Columnist’s note:  In my previous worship page columns, I have written as a representative of Temple Beth Or, Snohomish County’s only Jewish synagogue.  For this column, I am not representing Temple Beth Or or any other institution but am writing as an individual who happens to be a Mukiltean, U.S. citizen, Jew and urban planner.

 

When you ask the wrong question, you can only get a wrong answer.  That’s the case with the “Ground Zero mosque” controversy.

 

Even before we asked the wrong question, we got off on the wrong foot by calling it the Ground Zero mosque.  It is not a mosque because mosques are exclusively a Muslim place of prayer.  

 

Calling Park51 (the project’s given name) a mosque is like calling SeaTac Airport a church because it happens to have a meditation room/chapel.  

 

In addition, Park51 is not located at Ground Zero because it is not a World Trade Center property, the site attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001.

 

Before these mistakes, we started from a place of ignorance.  Very few Mukilteo Beacon readers, including me, personally know a Muslim.  Perhaps a few more of us have spent time researching Islam, but I would guess not many.  

 

How then can we ask a “who” question if when we get the answer we know so little about Muslims?

 

Then, to treat all Muslims as a single group is a narrow-minded approach that exacerbates the original ignorance about Muslims.   

 

In one respect, Islam is no different from Christianity and Judaism in that all three religions have numerous sects or movements, which sometimes hold extremely varied beliefs.

 

 To tar all Muslims as being the same as the terrorists who flew airplanes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center’s towers is as absurd as calling SeaTac Airport a church.

 

The fact that we are ignorant on many issues should not surprise us.  We lead busy lives and have a variety of interests.  It is impossible to be up-to-speed on everything.  That’s okay.  

 

But it is not okay to spout opinions on issues we are ignorant of.  We should not be surprised then, that we end up asking the wrong question when we start off in ignorance.

 

Instead of asking “who” is behind this project, we should be asking “what” the project is.  

 

The United States is a nation founded on the principle that all people are created equal with a constitutional amendment that guarantees us the right to worship in our own way, say what we think, print what we like and gather as we see fit free from government intrusion.  

 

The United States is a country based on the rule of law.  As such, we must apply our laws identically to everybody.  We cannot ask, “Who is doing it?”  We can only ask, “What is it they are doing?”

 

Urban planners put this into practice every day.  It is irrelevant to us who the applicant is for a development proposal.  We do not ask “who.”  We focus on “what.”  What is being proposed?  What uses will take place on the site?  

 

There is a reason why development applications are reviewed by staff and not by elected officials.  As trained professionals, staff applies the rules without regard to “who” the applicant is, and politics are not considered.  

 

This is a good thing because it supports the principle of equal application of the law to all.

 

It is natural for a Jew to be wary of the majority’s opinion, because our history (not so much American as world) has shown just how poorly the majority has treated us through the ages merely because we were a religious minority.

 

That is why I was aghast by the Anti-Defamation League’s statement against Park51.  The ADL, an organization originally founded to fight anti-Semitism, did not deny the right to build Park51 but said its proponents should reconsider the location because it would cause pain to the families of 9-11 victims.  

 

In this, the ADL is twice guilty of asking the “who” question.

 

This gives rise to another fallacy in the argument against Park51.  

 

Many assert that Ground Zero is sacred and special rules should apply there.  

 

We may say it is sacred, but that is not how we act.  How can it be acceptable to allow strip clubs, liquor stores and worse on sacred ground but it is not acceptable to allow a Muslim community center?  

 

If we truly think Ground Zero is sacred, we would treat it the way we treat Arlington National Cemetery and national parks; by purchasing the property and strictly controlling what happens there.

 

By the way, a prayer space, 9-11 victims memorial, community center, auditorium, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, basketball court, childcare center, bookstore, culinary center, art school and food court is the answer to “What is Park51?”