Vol. 88 Issue 5
Recent reactions to religious debate Collection of facts and opinions regarding the constructions of the Islamic community center near ground zero.
September 9, 2010
WHAT’S INSIDE DETOUR A look into the soul-searching memoir Eat Pray Love ........................................4 OPINION How to tell he is not that into you ........................................6
See RESPONSES, page 3
SPORTS Wrestling program receives second wind ........................................8
dailytitan.com The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton
TOLERANCE IN QUESTION
Controversy raised regarding the construction of an Islamic community center as the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches
Islamic holy day Muslims impose discipline, seek spiritual reflection ALLY BORDAS Staff Writer
Every year Muslims around the world celebrate the Islamic tradition of Ramadan. Though there are 1.3 billion Muslims world wide who are followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, many people are not aware when their Muslim co-workers or fellow Islamic students are celebrating the holiest month of Islamic tradition. Ramadan takes place in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. This year Ramadan began after sunset on Aug. 10 and will continue until sunrise on Sept. 10, lasting around 30 days. “Ramadan commemorates the period when Muhammad is said to have received the first recitations of the Quran from Allah via the angel Gabriel,” said Boston University scholar Stephen Prothero, in a CNN report. Cal State Fullerton student Asra Amiwala, 21 years old and a senior liberal studies major, describes the basics of Ramadan. “It is a holy month where Muslims avoid things such as food,
smoking, sex, alcohol, etc. It teaches you patience and helps you understand the pain that those who are less fortunate may have to endure.” Amiwala attends her mosque in Corona on a daily basis. “You also should try to avoid watching TV, listening to music and such, just to keep yourself focused on God,” Amiwala said. Ramadan is a time to dispel all evil thoughts, actions and words. Avoiding gossip and negative energy is also a must. Nonprofit radio did a special report and interview about Ramadan on Aug. 10, 2010. Vali Nasr, a professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, answered questions on Ramadan and gave a basic background information on the holiday.
Tension escalates over building of center ALYSSA WEJEBE Staff Writer
The United States has been embroiled in a controversial debate over plans to build an Islamic community center (commonly known as a mosque) near ground zero in New York. For many, that distance is too close for comfort. The center has been proposed to be built about two blocks away from the site of the old World Trade Center, according to the Los Angeles Times. The center
was previously called Cordoba House in honor of the city that was ruled by Muslims from the eighth to 13th centuries. Now it is named Park51, after the project’s location two blocks from the old World Trade Center. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the leader advocat-
ing the cultural center, said in an Op-Ed for the New York Times that the construction of the community center would continue. “Our broader mission — to strengthen relations between the Western and Muslim worlds and to help counter radical ideology — lies not in skirting the margins of issues that have polarized relations within the Muslim world and between non-Muslims and Muslims,” Rauf said. “It lies in confronting them as a joint multi-faith, multinational effort.” See MOSQUE, page 3
See RAMADAN, page 2
MARK SAMALA / Photo Editor
Reaction to controversy puts freedom of religion in perspective CHRIS POTRYKUS Staff Writer
Our Founding Fathers believed America should be a beacon of freedom and set in stone some of the most basic yet elusive freedoms in human rights history. Americans have the freedom of speech and freedom to practice the religion of our choosing. Americans can protest and vote our officials out of office when we think they are wrong. The recent controversy over the building of a mosque in the ground zero area of New York City has put the freedom of religion into perspective for many Cal State Fullerton students. “Our First Amendment right is our freedom of religion,” said Rached El-Hajjaoui, a 24-year-old biology and accounting major. “As American Contact Us at news@dailytitan.com
citizens, we have the right to practice religion freely.” El-Hajjaoui is a member of the Muslim Student Association, a religious organization that reaches out to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The MSA seeks to educate the campus community about Islam and debunk any misconceptions about their religion. “99.9 percent of Muslims in the United States denounce 9/11,” El-Hajjaoui said. “That is not what our religion stands for. Those are political fanatics. It’s time that Muslim Americans are detached from (Sept. 11).” The project is often referred to in the media as a mosque. But according to the Cordoba Initiative’s website, which is the official title of the project, it’s much more than that. “It’s more of a community center,” said Ozair Mohamedui, a 23-year-old business major. “Technically a mosque is just a place for prayer.” The building plan includes an athletic center with a swimming pool,
basketball court, a performing arts center, a 500-seat auditorium a museum and a culinary school among a number of other services. “Only the top two floors are going to be space for prayer,” Mohamedui, president of MSA said. One of the biggest concerns by the opponents of the project, namely 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America, is the sensitivity to the site. The organization considers ground zero as hallowed. “Nobody disputes the freedom of religion,” said Bonnie McEneaney, the widow of a Sept. 11. McEneaney was quoted in the New York Daily News. “The question isn’t about that. The question is about sensitivity. To me, this is solely about sensitivity, the feelings of friends and relatives who lost loved ones on 9/11.” See REACTION, page 3