The "Ground Zero Mosque": The Official Cocktail Party Response

The renovation plans for 51 Park Place in New York City call for an Islamic community center that includes a prayer room. It is not a mosque. The term "Ground Zero Mosque" is inaccurate and inflammatory.

The community center would not be built at "ground zero" or on "hallowed ground". 51 Park Place is about two blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center. Also within that radius, you can find McDonald's, Burger King, and the New York Dolls Gentlemen's Club. Hallowed, indeed.


A Relevant Yummish Meditation from the Cocktail Party

1) In the year 1620 C.E., a small sect of fanatic Protestant extremists, loyal to the teachings of the radical cleric John Calvin, came to reside on the shores of what had historically (for thousands of years) been an animist continent. This flight, or "Great Migration," by these Calvinist Fundamentalists was necessary as they had become extremely unpopular in Europe, largely due to their repressive, restrictive dogma and their tendency to get along poorly with anyone who did not agree wholeheartedly with their worldview.

Upon arrival, these religious fundamentalists founded the Plymouth Colony, governed by a theocratic mix of English Common Law and Calvinist doctrine. All citizens were legally required to attend religious observances and all children were required by law to attend schools where they received instruction in Puritan doctrines. Women were considered property and had no legal standing, their rights subsumed by their husbands'. Church officials held sway in all matters, both secular and ecclesiastical. Those who flouted their authority often received violent punishment. This settlement, they hoped, would be a shining example of the religion-based communities they hoped to create throughout Europe.

2) The first ten Amendments to the United States Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. Before there was a Second Amendment, which seems to be the one that gets the most airtime these days, there was a First Amendment. The first amendment reads as follows:

"Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

3) 1 Corinthians 10:23