Last night, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivered a passionate speech on religious freedom at the annual iftar dinner he hosts at Grace Mansion. (Iftar is the meal Muslims break their fast with after sunset during the month of Ramadan.)
His shocking words: "There is nowhere in the five boroughs of New York City that is off limits to any religion."
Per the New York Daily News,
Mr. Bloomberg, speaking at an annual Iftar dinner, said he understood the impulse to find an alternative location for the proposed mosque and Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero. But this kind of "compromise," as Gov. David Paterson and others have suggested, will not the end the debate, he said.
Bloomberg on Mosque: "A Test of our Commitment to American Values"
This is the kind of integrity and just plain common sense one hopes for in a political leader. He pointed out the implications of caving to the frenzied pressure of bigots:
"The question will then become, how big should the 'no-mosque zone' be around the World Trade Center site? There is already a mosque four blocks away. Should it be moved?" the mayor said. "This is a test of our commitment to American values. We have to have the courage of our convictions. We must do what is right, not what is easy."
He then gave personal support for Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the spiritual leader of the proposed center, while acknowledging that some of the imam's statements have stoked controversy. He put important words out into the mainstream media (the text was printed in full by the Wall Street Journal).
While a few of his statements have received a lot of attention, I would like to read you something that he said that you may not have heard. At an interfaith memorial service for the martyred journalist Daniel Pearl, Imam Rauf said, ‘If to be a Jew means to say with all one’s heart, mind, and soul: Shma` Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu Adonai Ehad; Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One, not only today I am a Jew, I have always been one. If to be a Christian is to love the Lord our God with all of my heart, mind and soul, and to love for my fellow human being what I love for myself, then not only am I a Christian, but I have always been one.’
What Bloomberg demonstrates is that we must always look at the big picture. I have had some problems with Bloomberg in the past. In my view, he actively suppressed the civil liberties of New Yorkers taking to the streets during the roll-up to the Iraq war and the GOP convention, approving aggressive policing, arresting, and penning of demonstrators. But I can't tar him completely with those actions. On so many others, he has been in the forefront, sticking his neck out, and this community center is just the most recent.
I have heard so much CRAP about the center. Yesterday I read a comment that to the effect that if the Muslim community wants to show us how sensitive they are, they should donate all the money for the center to the 9/11 memorial fund. WHA? Then I heard that the people who must always, be most considered in ANYTHING in downtown NYC is the victims' families. WHA? You know, the monolithic block. I mean, excepting the Muslims who died there, I guess.
Protesters across the street during the Gracie Manor dinner were in full idiocy:
"There is no responsibility of a Jewish mayor of a largely Jewish town to give an Iftar dinner," said Ms. Dreyfus, a college teacher. "The fact that he is says again that he is sticking a stick in our eye."
Another protester, Andrew Upton of the Bronx, said, "If the Muslim community in New York was really respectful, they would not push this mosque down at Ground Zero. And if they're not respectful…we shouldn't just sort of suck it up and say, 'Come on over and have dinner with us.' "
On a personal note, I am no particular fan of organized religion in general, and yet I was deeply moved last week while I was in Turkey for 10 days. The whole idea of Ramadan, fasting from sunrise to sundown, goes against the grain of societies becoming ever more productive. In small towns a man goes through with a drum to wake people up at 5 so they can have a last meal before the sun comes up. Those fasting adults (not that many in Istabul or Izmir, large numbers in smaller towns and rural areas) were waylaid by the heat wave - drinking water is not even allowed, unless one is ill. We saw people going slowly about their work in shops and fields, sometimes just lying in the shade of trees. It makes no sense in a capitalist world. But I have to say that there seemed to be a wonderful bonding going on, with even those young people who weren't observant going elsewhere to eat and drink, out of respect for those who were. And the iftar meals in the restaurants at night, and given to the poor in centers across the country, were wonderful celebrations of family and friends. My family was shown so much welcome and kindness. Turkey rocks.