Perhaps it doesn't matter to bigots like Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, and it should matter to the no longer credible Anti-Defamation League, but the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks included innocent Muslims, some of whom were killed in the attacks. But when considering the pain and suffering of those who survived 9/11, or who were traumatized by it, it's worth considering that there are more than half a million Muslims living in New York City. They saw what other New Yorkers saw. They smelled what other New Yorkers smelled. They experienced the same devastating horror and sorrow. They were New Yorkers like any other New Yorkers. They were no more responsible for the attacks than were any other New Yorkers.
That the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by Muslim extremists is not the fault of the larger Muslim community. This shouldn't need to be said. It shouldn't need to be said that collective guilt is no more acceptable a concept than is collective punishment, which is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Muslim faith is no more responsible for the 9/11 attacks than is the Republican Party responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing, perpetrated by registered Republican Timothy McVeigh. Should the Republican Party choose to build local headquarters near the Oklahoma City memorial site, would anyone object? This isn't about the pain and suffering of the 9/11 victims, it's about bigotry. What about the pain and suffering of Muslim New Yorkers? Is their pain and suffering now to be exacerbated by the intolerance of some of their neighbors?
Like so many people, innocent Muslims have suffered much too much from 9/11. An irrational backlash caused innocent Muslims in this country to be stigmatized, marginalized, and demonized. How many saw their personal or professional lives turned upside down? How many children faced hatred merely because of the color of their skin or the faith that they worship? And beyond that, how many innocent Muslims from around the world were secret renditioned, imprisoned, tortured, or even executed? And what of the innocent Muslims of Iraq? What of the victims of the sinister cabal of bloodthirsty liars who used the 9/11 attacks to foment enough collective hatred to convince a traumatized nation into supporting the bombing, invading and devastating of a Muslim nation that had had absolutely nothing to do with those attacks? Anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of innocent Muslims have been killed in Iraq. Millions have been displaced. Lives and livelihoods have been destroyed. What of the suffering and pain of innocent Iraqis?
If all Muslims are to be held responsible for the horrors of 9/11, then all Americans are responsible for every outrage and atrocity perpetrated by the Bush-Cheney administration--some of which continue to this day. If all Muslims are to be held responsible for the horrors of 9/11, then all Americans are responsible for every act of bigotry and hatred perpetrated by those whose reactions to 9/11 were most irrational and extreme. Where does it end? Perhaps this is where it should end. Perhaps it's time to start getting this right. Perhaps it's time for people to rediscover their basic sense of humanity. Perhaps it's time to heal collective wounds rather than exploiting, deepening, and adding to them.
Muslim New Yorkers are every bit as innocent of the crimes of 9/11 as are all other New Yorkers. Muslim New Yorkers suffered and continue to suffer as did and do all other New Yorkers. They have the same rights and responsibilities as do all other New Yorkers. A mosque and Islamic cultural center should be a perpetual source of healing, of fostering understanding and tolerance. And if this current controversy proves anything, it's that we all need a lot more healing, understanding, and tolerance.