Join Rabbi Lerner: Back the Park51 Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan
by: Joshua Stanton on August 9th, 2010 | 11 Comments »
Rabbi Michael Lerner has helped lead a growing chorus of American rabbis who are voicing their support for the Park51 Islamic community center (often mislabeled the “Ground Zero Mosque”) in Lower Manhattan. His video of support, featured here, is a call for people of all traditions to recognize the holiness in each other. It also touches on the singular hope that Americans have of honoring each other’s freedoms and affirming each other’s beliefs.
Please join Rabbi Lerner in doing the same! Whether you are a rabbi or a nun, a lay leader or proud humanist, the need to protect religious freedom in America has never been more important. Religious Freedom USA, the organization that first featured Rabbi Lerner’s video, is quickly becoming an interfaith movement to support of Park51 as a praiseworthy center that must be protected as an expression of religious freedom.
Religious Freedom USA, of which I am proud to be a founding member, has started a petition in support of Park51. It affirms,
Since the first pilgrims reached the shores of Plymouth, America has shone as a beacon of religious freedom, illuminating the path to liberty for the oppressed from every land, in every generation. Extreme criticism of the proposed Muslim community center in lower Manhattan is an affront to the religious freedom that our Founding Fathers fought to secure. We stand by our belief in freedom of worship and freedom of expression and consider the Park51 community center to be an expression of both. We are proud to unite behind it as a symbol of religious freedom.
Join the movement. Religious freedom is either guaranteed to all or safe for none. It is a cause vital to the entire Tikkun community, as Rabbi Lerner has made so tremendously clear.
[To learn more about this topic, check out Rabbi Lerner's post on the ADL's opposition to the mosque and Josh Stanton's previous post on the controversy.]
Busting the multiculturalist myth of diversity bringing ‘cultural enrichment’: http://crombouke.blogspot.com/2010/01/multiculturalism-does-islam-bring.html
Islamists are already trying to restrict and destroy our culture – see additional links under ‘Cultural Jihad’ at http://crombouke.blogspot.com/2010/01/everything-you-need-to-know-about-islam.html
RE” Islamists are already trying to restrict and destroy our culture . . .”
I disagree with your premise, but I have to ask you, just because someone/thing “wants to restrict and destroy our culture” does that mean they get to? Is our culture really that friable? If so, then to heck with it.
Wonderful Initiative, thank you so much for sharing. You have my support and I will share this widely.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful message – gives a hope that our children might be able to able to grow in a better place!
May God bless you for taking a strong position on doing the right thing. America is a verb not a noun like lots of failed nations in the World.We are a nation that stand for freedom unlike a nation like Saudi Arabia where you have no rights. Only thing Saudis buy is the insurance from USA, UK and Isreal to insure that Royal Family stay Royal. Yes they are the thugs that are more interested in their own selfish satanic interests then the common people. The Saudi Royal family has always been to o close to Bush Clan and Cheey,s of this World.
Oh people of America please don,t equate Saudis with the rest of the muslims in this World. The leadership in New York with Mayor Bloomberg and others know the truth. A lot of innocent people in New York will use this Mosque are daily wage earners like taxi drivers and shop workers etc. This will be the refuge of the poor and please don,t take away their rights.
We need to create good Karma so that good will come to our land. We the American muslims love USA as this is the land that gave us the freedom which we could,nt get in our own land hence we are here.
MAY GOD BLESS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ameen.
We need make only one argument in favor of the Islamic cultural center: the First Amendment.
There is no conceivable reason not to include Moslems as members of our American community. Their faith is deep, moral, and profoundly mystical. I read the Koran (in translation), and I find it deeply nourishing. The fear reaction to islam in American is the reaction of Bin Laden working in conjunction with right wings pundits like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. Together they build hate and create conditions for the religious wars which are going on around us. We need not only to pray but to act to end this religious phobia which makes it so easy for people like Christopher Hitchens to dismiss religion altogether. Separately we will be crucified. Together we will build conditions for everlasting peace.
When I listened to the message of Rabbi Lerner, it gave me hope that there are still some courageous, rational, sane voices out there who understand, among other things, the need to protect religious freedom in America.
Look to the Republicans to make this a wedge issue in the upcoming election, however. Rather than talk about the economy, endless war, tax cuts skewed to the wealthy, jobs, etc., we will be diverted into this latest wedge issue and that will become the focus of the election or at least they will try to make it the focus. Something else to divide us and ratchet up the anger and hate.
I join in support of the Muslim center in lower Manhattan. Religious tolerance is one of the principles this country is based upon.
Im amuslim, and im not sure what to think about this mosque, I would have supported the plight if the mosque was funded by the people, through donations, however it seems that the mosque is being funded by the rockerfeller group, owned by the rockerfellor family who are probaly the richest group in the wprld, who ar enot muslims. Also there are a lot money strange groups funding the mosque, so i have no idea who or why these people are building a mosque so big, that im sure does not need to be that size, you wouldn’t even see a 13 storey mosque in a muslim capital, let alone new york.
just found your website. so this refers to your thots about primarieing blue dogs and obama; i am in total agreement. please lets start now. the longer time period we have to put this in the news and in play the better our chances. i totally believe a real progressive – a genuine one!!- could unite enuff americans to replace obama and stomp any repub they put up. so thanx for getting in print; please continue. thanx.