The Issues Behind the Mosque at Ground Zero, Essay Example

Many of the problems in the world today stem from a simple lack of understanding between cultures. A Lack of understanding often leads to fear, which can lead to violence and war. We currently live in an age of information. This should ideally lead to a better sense of understanding between societies and cultures. In the past, before the days of the Internet and airplane travel, societies were more isolated, and there was less chance of contact between people from different cultures. However, today, due to the increase in population and the emergence of mass communication and transportation, we must learn to live not as isolated groups but as a global community. Anthony Kwame Appiah addressed this issue in his paper entitled Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers.  Appiah (13) says, “The challenge, then, is to take minds and hearts formed over the long millenia of living in local troops and equip them with ideas and institutions that will allow us to live together as the global tribe we have become.” Our education and communication system has allowed for a greater depth of understanding between cultures. This should lead to peace and understanding between cultures, where humans embrace what makes us similar instead of concentrating on the issues that divide.  There is, however, still much that divides us despite our access to information and our ability to travel and experience different cultures.  A current event that is relevant to Appiah’s idea of cosmopolitanism and its effect on the level of understanding between cultures is the recent debate over the building of a Muslim mosque/community center near to the site of the 9/11 disaster in New York City. At the heart of this debate is the fear that Americans have for people of the Muslim faith. There is a great deal of misunderstanding and fear in the heart of many Americans because of the mistaken belief that those of the Islamic faith and the events of 9/11 are connected.  Appiah’s idea is that situations like this could possibly be avoided if individuals and societies embraced cosmopolitanism; understanding and respecting other cultures and traditions, instead of fearing other cultures due to misunderstandings and misinterpretations. The debate of whether or not to build a mosque/community center in the area near ground zero in New York illustrates this divide, as it is a misunderstanding of Islamic culture and religion that is causing Americans to fear the mosque, and a misunderstanding of American patriotism that makes the advocates of the mosque not understand why the project has sparked such debate.

Kwame Anthony Appiah’s idea of cosmopolitanism is about the emergence of new type of citizen, one who is a citizen of the cosmos, who is not bound to the constraints of patriotism and cultural loyalties that divide humans on planet earth, but instead one who embraces the differences between cultures and sees that underneath our apparent differences, we are really all the same. Cosmopolitanism, if adopted by all the world’s citizens, would make divisions between cultures because of a lack of understanding a thing of the past.  He makes the argument that it is when a group is too stuck on a specific culture or patriotism to a government, country, or ideal that the group will more likely find fault with other groups or governments. This misunderstanding and fear can lead to war and violence. As a remedy for this situation, Appiah promotes globalization, world economy and an emerging world culture.  By becoming more accepting of each other and learning to respect each others ideas and traditions without fear or anger, violence and war would slowly disappear, being replaced instead by peace and respect. Appiah feels it is important to address this issue because the “human community has gradually been drawn into a single web of trade and a global network of information (Appiah, 12)” and as the population continues to expand, it will be easier to affect one another, either positively or negatively. It is his idea that cosmopolitanism will make that contact more positive than negative. The human population of the world is the largest it ever has been and is continuing to grow. With boundaries disappearing and world travel increasing, people of different cultures are interacting more and more. Putting aside cultural differences in order to create a more peaceful interaction on a global level is necessary in order for societies to live and work together in a positive way.

The events of 9/11 had a powerful impact on the world and created a sharp divide between the Muslim community and the Western world. Many American’s had little understanding of Muslim culture and the Islamic faith before the events of 9/11. After the event the misunderstandings multiplied and many American’s came view those of Muslim descent and of Islamic faith with fear and distrust.  For this reason, the building of the mosque and community center in a location near to ground zero in New York has created an engaging topic of debate both in America and around the world. The builders of the proposed mosque/community center wish for it to be a means of healing the rift that has occurred between America and the Muslim world. They wish to allow a greater understanding between the two cultures, Americans and those of the Islamic faith. The community center, they feel, would allow the two groups to get to know each other, so to speak, and leading to a new era of peace and understanding. On the other side, the opponents feel that building a monument reflective of the Muslim world at the place where the World Trade Center towers once stood is offensive. At the core of this debate is the tender emotional issue that the Muslims feel they, as a group, are victim of the supposed actions of a fringe group while many Americans feel that the events of 9/11 are still too fresh and feelings are too tender for the mosque/community center to be accepted by New York society.

