Campus to host open discussion with Park51 mosque advocate Daisy Khan
Why We Should Build Cordoba House at Park51
What: Daisy Khan, executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement
Where: Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse III
When: Today, 3:45 p.m.
How much: Free
The debate about the construction of a Muslim cultural center and mosque two blocks from ground zero is coming to Syracuse University.
Daisy Khan, the executive director of the American Society of Muslim Advancement, will address an audience at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse III. Khan is the wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the driving force behind the controversial cultural center and mosque.
Khan’s talk, ‘Why We Should Build Cordoba House at Park51,’ will discuss Islam in America and include a question and answer session.
‘She will be answering questions regarding the proposed community center and her experience during this time as a Muslim-American woman,’ says Nancy Shihadeh, executive coordinator at the American Society for Muslim Advancement.
The mosque project was originally called the Cordoba House and is funded by an organization called Cordoba Initiative. Imam Rauf has said the original name refers to eighth through 11th century Cordoba, Spain, which was populated by Muslims, Christians and Jews. The project is now named Park51, after its address on Park Place in New York City.
Besides her involvement with Park51, Khan heads two programs, Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow and Women’s Initiative for Spirituality and Equality. Both programs have goals of promoting peace and understanding through open dialogue across cultures.
The proposals for Park51 include making it a space to facilitate interfaith dialogues, according the Park51 website.
‘Our goals are pluralism, service, arts and culture, health and healing. A group of downtown Muslim Americans envisioned a sanctuary where everyone is welcome to learn, experience the arts and culture, and explore their relationship to faith,’ according to the website.
Although the construction plan for the mosque and cultural center has been approved by city authorities and has support from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Barack Obama, the plan has also been met with much disdain from others.
‘Some people do not agree with it. They feel that because an extremist group, Al Qaeda, destroyed the World Trade Center, Muslims should not be near ground zero,’ said Gustav Niebuhr, director of SU’s Carnegie Religion and Media Program.
The Carnegie Religion and Media Program is one of the sponsoring organizations of the event. Niebuhr first contacted Khan and asked her to come speak at SU.
He said he thought it would be an opportunity to engage students in a timely topic, as well as broaden their horizons. But because of the implications and issues surrounding the cultural center, Niebuhr said, he also expects it to be a sensitive subject for some across campus.
‘I invited her because I have seen panels and events where she has spoken,’ Niebuhr said. ‘There seems to be intense public interest around the Muslim cultural center and the designing and promoting in lower Manhattan.’
Published on October 5, 2010 at 12:00 pm
