A proposed Islamic community center near ground zero will include separate prayer spaces for Muslims, Christians, Jews and people of other faiths, the imam behind plans for the facility wrote in a newspaper editorial published online Tuesday.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf wrote in the New York Times that the attention surrounding the plans for the $100 million community center just blocks from the site of the Sept. 11 attacks “reflects the degree to which people care about the very American values under debate: recognition of the rights of others, tolerance and freedom of worship.” He said it was critical that Americans “not back away” from completing the project.
“The wonderful outpouring of support for our right to build this community center from across the social, religious and political spectrum seriously undermines the ability of anti-American radicals to recruit young, impressionable Muslims by falsely claiming that America persecutes Muslims for their faith,” he wrote. “These efforts by radicals at distortion endanger our national security and the personal security of Americans worldwide.”
In the nearly 1,000-word editorial, he outlined his vision for the center, referring to it as a “shared space” for the community that will include “a multifaith memorial dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.” “I am very sensitive to the feelings of the families of victims of 9/11, as are my fellow leaders of many faiths,” he wrote.
During the 11 years that Masjid al-Baqi, a mosque on Central Avenue in Bethpage, has provided religious services for area Muslims, there have been some tensions with community members: a few neighbors have complained about the cars that spill onto local streets during Friday services and religious holidays and, in late 2001, mosque leaders say that a drunken resident smashed some of the building’s windows with a baseball bat and damaged cars in the parking lot.