Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Temple of the Heart

Good afternoon everyone!

So, as usual, I didn't have any idea as to what I would write about today until I got an email from my "play future baby daddy." He sent me a link to an MSNBC article where NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg weighed in on Sarah Palin's racist mosque tweets. I didn't get a chance to watch much news the past couple days, so I was unaware that she tweeted this recently about the proposed building of a mosque at Ground Zero:

On Sunday Palin tweeted: "Peaceful New Yorkers, pls refute the Ground Zero mosque plan if you believe catastrophic pain caused @ Twin Towers site is too raw, too real." "Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing," she added an hour later.

One of Bloomberg's aides, Andrea Batista Schlesinger, responded "@SarahPalinUSA whose hearts? Racist hearts?"

I have to say...I wonder the same thing. In the interest of healing? Unnecessary provocation? Why would building a place of worship stab at hearts? Because the people worshipping there would be Muslims?

What many people fail to remember is that Muslims died on 9/11 too. Not just Christians, or Jews, or atheists...but Muslims as well. They and their families suffered great loss too. Would it stab at Muslims' hearts if we built a synagogue at Ground Zero? A church? Is that more acceptable?

There are many paths to God, and each of us walk our own path. My sister and I grew up as Christians, and we sang in the church choir, attended Sunday school and learned the stories of the Bible. My sister is now a practicing Muslim. Often, the religion we practice isn't one that we've chosen on our own, but more so one that was passed down to us from our parents and grandparents...the religion we were born and baptized into.

But my sister's spiritual awakening came through Islam. She takes comfort in its teachings - and if your salvation is at stake, then one must decide what works best for him or her and embark on that spiritual journey in search of self. We stand at the mythical, pearly gates alone, and our salvation is way too important to leave it up to someone else to decide for us.

Personally, I believe God is One, and everything made from the Creator returns to its source. I don't believe those who perished in the 9/11 attacks went to a gold street-lined Heaven or were condemned to eternal damnation - but rather I believe they became one with God again since all paths lead to the Divine. Whether it be a church, a temple or a mosque - the place where we worship to sustain and nourish our spiritual selves cannot be viewed as place of pain, but one of healing and faith.

No one person or building can tell us who we are or how we should be - least of all Sarah Palin. It is not for her to judge what brings pain, what would stab at our hearts or what would heal us - because all of that comes from within. We have to listen inwardly to dictate how we act outwardly. We have to trust what is true for us, and not the ideas and values of others who speak out of ignorance or hate. Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam - all of these religions boast extremists who fashion religion into one of their own making. Many have enslaved and murdered innocent people in the name of their religion. Those who flew planes into the Twin Towers are not the peace seeking Muslims who would pray at a mosque at Ground Zero - but rather the ones we should be praying FOR at a mosque at Ground Zero.

Building a mosque at Ground Zero doesn't mean we celebrate the hate that brought those buildings down - it means we conquer it. Every major religion of the world has similar ideals of love and the same goal of uplifting the human spirit. Whether a church, a temple, synagogue or mosque - the common goal of all these holy places is to teach love and humanity where its followers steer away from negative acts caused by ignorance and hate, and walk the path of goodness which leads to the temple of the heart.

-b

13 comments:

Annamaria said...

First Bitches

-V- said...

You shouldn't need a monument to remember.

Annamaria said...

B I LOVE HOW YOU CALL HIM YOUR PLAY BABY DADDY...IT'S ALL FUN & GAMES TIL SOMEONE GETS KNOCKED UP! :)

Sarah Palin is a complete idiot. I don't understand why anyone would pay attention to her let alone why she even has any twitter followers.
RELIGION didn't kill anyone on 9/11...Sick individuals "claiming" to be acting in the name of their religion caused 9/11...
B let's take your sister for example. Like you said she's now a practicing muslim... And she's one of the most gentle human beings that I've NEVER met...LOL her husband sounds even nicer. I couldn't rationally think that they were terrorists just cuz they were Muslim. And how would Mrs. Perfect Palin explain home grown terrorists?? The ones that grew up Catholic & Christian & look exactly like her & her kids?
Your religion is what you make of it.

Courtney said...

I agree you shouldn't need a monument to remember, but I'm not against them building a mosque there...especially if they'd like to build a church or some other holy building. I say either don't build any holy places, or build a place of worship for all.

Courtney said...

oh, and Sarah Palin is a buffoon.

Jay said...

Brooke, as always, very well written. And you're right - a mosque at Ground Zero will only hurt those whose hearts are in the wrong place.

Anyone who pays Sarah Palin any mind is an idiot. I can't believe her comments still make news. And she's supposed to be an example of what our families should look like or how they should behave. She's a hypocrite and a dolt. Why she's still out there talking - and anyone is listening - is beyond me.

Yolanda said...

Sarah Palin also made up a word during this whole conversation ("refudiate")... she's an embarrassment and I don't trust anything she represents.

One thing these right wing people aren't pointing out is the Muslim Center (it's not simply a mosque) is TWO BLOCKS from Ground Zero. Do you know how far TWO New York City blocks can be? C'mon son. They act like bin Laden himself is coming over here and building a mosque in honor of the jihad right in the footprint of Tower One.

Unknown said...

Brooke, brilliantly stated! My sentiments exactly!

Serena W. said...

This piece is on point. The one's I pray for are those who don't believe in anything, they have no salvation and walk the earth believing they are here some how, some way but not in a Creator.

I have two friends in this boat and I pray for them daily. One is depressed and doesn't know how to get out of it. I told him to pray on it and He flat out said there is no God. He said a good God would not have taken my mother from me, no wars would be in effect and he wouldn't be so depressed (I'm using depressed for other words because he was profane). I caught offense and I told him again I'm going to keep praying for you.

He hasn't spoken to me in 2 weeks and you know what...its fine. I'll still pray for him.

I always believed that there should be a place of peace at ground zero. Memorial Park...whatever. Another industrial building to generate money should be out of the question. Enough damage has been done. Let people rest in peace.

I have no words for Sarah...P...P...what's her name again lol.

Anonymous said...

I like the idea of a place of worship for ALL religions..that way everyone can come together and process there pain in a way that they believe in. It's your boooooy!
oh yeah...
B..i wish i could have seen you while you were down here..:(..tell Nic i said "salami I like 'em" LOL...love yall!

Brooke said...

I'll tell her :)

I wish I could have seen you too, would have been fun!

Rameer The Circumstance said...

Why does anyone give any weight to Sarah Palin's words?

She was thrust into the spotlight to counter Barack Obama's appeal to women and a diverse audience. Her appeal was then two-fold as many older men find her to be attractive in that older teacher/librarian sort of way. But she doomed John McCain the minute she opened her mouth about ANYTHING...

She's still relevant today only because she's essentially a MILF for the Republican and Right Wing platforms! If she looked like Janet Reno, she'd never pop up on TV again. True story. They trot her out to espouse their views, and she gets people's attention.

Here's a good rule of thumb - if a person regularly appears on Faux (Fox) News, don't give any credibility to ANYTHING they say. And assume that anyone who does is either a willful idiot, an easily swayed simp or a raging racist within.

Jaz said...

Sarah Palin isn't the only person opposed to a mosque at Ground Zero - and I think it's ridiculous. I'm not saying we need to build places of worship for all religions, but I'm not against it either. And a mosque isn't a slap in the face or a jab to the heart to anyone who lost someone in 9/11. The people who did that were not people of God - no matter what God you choose to pray to.

Related Posts with Thumbnails