discussing the WTC mosque from a historical perspective; or, hypocrisy in action
the original post is a few weeks old, but I only saw it recently; and since I said in the intro post that I'd like to see more Native topics discussed, I figured that this might be a good beginning.
Since time immemorial, the Black Hills in South Dakota have been a holy place for the Lakota Sioux - my people. And to the Lakota the Black Hills is where Life began. Although the story of creation significantly differs between Sioux and Christians (our messenger from The Creator came in the form of a woman) Paha Sapa is not unlike Christianity’s Eden in its significance.
But here is where today’s debate over the mosque and my peoples’ sacred site come together: It didn’t matter to the Christians, those innumerable settlers who came west seeking gold, land, riches and religious freedom (ironically) that the Black Hills was our holy site, our sacred location, our Jerusalem. No. What mattered was that their monument - Mount Rushmore - be chiseled into it.
And the key word here is “on,” not “near.” The American Muslim community wants to build their 13-story mosque near the World Trade Center bombing site, not on it. Only if we - American Indians - were lucky enough to have seen Christians build their much coveted religious institutions and monuments to their leaders near our holy sites, and not on them.
the rest at I Am Not A Mascot
sorry about the first submission, mods, my laptop has a mind of its own.
Since time immemorial, the Black Hills in South Dakota have been a holy place for the Lakota Sioux - my people. And to the Lakota the Black Hills is where Life began. Although the story of creation significantly differs between Sioux and Christians (our messenger from The Creator came in the form of a woman) Paha Sapa is not unlike Christianity’s Eden in its significance.
But here is where today’s debate over the mosque and my peoples’ sacred site come together: It didn’t matter to the Christians, those innumerable settlers who came west seeking gold, land, riches and religious freedom (ironically) that the Black Hills was our holy site, our sacred location, our Jerusalem. No. What mattered was that their monument - Mount Rushmore - be chiseled into it.
And the key word here is “on,” not “near.” The American Muslim community wants to build their 13-story mosque near the World Trade Center bombing site, not on it. Only if we - American Indians - were lucky enough to have seen Christians build their much coveted religious institutions and monuments to their leaders near our holy sites, and not on them.
the rest at I Am Not A Mascot
sorry about the first submission, mods, my laptop has a mind of its own.