, isn't the Muslim community yearning to be treated with the same qualities?

Aishah Schwartz

PRLog (Aug. 25, 2010) MWA-Net—It is most certainly regrettable at best, that certain television and news networks and certain politicians—Republican and Democrat—have latched onto this paranoia, this 'fear', of Muslims in the United States—more broadly referred to as Islamophobia—for economic and political gain ahead of November's midterm congressional elections, using Park51, Islam and members of the Muslim community as their whipping post.

However, in rushing to the pulpit waving the U.S. Constitution in one hand, and a microphone in the other to defend the wisdom of Park51 organizers to construct a 15-story mosque and cultural center on property encompassing the area of the collapsed Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, a/k/a 'Ground Zero', members of the Muslim community might not realize they've been unwittingly duped into sabotaging nine years of image repair, fence-mending and dialogue efforts.

Yes, indeed, Islamophobia is a growing problem in the United States. However, in the case of Park51, rather than jumping in and taking the religious freedom bait, which the Islamophobes knew the Muslim community would do, our leaders should have paused, consulted more closely among and better organized their response to the ensuing attack. But they jumped out of the starting gate like horses at a race track without fully grasping the significance of the defeat already dealt to the opposition when the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 9-0 against granting historic protection on the Burlington Coat Factory building and land where the $100 million center is proposed to be built. The decision, made August 3, is described as being the final hurdle in the quest for approval.

This approval was made based on a Republican sponsored law called the 'Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act', crafted to address a common problem often ignored by the courts: local government bodies using zoning authority to prevent religious institutions from moving in or expanding their operations.

The law protects the right of Muslims to establish mosques, even where such a building might be unwelcome.

The law says, "No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a religious assembly or institution," unless it meets very strict conditions. Nor may any government inflict a regulation that discriminates "on the basis of religion or religious denomination."

New York City could have invoked its landmarking power to kill the project, but thanks to the 2000 law, a court challenge was destined to be lost. The commission did everyone a favor on August 3 by ensuring that the debate would lose wind sooner rather than later.

Which brings us back to the issue of reflecting on when our actions (or decision not to act), cause the greater harm; or have the greatest hope for improving an issue as near to epidemic proportions as Islamophobia.

The writing was on the wall when the Park51 organizers chose the Burlington Coat Factory site for Park51; a location rife with lingering sensitivity, pain, anguish, and the memory of devastating loss.

And now, because so many rushed so quickly in defense of the religious freedom outcry, that was already guaranteed by law, rather than pausing and tapping into their collective wisdom in deciding how to deal with the newest Islamophobic attack on their community, the perceived gains the Muslim community had worked so hard to nurture in dispelling the misconceptions and distrust generally perceived by non-Muslim U.S. citizens toward Muslims has been dealt a tenuous blow.

All because our mainstream Muslim leadership jumped to the microphone to gather its flock, whom they knew would blindly heed their call to rally against Islamophobia via Religious Freedom. Yes, we should abhor Islamophobia, but greater wisdom should have been exercised in determining the most beneficial position to assume with regard to Park51.

It is not unrealistic to consider that Park51 organizers were confident from the onset that their plan would get as far as it has today—the law was already in their favor—all they had to do was be patient and ride out the storm. A U.S. State Department funded tour of the Middle East would go a long way in keeping one Park51 organizer out of the cross-fire.

Conspiracy theories aside, this is what the American public generally understands about 9/11; the people responsible for hijacking the airplanes were Muslim, their religion was Islam, and 3,000 people died in downtown Manhattan when they strategically and intentionally flew two airplanes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

And now they know that Muslims, waving the United States Constitution and heralding U.S. Law have landed once again, only this time on hallowed ground.

I read a comment yesterday that said, "I have no idea what the Burlington Coat Factory is." There are likely many who are unsure about the significance of the Burlington Coat Factory/Park51. It is often said that an image is worth 1,000 words so in the interest of facilitating continued dialogue and understanding, I embarked upon creating an image file that would, in less than a thousand words, allow people to understand what sometimes only an image can convey.

