The Mayor and the Mosque
By Michael Boyajian
Mayor Michael Bloomberg displayed true courage in his defense of the proposed lower Manhattan mosque. He exercised leadership in the face of great opposition but was rewarded for his strength by the continued support of the people.
Let us look at three people and their reactions to the mayor and the mosque. First there is me. I lived in New York before and after 9/11 and saw the horror that day from the Brooklyn Heights promenade. Something that has left a permanent scar on my psyche. We lost my wife’s cousin that day in the World Trade Center and he was the leader of our family.
I am for the mosque out of a sense that the founders believed strongly in freedom of religion and that Islam is generally a peaceful religion. I don’t hold with bigoted outside agitators who came into our city to attack the plan for the mosque but I do understand the feelings of those who lost a loved one that day who have a legitimate reason for opposing the mosque.
Let’s continue to my wife Jeri who also lived in the city before and after 9/11 and whose cousin Bruce was lost that day. What does she think of the mosque? She is not so certain that it should be located that close to ground zero. We went together in the aftermath of 9/11 looking for Bruce in hospitals while putting his photo up on photo walls in hopes that someone would have seen him and he was ok. We rode the subway through lower Manhattan and smelt death as we passed the WTC area. Yet Jeri is sure about liking Mayor Bloomberg and his firm position on the issue. A Democrat she boasted of voting for the Mayor during our discussion of the mosque.
Then there is my mother in law Marilyn. She lived outside New York on 9/11 but it was her sister’s son who perished that day. She is a Republican turned Democrat but she is strongly against the mosque yet once again she firmly supports the mayor believing he has a right to his opinion and because of the courage he displayed sticking to his beliefs while defending a minority group. Marilyn is a WASP.
So there you have it, three different views of the mosque yet all in agreement over the mayor’s performance on the issue. If only more politicians would show conviction what a great country we would have as we did once before.
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