[Vision2020] Muslims are Part of Our Culture

Tom Hansen thansen at moscow.com
Fri Sep 3 05:32:16 PDT 2010


Courtesy of the "Letters to the Editor" section of today's (September 3,
2010) Moscow-Pullman Daily News with a special thanks to The Rev. Mary Beth
Rivetti of Pullman.

 

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Muslims are part of our culture

 

I applaud Franci DuPont for her careful explanation of the need for cultural
sensitivity in encountering foreign places (Letter to the Editor, Aug. 27). 

 

Her examples show that she has indeed been involved in attempting to shed
light on the bridging of cultures around the world, and particularly in the
areas of extreme cultural clash. 

 

But then I'm very surprised at her conclusion that the Park 51 Islamic
cultural center is an example of cultural insensitivity. 

 

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, one of the leaders of the initiative, leads worship
in a mosque that has been located just a few blocks from ground zero for
more than 30 years. He has been involved in attempts to promote dialogue and
mutual understanding for years, and in particular in light of the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001.

 

I think that what is culturally insensitive is the amazing barrage of
inaccurate information and inflammatory rhetoric about the proposed center,
which has been supported by the mayor of New York and local religious
leaders (including the Roman Catholic archbishop and the Episcopal bishop)
as a sign of healing and renewal. The Vicar of Trinity Episcopal Church on
Wall Street - whose members were there, and whose friends and family were
lost Sept. 11 - just a little bit away from the site of the blast calls the
mission of the center "peace and reconciliation, inter- and intra-faith
understanding."

 

The supposition that Imam Rauf or Muslims in general constitute "outsiders"
who need to show sensitivity to the culture they are entering is ignoring
the long history of Muslims in our communities. Muslims are as much a part
of us as members of the dominant culture. It is we who need to learn more
about our history, we who need to show some sensitivity.

 

The Rev. Mary Beth Rivetti, Pullman

 

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Amen!

 

"Muslims have made an impact on the evolution of American society.
Historically Muslims have made major contributions, e.g. humanities, the
sciences, and art. They explored North America 300 years before the
so-called 'discovery' of the New World by Christopher Columbus. They used
the Mississippi river as their access route to and from the continent's
interior."

 

http://www.islam101.com/history/muslim_us_hist.html

 

A few examples of Muslim life in American history can be found at the above
link.

 

Seeya round town, Moscow.

 

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

 

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails." 

 

- Unknown 

 

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