Resolved: An Islamic Cultural Center should be built near Ground Zero.

1. Religious Freedom I already explained the statements about religious freedom in Round 3. However, I will do it again. In America, our image tends to be represented by the majority opinion. If the majority does not support religious freedom for Muslim Americans, clearly America is not a protector of rights. Building the Islamic Cultural Center does not show anything about America being a protector of rights because America as a whole has shown that it does not believe in these rights. Furthermore, my opponent seems to believe that a lack of religious tolerance means that a person has bad logic. This statement itself is horrible logic. Let us look at the resolution again. The issue of religious freedom falls under whether it can be built, not whether it should be built. Although, I readily concede that it can be built, there is no reason why that should affect whether it should be built. Many things that I can lawfully do I should not do because of the consequences. In this case we must weigh all the consequences before we decide to build an Islamic Cultural Center because it is legal to do so. Also, it is important to remember that moving the Islamic Cultural Center should not be seen as a forfeiture of rights. It would only be such if the builders declared that to be their reason. If the builders move it out of compassion and respect, we see that it clearly has little to do with rights. 2. Interfaith Relations My opponent continually points out that healing the rift is the 'intention' of the Islamic Cultural Center. That has no bearing on whether it will actually happen. Take the slave ship analogy. Just because a slave ship is built with the intention of transporting slaves does not mean that it will be successful or that it is a good idea. The builders of the Islamic Cultural Center are not terrorists. However, if they were, would they care about Americans? Would they take into consideration that some Americans view it as disrespectful? Absolutely not. Therefore, the simple act of moving the Islamic Cultural Center would separate these people from those with radical views because they would be doing something that extremists would never do. This will show Americans that Muslim Americans are a different people and will help break stereotypes about them. My opponent continually brings up how Americans have a false view of Muslim Americans. He also brings up that Christians are more likely to have these views. However, he merely cites ONE statistic without any explanation. He is making a horrible assumption, just like those who use 'reasoning' to justify that all Muslims are terrorists. If these false views about Muslim Americans did not exist, then this debate would be unnecessary. The sad truth is that they do exist. This is Islamic Cultural Center will be a chance for Muslim Americans to prove themselves as different. Although it unfair to put the burden on Muslim Americans, Muslim Americans are the only ones with the power to change these views. By changing these views, Muslim Americans will break an unfair stereotype, and next time they attempt something similar, the public will know that they are different. 3. Sensitivity My opponent never responded to my question about how moving it would offend Muslim Americans whose relatives died. Clearly, he has dropped this point. Multiple times my opponent has questioned why such an action is disrespectful if Muslim Americans are different from Muslim extremists. Also, he asks why this is even considered offensive. The reason it is considered offensive is because many Americans are misinformed. The best way to change this is to show that Muslim Americans are different. My opponent continually emphasizes that these Muslims are different. I strongly agree with him. However, building an Islamic Cultural Center will not change this. Although, the reason that these Americans are offended is unjust, moving it there will only further incite the hatred against Muslims. The death of a family member is a wound that will never heal. Because it was done in the name of Islam, building a symbol of Islam so close is clearly offensive. The builders of the Islamic Cultural Center should show respect for the wishes of the victims if it is within their power to reasonably do so. 4. Hate Crimes When I asked my opponent for a solution to hate crimes, he said "I'd probably kill [the criminal] first". However, this is not a plausible solution in this situation. Is he suggesting that we kill every person that commits a hate crime against a Muslim? Is he suggestion violence as a response to crime? Sadly, neither of these are solutions to the problem. Because, he hasn't provided a solution, you must look to my solution: move the Islamic Cultural Center. Although he argues that moving it will be backing down to threats, this is the only solution that exists. By moving the Islamic Cultural Center, future threats will actually be prevented because stereotypes will be broken. There will be no reason for hate crimes against Muslims once people realize that they are different. So actually, by moving the Islamic Cultural Center, hate crimes will not only be prevented now, but also in the future. My opponent also brings up fear mongering and media hysteria. He seems to imply that building it will cause this to stop, but actually, fear mongering and media hysteria will only INCREASE if we build the Islamic Cultural Center. Do you think no9111mosque.org is going to stop its operation if building begins? The best way to prevent this media hysteria is to move the Islamic Cultural Center and let everything die down. By moving the Islamic Cultural Center, the builders actually prevent hate crimes in the present and the future. 5. Prayer Space My opponent attempts to discredit my source and say that it is completely non factual. [1] Furthermore, you must consider the lack of logic in my opponent's arguments. This is an Islamic Cultural Center, not a mosque. If prayer space was needed, a mosque would be built. Furthermore, it would be of a much smaller scale. The current financial situation of the Islamic Cultural Center implies that it was not meant to be done anytime soon, meaning that it is not meant to fix a pressing need for prayer space. [2] On top of that, if the builders were truly in this for prayer space, they would not be fighting public opinion and political pressure. They would simply move it somewhere else nearby and build it. The federal government has denied them millions of dollars in aid because they felt it would be offensive. If they wanted to build it for space, they would obviously want this money to aid in the process. Clearly, because this is not a mosque and the builder has shown that building the Islamic Cultural Center quickly is not their priority, you can see that prayer space is not an issue at hand. WHEN WE LOOK AT WHAT THE RESOLUTION IS ASKING, WE SEE THAT THE KEY WORD IS 'SHOULD'. THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER WE SHOULD BUILD THE ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER IS TO PUT YOURSELF IN THE POSITION OF THE BUILDERS. THERE ARE FALSE PREJUDICES AGAINST YOUR RACE. YOU CAN EITHER ASSERT YOUR RIGHT YO BUILD A CULTURAL CENTER, OFFEND AMERICA AT LARGE, AND HURT THE IMAGE OF YOUR PEOPLE, OR YOU CAN CHOOSE NOT TO BUILD A CULTURAL CENTER, SHOW RESPECT FOR VICTIMS OF TRAGEDY, IMPROVE THE IMAGE OF YOUR PEOPLE, PREVENT HATE CRIMES AGINAST YOUR PEOPLE, AND PREVENT THIS FROM REPEATING IN THE FUTURE BY SHOWING THE WORLD THAT YOUR PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT THAN THEY THOUGHT. THE CHOICE IS YOURS. Thank you for this debate and good luck in the future. PLEASE READ. This article explains my viewpoint very well. http://www.washingtonpost.com... [1] http://www.dnainfo.com... [2] http://www.thedailybeast.com...