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Muslim Public Affairs Council Commends NYC Mayor Bloomberg for Supporting Muslim Community Center in Manhattan
The Muslim Public Affairs Council today expressed its support for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who delivered a powerful and moving speech earlier today at Governor’s Island in support of the proposed Muslim community center near Ground Zero, alongside a group of the city’s interfaith leaders.
Standing alongside a diverse group of New York interfaith leaders, Mayor Bloomberg stressed that “our values and our traditions endure, and there is no neighborhood in this city that is off-limits to God’s love and mercy.”
“We commend Mayor Bloomberg for his clarity of vision and unwavering commitment to our national values of religious freedom and coexistence,” said MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati. “Today, Mayor Bloomberg once again refused to give into bigotry and xenophobia and chose to stand with the values of America, and in the process he reminded us all that today’s victory is a victory for America.”
With the Statue of Liberty in the backdrop, Mayor Bloomberg reminded New Yorkers and all Americans about the rich struggle for religious freedom in our nation’s history.
Among the many moving statements he made during the speech were:
–In the mid-1650s, the small Jewish community living in lower Manhattan petitioned Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant for the right to build a synagogue, and they were turned down. In 1657, when Stuyvesant also prohibited Quakers from holding meetings, a group of non-Quakers in Queens signed the Flushing Remonstrance, a petition in defense of the right of Quakers and others to freely practice their religion. It was perhaps the first formal political petition for religious freedom in the American colonies, and the organizer was thrown in jail and then banished from New Amsterdam.
–This nation was founded on the principle that the government must never choose between religions or favor one over another. The World Trade Center site will forever hold a special place in our city, in our hearts. But we would be untrue to the best part of ourselves and who we are as New Yorkers and Americans if we said no to a mosque in lower Manhattan.
–Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11, and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values and play into our enemies’ hands if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists, and we should not stand for that.
–For that reason, I believe that this is an important test of the separation of church and state as we may see in our lifetimes, as important a test. And it is critically important that we get it right.
–Muslims are as much a part of our city and our country as the people of any faith. And they are as welcome to worship in lower Manhattan as any other group. In fact, they have been worshipping at the site for better, the better part of a year, as is their right. The local community board in lower Manhattan voted overwhelmingly to support the proposal. And if it moves forward, I expect the community center and mosque will add to the life and vitality of the neighborhood and the entire city.
–Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure, and there is no neighborhood in this city that is off-limits to God’s love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us can attest.
New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously ruled this morning that the location for Park51 should not be designated as a landmark. This clears the way for the demolition of the existing buildings and allows construction of a mosque, a 500-seat auditorium, and a pool and be modeled on the YMCA and Jewish Community Center in Manhattan.
Dalia Mahmoud, Chair of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of New York City, was at the meeting of the Landmark Commission this morning to support the Park51 Community Center project. Mahmoud serves on Local Community Board Seven in Manhattan, and is working with the developers of the Park 51 project to assist in the projects fruition.
“To state that building a mosque in this neighborhood is ‘insensitive’ is ignorant and places the blame for the action of a few extremists on an entire religion with 1.5 billion followers,” Mahmoud told reporters. “It is the equivalent of blaming all of Christianity for the Oklahoma City bombing.”