Redefining Chutzpah

Remember when chutzpah was a Jewish attribute? Remember when chutzpah was a bad thing as in “how could you have the chutzpah to say such a thing?” I think chutzpah used to be a good thing also- it explains the “nerve” of the Jewish spirit to survive despite all the obstacles that we have faced as a people. Well, I think chutzpah has now been refined by a Muslim named Feisal Abdul Rauf, an Imam from New York. Rauf is the spiritual leader of a group of Muslims who have taken chutzpah to a new level! He and his group are behind the Cordoba House Project, a proposal to build a 13 story Islamic center at ground zero. The development would include a mosque, an auditorium, a swimming pool, restaurant, and bookstore. To put it in simple language- this group wants to build a mosque on the ground on which 3000 Americans died in the World Trade Center! If that isn’t chutzpah I don’t know what is!
As I have been following this story there is only one thing that shocks me more than the project. Mayor Bloomberg has publicly supported the building of Cordoba House. How can the mayor of New York City have the chutzpah to say such a thing? I would like to hear him explain his actions to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11. How can any American endorse covering the scars of 9/11 by the building of an Islamic outreach center? If I didn’t know better I would think that this is just a bad joke.
While I realize that those behind Cordoba House have no connection to terrorism, I do wonder what happened to common sense. How could Mayor Bloomberg be so short sighted in this insult to the victims of 9/11? If this is about “forgiveness,” or “plurism,” or some misguided attempt to show how very inclusive our society can be than I must miss the point. To me this is a shameless, suicidal betrayal of the American people. Beyond this I am angered by the limitless chutzpah of anyone who would even think to suggest this proposal. There comes a time to say no. There comes a time to stand up for yourself. I believe that the building of an Islamic center at ground zero should be seen as an insult to the American people.
While we discuss the new limits of chutzpah I would ask you to consider one new way to express chutzpah. How about a little chutzpah for Americans? How about a little self-respect? How about a little common sense? Americans died at ground zero. Americans continue to be threatened by a hostile minority within the world Muslim community. Yes, I ask you to remember that not all Muslims are terrorists- most are wonderful people who should be free to practice their religion in peace and security. But the other side of that argument is that Americans also deserve peace and security. To me the building of a mosque at ground zero will be a distasteful, insensitive, chutzpadik reminder of the murders of innocent Americans. It is time to say no to Cordoba House.