N.Y. Islamic center should stand as symbol of American tolerance

Almost a decade after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Americans, including American Muslims, continue to pay a terrible price for al-Qaida's efforts to spark a clash of civilizations between the United States and the Islamic world. If the controversy surrounding the construction of Cordoba House, a proposed community center and mosque in New York, two blocks away from the site of Twin Towers, is any indication, Osama bin Laden's fanaticism is poisoning all of us.

Cordoba House is the project of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, an American cleric who has spent years promoting interfaith dialogue and healing. His American Islam — one that recognizes and celebrates diversity — is a powerful antidote to bin Laden's perverse jihadist version. Cordoba House and similar interfaith initiatives serve as a bridge for dialogue and exchange between cultures and religions. They make America safer and stronger.

Flanked by religious leaders from all faiths, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made Cordoba House an expression of America's commitment to religious freedom, tolerance and diversity. Bloomberg framed the issue perfectly: "Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here."

As an American Muslim of Iranian heritage, I have devoted a lifetime to supporting cultural and religious centers that promote interfaith understanding and dialogue. To me, Cordoba House is a symbol of a tolerant and inclusive vision of America that allows American Muslims to resist and reject al-Qaida's distorted vision of America.

As a longtime Republican, my hope is that Republicans recognize the crucial role American Muslims can play in defeating fundamentalism. After all, we have the political, economic and cultural capital to serve as a bridge between the United States and Islamic countries around the world.

Yet, as we enter an electoral cycle, some Republican leaders are using the Cordoba House controversy to launch a cultural war premised on the false notion that Muslims, including American Muslims, were the perpetrators of 9/11.