Both Sikhism and America were founded on the principle of freedom of religion, but what happens when politics meets religion?
When it comes down to building a Mosque at Ground Zero, the issue then becomes mostly about being politically correct and about not hurting any sentiments. As a Sikh living in America, that means looking at this situation from a few different angles to really understand what's going on and and what it means. I have to look at it from the perspective of a Muslim, an American and then as a Sikh.
This Mosque is being built for the Islamic Population of New York; hence it is very important to understand what it means to them. I am not a Muslim and I am not very knowledgeable about Islam but still I am going try to put myself in their shoes. If this issue was about building a Gurudwara Sahib Ji, I would feel it is my right to have a place to worship, than the same applies to everyone else, including the Muslims. After having this issue brought up and then not having the Mosque built would mean to me that the Americans are blaming Islam for 9/11 and would this feeling would create a tension filled atmosphere. The Moslem extremist can use this as an excuse to rally more youth against America. But at same time, if this Mosque is built, as proposed, within a community center, it will still upset the Islamic population. The current proposal includes a swimming pool, which from my understanding doesn’t really go with Islamic teachings. You can’t swim in a burkha, and all events held at the center would have to be careful about intermingling of the genders. If the Mosque is built as proposed it opens a lot of doors for trouble and religious backlash. Mosque or no Mosque, Americans will have to walk on tightrope to keep everyone happy.
As Americans it’s our duty to protect religious freedom and to give justice to those who lost their loved ones on 9/11. In protecting religious freedom, we can’t stop a religious group from building a place of worship. To give justice to the families of victims of the events of 9/11, we can’t allow a religious place of worship to be built on Ground Zero because it is this religion Americans blame for the loss of their loved ones. Yes, not all Muslims are terrorists, but how can we forget thhat the terrorists who caused 9/11 were brainwashed by extremists of the Islamic Faith? I know as an American when I read first read about the idea, I was outraged. Our troops are still fighting the war against terrorism and dying every day and here we are trying to promote the very religion that is used to create and train extremists. Yes, we want to mend fences and move on but we how can we forget when our army is still over there? This Mosque can become a horrible reminder of the past as well as the present Afghan war or it can be a tool to help us move forward. This Mosque might be the perfect gesture for all of us to begin moving on. In this fashion we can honor our Muslim brothers and sisters who also lost their lives because of 9/11 and start working towards peace. We are Americans, we accept everyone who wants to better their lives and we accept their right to follow their own religion.
Sikhs have a history of defending a religion that is not their own, Hinduism. The Ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, gave up his life for the right of Hindus to follow their own religion. So how can we say we won’t follow in the footsteps of our Guru and stick up for the Muslims to have a place to worship? We are the saint-soldiers, and today we have to prove it. Sikhs have to fight for the right of the Muslims to have a place to worship and at the same time we have to support the fight against terrorism. That means supporting our troops through joining the army ourselves, or at least donating to their charities. It means signing petitions and letting people know you’re not against anyone’s right to follow their religion. Sikhs stand up for everyone's freedom of religion, regardless of any outside factors.
As I access the issue from these three different viewpoints of a Muslim, an American and a Sikh, I come to the conclusion that it is important to go through with this proposal to build a Mosque on the site of Ground Zero.
I propose if this charity really wants to make a difference and continue building this Mosque, they need to change directions. This Mosque should not be built just to uplift Muslims, but to uplift everyone who suffered due to 9/11. Let the building become a place of upliftment for all and a monument to religious freedom. In place of this Mosque let them consider building a library dedicated to the sole purpose of holding religious texts and have huge seminar halls dedicated to teaching people all the different religions of the world. If people take the time to understand each other better, maybe we can prevent another 9/11. We need a universal center where people can use the halls to hold religious meetings (it could serve as Mosque, Gurudwara, Church or any other religious center) and a place where everyone feels loved and welcomed. Rather than maintaining separateness, it would support and foster unity. Why create a Mosque and a community center? Wouldn’t it serve a better purpose if we could reach out to all the people and all the religions that were hurt by the events of 9/11? We have Ground Zero because of religion; now let’s use religion to rebuild a better place. A place where Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jews and all other religions can live, learn and worship together in peace.
Jul 27, 2010