RT Article
T1 The Park 51/Ground Zero Controversy and Sacred Sites as Contested Space
JF Religions
VO 2
IS 3
SP 297
OP 311
A1 Kilde, Jeanne Halgren 1957-
LA English
PB MDPI
YR 2011
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1745201327
AB The Park 51 controversy swept like wildfire through the media in late August of 2010, fueled by Islamophobes who oppose all advance of Islam in America. Yet the controversy also resonated with many who were clearly not caught up in the fear of Islam. This article attempts to understand the broader concern that the Park 51 project would somehow violate the Ground Zero site, and, thus, as a sign of "respect" should be moved to a different location, an argument that was invariably articulated in “spatial language” as groups debated the physical and spatial presence of the buildings in question, their relative proximity, and even the shadows they cast. This article focuses on three sets of spatial meanings that undergirded these arguments: the site as sacred ground created through trauma, rebuilding as retaliation for the attack, and the assertion of American civil religion. The article locates these meanings within a broader civic discussion of liberty and concludes that the spatialization of the controversy opened up discursive space for repressive, anti-democratic views to sway even those who believe in religious liberty, thus evidencing a deep ambivalence regarding the legitimate civic membership of Muslim Americans.
K1 Christianity
K1 Ground Zero
K1 Islam
K1 Islamophobia
K1 Muslims
K1 Park 51
K1 Cross
K1 mosque
K1 Religious Liberty
K1 Sacred Space
DO 10.3390/rel2030297