Exclusive: Ground Zero Mosque Goes Green

[kpete]

Exclusive: Ground Zero Mosque Goes Green

by Ibrahim Abdul-Matin Info
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin

Ibrahim Abdul-Matin is author of Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. Ibrahim is an environmental policy consultant and has worked with Green for All, Green City Force, Interfaith Leaders for Environmental Justice, and the Prospect Park Alliance. He is also a contributor on NPR's live morning news show, The Takeaway.

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BS Top - Ground Zero Mosque The former Burlington Coat Factory building that will make way for the Cordoba House which some are calling the "Ground Zero Mosque" is seen in lower Manhattan on July 29, 2010 in New York. (Timothy A. Clary, AFP / Getty Images) Amid the uproar over the Cordoba House project, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin reveals that it will be the country's first certified "green mosque," named Park51 to connect faith and the environment.

In the midst of the drama around the mosque that’s being erected two blocks from Ground Zero, a few details have been left out that provide some clarity as to the purpose of this project. Specifically, the project will be the country’s first certified “green mosque,” in full compliance with stringent LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, which is why organizers have named the project Park51, rather than the oft-cited “Cordoba House.”

The new name, Park51, invokes images of trees, creeks, and children playing.

The mosque (which is more accurately a community center with a prayer space) is located on Park Place in Downtown Manhattan, but the new name also reflects a desire to emphasize the intricate (though widely unknown) connections between Islamic teachings and environmentalism. For example, Islam calls upon people to be "stewards of the Earth" and to treat all things in nature as sacred. The new name, Park51, invokes images of trees, creeks, and children playing. Parks are for the public. Parks are fun. Parks are green. And parks are not controversial.

• Asra Q. Nomani: A Muslim Questions the MosqueProponents say this project is a victory for religious tolerance and a symbol of this country's unwavering dedication to freedom of religion. Opponents cite the 9/11 tragedy and its connection to Islamic fundamentalism, and say the mosque is salt in America's open wound. But the organizers of state-of-the-art Park51 believe they are building bridges, with the hope that the center can be a place for Muslims and non-Muslims to interact culturally and socially, and to provide an opportunity for all people to gain a more complete and accurate picture of how Islam sees the world.

more:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-08-12/exclusive-ground-zero-mosque-goes-green/?cid=hp:mainpromo1

[HillbillyBob]

1. I can just see the freeper responses

Now they are gonna be Green eco tourits!!!(sic)

According to a friend that can translate the bible from the original Greek(yes most of the original is in commonly used languages of the era, Greek, Latin and Aramaic.
Genesis translates to Stewardship of the Earth Not Dominion.

This greedy consumerism which does seem to be propagated by the corps(profit taking) is what is going to finish off the living species on Earth.
What the hell happened to 'save a some for later'?

[Joanne98]

2. LOL

[joeybee12]

3. Recycling is the work of Satan!

This just proves that Muslins are EVIL!!!!!

[madinmaryland]

5. Dude! Do you seriesly think that Muslims are actually Yankee fans??

:wtf:

[Scurrilous]

4. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Posteritatis]

6. Now we get to discover whether the right hates Islam or environmentalism more! (nt)

[Better Today]

7. This is great news, HOWEVER

it would do good for the issue to

#1 quit calling blocks away from Ground Zero "Ground Zero" because it isn't Ground Zero

#2 quit calling it a mosque when it's a community center, since it isn't a mosque.

If we want to quit hearing RW talking points, we need to be more careful of our own terminology.

Just sayin'.

[HillbillyBob]

8. Frankly I have lived 48 yrs..and am sick to death of riechwing

yammer shit. I could easily shoot the next rightwing bastard that opens their fucking mouth.
They talk shit about how evil the left is...but have forgotten that WE got 8 hour days, real pay for real work. I say lets just start poppin the sobs in the nose..or if ya don't want hurt your fist Pepper spray!