CLICK ON IMAGE TO VIEW FULL SIZE

The Burlington Coat Factory is on the property that Park51 organizers have purchased for their proposed 15-story mosque and cultural center. As you can see from the photo included with this article, despite protests to the contrary the building is, indeed, on property encompassing the plume of ash and debris that was once the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, and tragically, human lives. Thus, the argument that the area, also known as 'hallowed ground'—or worthy of profound respect—is not part of Ground Zero, has no merit.

Burlington Coat Factory/Park51 NOT Ground Zero?

CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE FULL SIZE OR VISIT

HTTP://TINYURL.COM/NOT-IN-THE-NAME-OF-ISLAM

TO LEARN MORE

Park51: Here is the Fruit of Your Labor...

ANTI-MUSLIM RALLY AT GROUND ZERO

Is the wisdom used by organizers of the Park51 project in choosing a location within such close proximity to Ground Zero, representative of the wisdom the nation's Muslim community wants to see in members of its leadership?

PRLog – Aug. 23, 2010 (MWA-Net) – Anti-Muslim Rally at Ground Zero — [VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwaNRWMN-F4] It is most certainly regrettable at best, that certain television networks, news networks and certain politicians — Republican and Democrat — have latched onto this paranoia, this fear, of Muslims in the United States, for economic and political gain ahead of November's midterm congressional elections.

Even more disappointing is the fact that an organization, in the name of Islam, played its part in giving ammunition to the very enemies it knew were ready, willing and able to use the Park51 project as a catalyst for the Islamophobic war against Islam now threatening to burn like a wild fire in our own country.

This past Saturday President Obama was asked about the issue during his trip to Florida. He said, "I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there."

I respect the President's decision, but thank him for planting the seed. And I will question the wisdom of the location for construction of Park51.

Is the wisdom used by organizers of the Park51 project in choosing a location within such close proximity to Ground Zero representative of the wisdom the nation's Muslim community wants to see in members of its leadership?

There are members within mainstream US Muslim organizations that don't like what I have to say, but I do not recall having given any one of them permission to speak on my behalf - nor am I aware of there being any campaign nominating and electing a single one of them as being representative of the national Muslim voice.

Cordoba/ASMA leadership may very well continue to insist on and indeed succeed in building on the property chosen; but I ask again, at what price?

The backlash of this decision will ripple through the Muslim community for years, and our youth will be counted among the casualties. Where will the Cordoba/ASMA leadership be then; home safe in their beds or perhaps on holiday in Qatar or Bahrain.

Over on YouTube the anti-Muslim Rally at Ground Zero has already been viewed is video has been viewed nearly 50,000 times.

Meanwhile, on a Mideast tour funded by the U.S. State Department, Park51 organizer Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said in Sunday's AP report that the attention generated by the project is "positive" adding that he took heart from the dispute, saying "the fact we are getting this kind of attention is a sign of success."

In a March 2002 PBS interview Rauf also said, "we are accountable to God for our actions."

RELATED
Park51: Sharia or the U.S. Constitution
Park 51: Here is the Fruit of Your Labor
Park51: Yes, I Get Mail
Park 51 Organizers Missed Opportunity to Promote Tolerance and Understanding
Park 51/'Ground Zero Mosque' - The Crux of the Matter
MWA Director Commends NY Governor in Step Toward Compromise on Ground Zero

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ABOUT AUTHOR
Aishah Schwartz, an American Muslim published writer and activist, serves as Founder and Director of the Washington, D.C.-based Muslimah Writers Alliance (MWA), established in 2006. She is also a retired 17-year career litigation legal assistant. As an activist her focus leans toward the rights of Muslim women and the plight of the Palestinian people affected by the Israeli imposed illegal embargo on Gaza.

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Park51 - Yes, I get mail

Members of mainstream US Muslim organizations don't have to accept my position on the matter; I do not recall having given any one of them permission to speak on my behalf - nor am I aware of there being any campaign nominating and electing a single one of them as being representative of the national Muslim voice. 

