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This article was written by Leena Saleh, the editor of UMMA INK, DePaul University’s Muslim Student Association newspaper.

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Approaching the anniversary of the September 11th attacks, a Mosque is proposed to be built where the Twin Towers in New York City once stood. A heated debate over the appropriateness of the Mosque’s location has elicited a toxic mixture of fear and hate.

“I think the controversy is absurd. Just because extremists of one religion commit terrorist acts doesn’t mean they represent all of the people of that faith,” said Sarah Ewing a senior majoring in journalism. Relating to her own faith, Ewing said, “I don’t want to be held accountable for actions of extremist Jews. They don’t represent me.”

Ground Zero, two blocks where the place where the Twin Towers once stood, is to be renamed Park51. The building is to be a nonsectarian community, serving as a cultural and interfaith spiritual center. A Muslim prayer area and a monument to honor the victims of September 11th will be there as well.

Many families of victims in the 9/11 attacks expressed strong opposition to its construction. They claimed that practicing sharia, Islamic law, so close to Ground Zero is an insult to those who died in the attacks. Over 700 protestors of Park51, voiced their opposition in a rally titled, “We shall not be moved” in New York City last August.

The mosque will be a breeding ground for terrorists, believes Robert Spencer and Pamela Gellar, co-founders of the organization, Stop the Islamization of America. Their blogs, which receive nearly 10,000 hits per month, were the first to coin the phrase, “Mosque at Ground Zero.”

“Park 51 does not reside near ground zero, it resides at the very heart of what the United States was founded upon; that simple, yet powerful notion, that through our diversity of human experience, we are inextricably bound to one another in our shared and sacred existence,” said senior Nic Cable, an Interfaith Scholar majoring in Religious Studies; Peace, Conflict, and Justice Studies.

Two thirds of New Yorkers believe the center should be moved to a location away from Ground Zero, found a study conducted by the New York Times.

The debate has caused many to question what we can learn from our history.

Political figures such as Sarah Palin, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, all share the sentiment that they have nothing against Muslims, but building a Mosque at ground zero is comparable to building a Japanese cultural center across from Pearl Harbor or having a Nazi sign next to a holocaust museum. They feel that it should be understood that ground zero is sacred to New Yorkers.

“I think this is rooted in racism and people are comparing it to the civil rights movement,” said senior Marwa Abed, an International Studies major who is president of DePaul’s United Muslims Moving Ahead. “One example is how African-Americans were told they could only sit in certain places, the back of the bus, and Muslims are now being told you can pray in this area and not in that area. These limitations are restricting Muslims from integrating into the society we are a part of.”

President Obama is in support of religious freedom and the right to build a mosque near Ground Zero. He has not commented, however, on the wisdom of the proposed Mosque’s location.

A recurring trend, however, for many Muslim Americans is a feeling of hurt, betrayal, and disappointment at always being labeled non-American.

“What I initially felt was confusion because of the way it was being framed. People were using the word ‘sensitivity’ and how it was insensitive for people to build the mosque in that area. But that’s like saying all Muslims, including myself and Islam in general, were the reason behind the 9/11 attacks,” said Abed.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is in charge of Park51, has denounced the terrorist attacks and suicide bombing saying they are anti-Islamic. However, Rauf has called America an “accessory” to the 9/11 attacks.

The mosque debate has left its mark and stirred up emotions of varying sorts on all sides. These emotions have led to incidents such as a Muslim cab driver being stabbed by a customer due to his religion. This incident has not been the only New York hate crime against Muslims following the debate.

“The ground zero mosque represents an opportunity for healing at the core of our humanity as Americans,” said Cable. “For nine years, millions of people in this country have struggled with intense and complex pain and emotions, and this project has the possibility of bringing people together in love and compassion when they need it most.”

It has been over a month’s time and the discussion continues. With it grows both the intensity of opposition and support for Park51. It has been nine years since the 9/11 attacks, but it seems that all the trauma, grief, fear and backlash that had seemingly settled with the dust, now is once again, airborne.