Wonderful news! Another victory against the 'enemy'! Man, I had no idea whatsoever that Al-Qaida got to the 9/11 families and brainwashed them into choosing/approving of this 'Islamist' museum. Started in 'conservative blogs'; Rep. Tom "nuke Mecca" Tancredo taking up the cause; I am shocked! You should read some of the things being said on those 'conservative' blogs, truly wonderful people! http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5615802.html Controversy kills 9/11 'crescent' Michael Riley, Denver Post September 15, 2005 Moving quickly to snuff out controversy, the National Park Service on Wednesday said key changes would be made to a proposed Sept. 11, 2001, memorial in Pennsylvania to eliminate any association with a crescent -- a symbol of Islam. Joanne Hanley, the Park Service superintendent for the memorial, said she had full confidence in the way the design was selected -- a two-year process -- and the result -- a sweeping memorial to United Flight 93 that includes a grove of maple trees in an arc called the "Crescent of Embrace." But acknowledging growing complaints that the design evokes Islam -- the religion of the terrorists who hijacked the plane -- Hanley said that the memorial's name would be changed and that modifications in the design would be made to squelch a controversy that threatened to "blemish the intent of the memorial," she said. "The name change is going to happen," Hanley said. And "as part of the next step of the design process, [architect Paul] Murdoch is exploring architectural refinements" that will modify or eliminate the crescent. The controversy began bubbling up in blogs and conservative websites over the past week. Tuesday, Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., sent a letter to the Park Service demanding that the design be changed. "This is a victory not for me," Tancredo said, "but for the families of the victims." Critics of the proposed changes point out that family members helped choose the design and say the agency is caving to political pressure. "To suggest that these family members who spent hundreds of hours picking a memorial that deals in a very sensitive way with this sacred ground somehow created a memorial designed to honor the murderers of their love ones is obscene," said Edward Linenthal, a history professor and a member of the federal advisory commission for the memorial. How extensive the changes will be is still unclear.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050920/OPINION02/509200314/-1/OPINION A crescent? So what? HAS American life been irrevocably dumbed down, or do certain people just have too much time on their hands? Unfortunately, those questions are suggested by the minor furor that came about after the unveiling of the winning design of the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pa. A great deal of time and effort has been spent on finding the right design to mark the spot where that hijacked United Airlines plane crashed on Sept. 11, 2001, after passengers mounted a heroic effort to seize it back. The winning plan is just about perfect for this hallowed ground, not just fitting the landscape but bringing an emotional grandeur to the site. One architectural critic said the design by the Los Angeles-based Paul Murdock Architects had a "timeless quality and accent on healing and spirituality." It features a 93-foot tower containing 40 wind chimes - one for each passenger and crew member aboard - and stands of maple trees making what the architects called a "Crescent of Embrace." But like those who look at innocent kids trick-or-treating at Halloween and see only the devil's work, a few small and suspicious minds couldn't look past the crescent to see a remarkably sensitive design. According to a marginal minister of religion, as well as some bloggers and letter writers, the crescent is a symbol of Islam and therefore its presence memorializes the hijackers. It would be like putting a swastika on a Holocaust memorial, they say. No, it wouldn't. The swastikas that flew over concentration camps were the all-encompassing symbol of a regime that persecuted the Jews and started a world war. By contrast, the hijackers who struck on 9/11 also hijacked Islam; there are tens of millions of Muslims who lead decent lives and abide in U.S.-allied countries with crosses on their flags. The United States is not at war with Islam - despite Osama bin Laden trying to depict Americans as "crusaders," an effort that can only be helped by unthinking critics making a big deal about crescents. As it is, the maple trees making up the Pennsylvania crescent could just as well be called an arc - the word crescent came from the vocabulary of architecture. By the logic of the memorial's critics, people shouldn't give money for the repair of New Orleans, the "Crescent City," enjoy crescent rolls, or even rejoice in looking up at a crescent moon. Fortunately, such nonsense does not seem to bother the relatives of those killed on Flight 93. Those interviewed recognized good intentions and a good design. As the only consolation to the critics, let's call it the Arc of Embrace and let it work its magic.
We know that as Muslims, but don't tell Rep Absurdo from Colorado or some right-wing Christians; perception is everything, isn't it? This sort of ties in to that 'Muslims are shooting at IRC' thread. Each group (or some subgroups to be more accurate) view the symbol of the 'other' as offensive.
That article is so stupid that it is not even funny. The memorial certainly does not require the presence of a crescent. However, the rationale used in the article against putting a crescent is just dumb. By the way, anyone who thinks that a crescent is analogous to a swastika needs a real dose of reality and a book on history.