The rhetoric that results from not wanting to understand other cultures was clearly visible during the live debate presented on Fox News on August 10, 2010. Mr. Nihad Awad, Executive Director of Council on American/Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Tim Brown, former fire fighter and first responder to the Towers on 9/11 conversed on the topic of whether or not the mosque/community center should be built around the corner from ground zero. When asked why his group had chosen this particular spot for building the mosque, Mr. Awad answered, “Why not? Religious freedom is granted to everybody in America (Fox News, 2010).” He argues that even though across the world Muslims have been condemning the acts of 9/11 and the terrorists, there is still the unfair and unfounded association of the Islamic faith with terrorism and in particular 9/11. Mr. Awad says, “There has been a concentrated effort by a very tiny minority in New York to associate the Islamic faith and the Islamic community with 9/11 when in fact Muslim Americans and Muslims all over the world have condemned 9/11 and the perpetrators of 9/11 consistently for nine years.” Mr. Brown responds with the argument that it is an act that is insensitive to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 to have a Muslim community center built 600 feet from ground zero. Mr. Brown provides a classic example of what Appiah talks about in his essay on cosmopolitanism. Mr. Brown makes the argument that “They (people of Islamic faith) are trying to leverage 9/11 and the deaths of my friends and families to bring people to the Islamic faith.”  His attitude is typical of what happens when one culture comes to fear another culture based on misunderstanding that leads to mistrust. Instead of wanting to unite the two cultures in order to bring peace and understanding, Mr. Brown fears members of the Islamic faith. This is apparent by the way he verbally assaults Mr. Awad and throws insults and accusations at him in his verbal attack. He says, “Nihad Awad is the executive director of CAIR and they are an un-indited co conspirator in the 2008 Holy Land Foundation Trail…you are an un-invited co-conspirator. The FBI has severed all ties with your radical organization.” These statements are not relevant to the topic of the mosque and only serve to attack Mr. Awad personally.

Appiah talks to two basic ideas in cosmopolitanism. One is that we all have certain obligations to each other, despite begin related by family ties or citizenship. We are all members of the human family on planet Earth. The other is that “we take seriously the the value not just of human life but of particular human lives, which meas taking an interest in the practices and beliefs that lend them significance (Appiah, 2006).” Mr. Awad makes the valid point in the debate that it was not just American’s who died in the towers on 9/11 since 300 Muslims were also murdered in the towers that day. He also points out that the actions of the terrorists have been condemned since day one by Muslims from all over the world and continue to be condemned to this day. Mr. Brown’s response is to accuse CAIR of being a terrorist organization and the community center for being built to lure people to the Islamic faith, both of which are statements based on fear rather than facts.

The United States Constitution actually endorses Appiah’s idea of cosmopolitanism in that is guarantees freedom of religion to all Americans. Mr. Awad uses this point in the debate. Freedom of religion is a way to ensure that, at least in America, everyone is free to participate in their own culture without fear of being attacked for it. Denying the rights of Muslim Americans to build a church would be a direct violation of this right. While there is the feeling among opponents that building the community center so close to ground zero is insensitive, it ultimately comes down to whether or not we value freedom and will stand by the constitution or condone censorship and will deny others the freedom to worship when, where and how they choose.

Appiah says, “A large part of what we do we do because it is just what we do (Appiah, 65).” Norms are simply habits acquired over time. Our differences lie mainly not in what we do but how we do it.  The debate over the mosque at Ground Zero is one that shows just how necessary cosmopolitan thinking is in today’s society. If so many can still blame the Islamic faith for the actions of a fringe terrorist group, then it is obvious that there is still a lack of communication and understanding between cultures. The role of a philosopher, Appiah claims, is to introduce into society new ideas and ways of thinking and to question the norm. In order to heal the pain of 9/11, it is important for Americans and Muslims to come together and try to understand each others cultures. Understanding could lead to peace. By societies being at peace with one anothers values and cultures, violence and war could be a thing of the past. Our global society today is in need of a  new vision, one that is respectful of the differences between cultures and understands the truth that underneath, we are all humans. Cosmopolitanism, if taken seriously, can lead to a new age of understanding and bring peace to our terror filled world.

Resources

Appiah, Kwame Anthony (2006) “Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers”

Fox News (August 10, 2010) “Tim Brown and Nihad Awad Debate the Ground Zero Mosque” Web. Retrieved 26