The Cordoba House

It has become almost a cliché that, in today’s society with its instant communication and never-ending information loops, the words we speak in a previous context can be used in current  settings to reveal the truth about our perspectives and intentions. I offer such an example in the current brouhaha here in New York over the creation of a proposed community center, the Cordoba House, in an old Burlington Coat factory two blocks from ground zero.

This effort has produced  ill-informed and vitriolic commentary on a national and international plane, a new round of which is likely to emerge at next week’s Landmarks Commission hearing. The controversy centers on the fact that this is a Muslim initiative, promoted by the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) and the Cordoba Initiative. The effort is characterized as being insensitive, self-aggrandizing and with the subversive political agenda of establishing a toe-hold for radicial Islam in America.

Yet, a quick check of the web site of the Cordoba House, gives the lie to such attacks. The facility “is about promoting integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion through arts and culture.  Cordoba House will provide a place where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds, will find a center of learning, art and culture; and most importantly, a center guided by Islamic values in their truest form - compassion, generosity, and respect for all.”

Since its inception, Intersections has also been dedicated to multi-cultural dialogue where religious differences are affirmed in the quest for creating a peaceful mosaic that reflects the great diversity in our culture—both here in the city and beyond. This community center represents precisely the kind of effort that Intersections seeks to offer: moving beyond dialogue to create concrete expressions that enhance the wellbeing of all. But, with many charlatans out there, it is important that we be on guard for those who prey on fears and insecurities. How do we discern the true intent of those who would lead us in these pursuits? One way is to go back to previous times and places to see if those proponents offer a consistency of message over time.

Back to February 2008, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of the Cordoba Initiative and a life-long advocate for interfaith cooperation, gave the charge to Intersections and the Collegiate Church at my installation. At that time, far removed from this effort, he set the tone for our fledgling organization, “to confirm the common ground and common values of our faiths, values that constrain us and unite us—and that direct us to act in the highest sense of what it means to be human.” Then, he offered several challenges, including:

…to work towards strengthening the belief that effective public engagement around difficult issues can include, and in fact, requires, religious voices.

…to affirm our collective experience, that multiple religious voices working and praying together have served, and can serve, the world's deepest common good; and that common religious, moral and policy grounds can be found in a dynamic exchange among these voices.

... to go beyond where many public discussions end; to convince those who fear religious voices of the merits of their inclusion in the public debate.

…to demonstrate to the skeptics and hardliners within our faith traditions that entering into constructive dialogue and common ground with the "other" is neither wrong nor sinful nor naïve-but necessary for global peace and human prosperity.

And because we are all created imago Dei, in the image of God, I charge you to work towards the elimination of all war, to usher in the era predicted by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah: a time when nations "will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; a time when nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4).”

In Imam Feisal’s charge to us here at Intersections more than two years ago, in a setting far removed from the current context, his prophetic words underscore why the Cordoba House is an important witness for all New Yorkers to support. It can be a place where we honor the past, engage one another, embrace our differences, affirm our common humanity and live into a future as the magnificent mosaic that this city represents to the whole world.