I love Islam and cream soda

Written By Taj Ashaheed Much of what characterizes the issue of the “Park51” community center or the commonly referred "Ground Zero Mosque" is misunderstood or unexamined context. From the start of the controversy, it was clear as the community center was generalized in the media as a mosque and touted as being built at Ground Zero (as opposed to its actual location) that opponents of the center and the media itself were complicit in crafting a position that was both narrow in mind and critical thought. Indeed the current controversy of Park51 is an excellent study of where we as a national community can find some true insight and even understanding if looked at it from a wider scope. Opponents of the community center rally around the presumption that Park51 and its attached mosque is an affront to the victims of September 11th; however, this generalization is troublesome as it ignores the fact that among the families of the victims are those who are Muslim. Indeed, it i...

Posted: 09/02/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT As Muslims near the end of Ramadan, I among many find this annual practice of fasting a refuge. Since last Ramadan, the Colorado community has been marked with media notoriety linked to terrorist activity. In February, Denver resident Najibullah Zazi pleaded guilty in a suicide bomb plot. In March, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, from Leadville, was arrested in connection with a plot to murder an anti-Muhammad cartoonist in Sweden. Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomber, brought a spotlight to Colorado in May because his wife had been living in Aurora. And then there is Anwar al-Awlaki, put on the U.S. government hit list in May, who also spent time in Colorado. Local controversies are coupled with newer national issues, such as the emotional debate swirling around the proposed Muslim community center near ground zero and the proposed Koran-burning event planned for Gainesville, Fla., headed up by a church group there. Despite these media storms, Muslims find ...