Poly-Monotheistic Sacred House III
There is a growing need for religious tolerance in the world, especially in the United States. This is apparent is light of the recent event of a “mosque” that has proposed being built “at” ground zero. The space is being proposed as a community center similar to a YMCA, that will have spaces dedicated to prayer spaces for Muslims. Prayer spaces similar to those that were already in the world trade center before the attack on September 11, 2001. It is also not going to be built “at” ground zero it will be built two blocks away from the site. A better description would be an Islamic center near ground zero. A surprising seventy percent of the US population is against this community center being built for reasons such as if it gets built it is a sign of victory for the Islamic extremists. In response to this dilemma the leader of the project: Faisal Abdal Rauf has agreed to set aside separate prayer spaces for other religions in order to show religious tolerance and help the public appeal of the project.
It is a constitutional right to be able to practice any religion wherever anyone may wish in the US. It is an idea that started during the time of the early settlements in North America. The idea started as deism, which is an understanding that God does not interfere with human affairs. This grew to become part of the first amendment of the United States constitution, which prohibits the making of any law "respecting an establishment of religion", and impeding the free exercise of religion. The idea of this Community center is making a large statement about religious tolerance, however it is breeding more abhorrence on all sides of this international social debate. Unfortunately there is no way for state to enforce religious tolerance effectively or easily, so this debate could only get more severe. The possible beginning to a solution for this quandary could be a more direct response to the concerns of all, and in order to ensure fairness each of the three monotheistic religions; Islam, Judaism, and Christianity should be included.
Now if all three religions were placed into one building (“Poly-monotheistic Sacred House III”) where they each had their own separate space and practiced each of their beliefs adjacent to each other it would make a statement for tolerance. Also if it were placed across from the WTC memorial that is currently being constructed it would inevitably be included in the events that would take place on September 11 each year. The three religious spaces could be connected using literal and phenomenal transparencies in such a way that gives the illusion that each space is included in each of the others. This could also be done in a way that will highlight the similarities and differences between them. Thus creating a balance of between the three that could suggest a higher level of tolerance and understanding between the three separate religions.
