Community and Society Archive
Welcome to Community and Society where you will find the latest thoughts and reflections by CLAL faculty and associates on the changing nature of community and society in America today. What are the challenges and opportunities these changes represent for the Jewish people in America at the dawn of a new century?
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A
Religious Shrine at Ground Zero?
By Daniel S. Brenner
A serious and inclusive discussion
of the future of the Ground Zero site is now underway. The Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York is
in the midst of conducting an important series of open public meetings on various aspects
of the planning process. From the sidelines I’ve been following this conversation and
have been keeping a close eye on the growing list of proposals by architects, urban
planners, and others offering up cultural centers, art spaces, memorial parks and business
complexes. What is conspicuously absent from these proposals is any attention to religious
needs that might be associated with the site. Even the discussion of the victims’
memorial that is to be erected as part of any rebuilding plan for the site, has been
framed in essentially secular terms. No proposals even for the quiet, understated
ecumenical chapels one finds in hospitals. As one of the many chaplains who witnessed the
events of the 11th, and volunteered with many other clergy to help deal with
some of the spiritual and emotional crises that followed, I’m wondering -- Why has
religion suddenly been thrust to the sidelines?
Religious groups and organizations
were among the first to respond to the attack. Moreover, in the days following the attack,
Americans flocked to their synagogues, churches and mosques in record numbers. I will
never forget watching the televised services held at the National Cathedral and Riverside
Church, both powerful expressions of our collective sense of grief and hope.
But while those services were
articulations of America’s common spirit, they also spoke to our religious
particularities. As an American I listened intently to all the clergy who spoke, but as a
Jew, I cared most about what the rabbis had to say. I imagine that this was the case for
Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Buddhists, all who were represented in those
services. America is great because we not only allow for the freedom of religion, but we
have a public square that can encourage our religious diversity at the right moments.
For this reason, I would ask, why
not build a mosque at ground zero? And a
church, and a synagogue as well? Why not erect a vast inter-religious center on the
premises as a supplement to the secular, cultural, and artistic elements that will figure
in the blueprint for the site’s reconstruction?
An inter-religious center could serve for educational purposes, and the
religiously specific chapels could be used for baptisms, confirmation ceremonies, bar and
bat mitzvahs, and even weddings of those whose parents or loved ones have perished in the
attacks. It would be a site of healing for many. And just imagine what it would be like
for American Muslims, and Muslim visitors from abroad to visit such a shrine.
Building a mosque on the site would
also send a message to the Islamic world about America, and our commitment to the freedom
of religion. At a time when many Muslims are being fed endless distortions about America
and what we value, it will take more than a publicity mission by Muhammad Ali to change
America’s image.
What traditional religious adherents
in the Islamic world, and elsewhere fail to comprehend is the great irony of American
church-state separation: The more secular the state, the more religious the nation. In
America, religious faith is freely chosen and religious communities are strong. In an
increasingly diverse world, America may hold the model that the world needs.
But would building an
inter-religious center at Ground Zero help?
Maybe a few misguided Muslims would
go there to praise Allah for his great victory in destroying the towers - but I imagine
the vast majority of American Muslims would go to simply offer prayers of gratitude that
Allah, in his mercy, has created a place called America, where both freedom and faith can
flourish.
The perception of America’s
role in the world is being redefined. In addition to being regarded as an economic and
military power, we are now seen as a global police force attempting to root out terror.
But America is a spiritual power as well and it is important that we do what we can to get
this message out. Building an inter-religious center on the site of the World Trade Center
could be an important step in this direction. It would be a living testimony to the
American conviction that secularity and diversity are not the enemies of faith, but are
rather the very basis of spiritual strength and religious renewal.
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