Mormons and Muslims

By now, I’m sure everyone has heard about the so-called ‘mosque at ground zero’. I first heard about this a couple of weeks ago when a Muslim fb friend of mine posted an article about it (at the very start of the controversy). I was surprised and annoyed by all the fuss then and have only gotten more annoyed and increasingly shocked/disappointed in the general public’s reaction to the proposed project since. I can’t understand why people can’t distinguish between Muslims and terrorists. The men who took down the WTC were terrorists. All the experience I have with muslims (through school and work) tells me that those men were not true muslims.

I recently read a blog post on Mormonism-unveiled which compared the building of the mosque on Park Place to our church building a temple on the site of the mountain meadows massacre. I still trying to decide if the writer is not from NY or if they just don’t have a brain. The site of the MMM is the middle of nowhere. If we were to build something there, it would be because of the massacre. That is a far cry from building a mosque on Park Place. If I began to list how many other things are within a 2 block radius of the WTC site, you’d be reading this blog for several hours. The people behind building this mosque are not building it there because of 9/11. They are likely building it there because they already own the property and there’s a need for a community center and prayer space due to the number of muslims working and/or living in the area. Anyone who believes that they are building it there because of its proximity to the WTC site is simply a paranoid conspiracy-obsessed individual. Or just straight up ignorant I guess.

Anyway, aside from the general public’s opposition to the project, which I find ridiculous considering people’s obsession with second amendment rights while seeming to ignore first amendment rights…or just relegating them to certain individuals, I’m more disturbed by members’ opposition to the project. And it’s not just because I expect more from members of the church (although I am constantly disappointed and should probably flush that expectation down the toilet). First, there is the 11th article of faith: We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. I don’t think it gets more straightforward than that…and I don’t know how you can justify opposing the project and claiming to believe this. Integrity, anyone?

But more than that, it’s the failure of members to see the similarities between Mormons and Muslims that really makes me sad. We have seen lots of opposition when trying to build temples (the Plainview temple which was announced but never built due to opposition from the community is a local example of that – thank goodness since that led to the building of the Manhattan temple – saweeet!). The entire church is routinely blamed for the stupidity of either a few members or for the actions of people who are not even members of our church , but of a church which others confuse with ours (ya’ll know what I’m talking about). Additionally, I often feel I have more in common with Muslims than with other Christians. Muslims I know believe in the importance of the family. They don’t drink, they don’t swear, they dress modestly, they live modestly, and their beliefs seem to really impact the way they live their lives. In a world where most people think you’re backwards for having any traditional values (like believing in the importance of virtue for example), I believe Muslims (especially Muslims in America) are Mormons’ greatest ally on that front. Anyway, there’s a lot more I could say, but if I wrote everything that was on my mind, I would never post this…it’s already been brewing for over a week…