At not quite 1600 miles from Ground Zero in New York, what should we in western Oklahoma think about the recent controversy that has arisen from plans to build a Mosque or Muslim Cultural Center near Ground Zero in New York City?
I can’t think of anyone who would not be upset if someone opened a business named McVeigh’s Fertilizer and Firearms next to the site of the Oklahoma City Memorial. Emotions run deep and don’t pass so quickly with time in these sort of tragedies.
As Americans, our patriotic nature is enraged. For those who lost loved ones, such a structure might be a daily reminder not of a religion that dutifully worships a loving God, but of the mass tragedy that some extremist levied upon this city and our nation in the name of that God.
As an American sworn to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; of course they can build on this site or any other which they acquire and comply with local zoning ordinances. First Amendment rights must extend to Muslims even in these circumstances.
As a Christian, I want to be known for my love, not my hate. We Christians can run up our lists of everything in this world that we are against and move this issue to the top with rote proficiency, but is that what we are commanded to do? Are we not to be known by our love? Are we not to love even our enemies?
As for the politicians, some have learned too late that there will be a constant state controversy in this matter. That is, of course, until some other skylined event pushes its way to the forefront of the national scene.
For the Muslim community, we might ask:
What are you thinking?
What are you motives?
Is there not a better way or better location?
Why here?
Are you ready for the reaction of the radicals in the Christian faith, extremists that label themselves patriots, and the other forms of abuse that you might invite by insisting upon this site?
On the other hand, this could be a monumental occasion for the Muslim community and for America. If those who pray in the name of Allah would use this as a podium to say, ‘The tragedy that took place here is not what we are commanded to do. We want to tell others that bombing and terror is not the way of our God.” Then we may see some signs of reconciliation.
We as Americans and as Christians need to decide if we are at war with terrorists or with Islam. If the former, then leave this entire issue of what to build near ground zero to local authorities. Next, locate, close with, and destroy the terrorists.
If the latter—if we really are at war with Islam—then target every Mosque on the planet and let the cruise missiles fly. These are much easier to target than groups of a dozen or so war-hardened Afghan fighters transiting borders via terrain that would cause a mountain goat to seek better accommodations.
The problem is that our nation is at war with an elusive enemy, but our hate and outrage can be fixed better on static, more tangible targets. We can put a mosque in our emotional crosshairs easier than we can target and defeat our true enemies.
As Christians we are commissioned to take the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ to the entire world. How much more would we be fulfilling that charge given with the authority of Christ if we directed all of the energy expended on this Ground Zero issue into spreading the good news.
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