Here are some interesting numbers that I came up with. I think they are somewhat relevant to a discussion concerning places of worship in New York City.
1.8 Miles
2.5 Miles
9.2 Miles
8.5 Miles
Thanks to Google Earth, these numbers are pretty easy to calculate. What do they represent? The first number is the distance between the a proposed Mosque near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan and Ellis Island. The second number is the distance between that same Mosque and the Statue of Liberty. The third is the distance between a proposed Mosque on Statin Island and Ellis Island. The last is the distance between that Mosque and the Statue of Liberty.
Ellis Island, of course, was the first stop for immigrants who came across the Atlantic to find a new home in the United States. Between 1892 and 1954, 8 million immigrants came through Ellis Island. Today, 100 million Americans can trace their ancestry to someone who came through Ellis Island.
Upon a bronze plaque on the pedistal of the Statue of Liberty, the following is inscribed:
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
with silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
The New York Times describes a town hall meeting in Statin Island discussing the opening of a new Mosque:
…As Bill Finnegan stood at the microphone, came the meeting’s single moment of hushed silence. Mr. Finnegan said he was a Marine lance corporal, home from Afghanistan, where he had worked as a mediator with warring tribes.
After the sustained standing ovation that followed his introduction, he turned to the Muslims on the panel: “My question to you is, will you work to form a cohesive bond with the people of this community?” The men said yes.
Then he turned to the crowd. “And will you work to form a cohesive bond with these people — your new neighbors?”
The crowd erupted in boos. “No!” someone shouted.
