interview #2

S: “Hi, my name is Suray Dieleman and I’m a Journalism student at FIU. Could I ask you a few questions for an interview?”
L: “Sure”
S: “ok, the questions have to do with the Islamic community center being proposed by ground zero in new York City. Are you familiar with this?
L: “Yes.”
S: “Great! Ok, well to start off I’m going to give you a little background.”
L: “ok.”
S: “Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf serves at a mosque in New York City's financial district. He and his wife, Daisy Khan, are trying to build a Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan that has morphed into a heated national controversy about Sept. 11, Islam and freedom of religion. It’s a $100 million dollar project. Ok, first off, are you Muslim?”
L: “No.”
S: “What do you know about or think of Muslims?”
L: “I know the basics and the history of the religion, the 5 pillars of Islam and things like that. I teach geography.”
S: “Great. So, Sarah Palin called it ‘offensive.’ Do you agree with her?”
L: “I feel like if it was actually in ground zero, it would be like rubbing salt into the wound of the whole thing. I’m actually unclear of where exactly it’s going to be.”
S: “I actually did some research on it! It “would rise as many as 15 stories two blocks north of where the twin towers once stood,” says an article in the New York Times.”
L: “Ok, being that it’s actually outside of the area, I don’t think it’s offensive. It’s not like the actual ground zero is hole Christian territory or anything.”
S: “Obama says said that he was not endorsing the project, but simply trying to uphold the broader principle that government should "treat everybody equally," regardless of religion.” Do you agree?”
L: “I agree that government’s political figures and religion should be separate. They can have their own personal religion, but when it comes to policies, they need to step back. I’m sure by him not condemning it, people are calling him a Muslim-lover and anything else they like to say.”
S: former New York Mayor Edward I. Koch, has said the project would be “insensitive.” But he has argued that Muslims have a Constitutional right to build where they please. Is this middle ground more your side?”
L: “I agree with that, yeah. I think the word ‘insensitive’ is true. I mean, does it have to be that close? If you didn’t want to evoke emotions, you would plan it farther away.”
S: New York’s current occupant of City Hall, Michael R. Bloomberg, has passionately defended the project as a matter of religions freedom. Do you think he’s just asking for trouble? Is it a smart move politically?
L: “it’s probably politically a smart move to make yourself seem pro-Muslim just so that he won’t offend the growing Muslim community of New York City, But I think politicians should stay out of promoting religions over others.”
S: “Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said Thursday that a proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near ground zero would “horribly offend” families of 9/11 victims and should be built elsewhere. Mr. Giuliani said that rather than inspire religious tolerance, the center would provoke “more division, more anger, more hatred.” Do you think the matter is that extreme?”
L: “I don’t know, because it’s Ground Zero people won’t let it go. 9/11 is not a normal day. You don’t want to do anything on September 11. No one would ever get married on that day.”
S: “Have you ever been to ground zero, before or after 9/11?”
L: “Yes, I was there after, in 2003.”
S: “Did you feel a tension/air of tragedy even then?”
L: “No, definitely, it was like something tragic had happened there. There were black tarps on surround buildings that had been ruined in the explosion. There was also a crossbeam that had split into pieces into the shape of the cross and someone had put it up against a black background. The whole things made you think of what had happened there. It was a memorial.”
S: “So what do you think should happen with this project? Proceed with plans amidst a swirling firestorm of controversy? Or just stop with it all-together?”
L: “I guess I kind of want to know more about what it is about that specific site. Is there a need in that community for the community center? If there is no need for it and they jut want to create controversy, I think they should stop.”
S: “Some [Muslims] said they felt embittered or hurt by criticism of the project, and of Islam in general, yet understood opponents’ misgivings. Others said Muslim-Americans should continue to push for the center’s construction as a means of asserting their full citizenship rights — but not too hard, lest they draw even more resentment. A few said they wished the project had never been proposed in the first place.” Do you think maybe the Muslims are having a harder time with this?”
L: “no matter what anyone says, when it comes down to it, Americans will say they are Christians. If Muslims assert themselves in the community I could see there being more of a backlash.
S: So, the imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf that proposed the whole thing has written a book called “What’s Right With Islam Is What’s Right With America.” In this book he writes: “The truth is that killing innocent people is always wrong — and no argument or excuse, no matter how deeply believed, can ever make it right. No religion on earth condones the killing of innocent people, no faith tradition tolerates the random killing of our brothers and sisters on this earth. ... Islamic law is clearly against terrorism, against any kind of deliberate killing of civilians or similar ‘collateral damage.’ ” What do you think of this?”
L: “Personally, I think there are extremists in Islamic religion who want to kill all infidels in jihad. There are also extremists in Christianity. It’s just that the Muslims that Americans are exposed to are mostly extremists. So that’s all they really see of Islam.”
S: “Is there anything else you’d like to add?”
L: “Actually, I remember when 9/11 happened, I was in 11th grade, and my history teacher showed us this video on YouTube called “operation shock and awe” it was kind of celebrating it, like justice. The point was to kill terrorists, but when you bomb, you always end up killing innocents.”
*[I went online after the interview and looked it up- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aEvzuA4f0]
S: “ok, I think that’s all. Thank you so much for your time!”
L: “No problem, thanks so much. Bye.”
S: “Bye!”

Interviewee:
Name: Lisa Hamming
Hometown: Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, been in Miami for 3 years
Occupation: high school teacher
Phone number: (814) 931-3669