PRLog (Aug. 21, 2010) – I fully embrace the fact that I may not be on the popular side of the proverbial fence regarding the current proposed location of the Cordoba/ASMA cultural center and media dubbed 'Ground Zero Mosque', now known as Park51, but I have not expressed my views with the objective of winning a popularity contest.

It is also not my contention, as is that of others in the debate, that the project should be scrapped. On the contrary! I simply believe that it was not necessary to exacerbate an already inflamed climate of Islamophobia by choosing a site for the construction that would be hard-pressed to escape the scrutiny of those who would conspire against its intended purpose. However, the decision was made, and now the Muslim community at large will live with backlash that simply did not have to happen in the first place.

The responsibility of being peacemakers is, indeed a great one. However, antagonizing the non-Muslim community and then invoking the U.S. Constitution in defense vs. simply making a non-confrontational decision in the first place, does not mean that I have to accept the location decision as being right; therefore, I have spoken.

And yes, I get mail. If you'll forgive the typographical and grammatical errors, I will share them as-is. Here are just a few, for the sake of brevity.

Park 51 Organizers Missed Opportunity to Promote Tolerance and Understanding

Perhaps it is time for members of the Muslim community to own some of the responsibility for the lack of tolerance and bigotry hurled against them. It's not too late.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Aug. 21, 2010) – If Park 51 decision makers within the Cordoba Initiative and the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), had used a moral compass based on the principle of compassion so highly touted in the Islamic faith, as a guide in making the location decision for their cultural center of understanding, peace and harmony, the nation would not be in the uproar it is today.

They could have taken the high road.

The history of the site, formerly the Burlington Coat Factory, in relation to 9/11, was a known fact. It had been grazed and was heavily damaged by one of the jet liners that crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center; information that substantiates the confrontational nature of the choice made when purchasing the property.

Information that has now been exploited for the benefit of raising the $100 million needed to complete the 13-story cultural center and mosque.

And at what cost?

Muslimah Writers Alliance Director, Aishah Schwartz, Commends NY Governor for Supporting Compromise on Ground Zero Mosque

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://prlog.org/10866661

PRLog - Aug. 17, 2010 - WASHINGTON, DC (MWA-NET) — Late Tuesday afternoon Reuters reported that New York Governor David Paterson plans to discuss a compromise that would relocate the Muslim cultural center, dubbed by media as the 'Ground Zero Mosque'. Muslimah Writers Alliance Director, Aishah Schwartz, an American Muslim, weighs in on the announcement.

"On the morning of September 11, 2001, from the sitting room of my downtown Washington, D.C. apartment, Good Morning America was interrupted for breaking news. I stood frozen in time watching in utter despair as the ensuing tragedy unfolded.

"I remember the feeling of brain numbing disbelief.

"I remember standing on the 12th floor rooftop of the D.C. office building where I worked at the time, watching the billowing black clouds of smoke rise up over the Pentagon.

"I remember evenings walking the Coast Guard patrolled sidewalks of our neighborhood with my daughter, both of us restless and unable to sleep.

"I was born and raised in the United States and I am proud to be an American. But as a Muslim, it is my hope and prayer that voices of reason prevail in the final decision of where to construct the Cordoba Initiative's project, God-willing, and the parties involved in this can agree to compromise in choosing a less offensive location. For everyone's sake.

"Regardless of who is to blame for the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001, the currently proposed location for the Cordoba Initiative's project will never be viewed as anything less than an affront to the survivors, and those who lost loved ones on that ill-fated autumn day in New York.

"Despite the fact that 2010 marks the ninth anniversary of what has been described as the most dramatic attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, it is clear from recent events surrounding the proposed construction project, that painful sentiments run deep and hearts are far from healed. These are wounds that will only deepen if construction proceeds as planned. And history will forever brand the surely well-intended Cordoba Initiative's concept as, the 'Ground Zero Mosque'.