Vol. 88 Issue 5 September 9, 2010 Recent reactions WHAT’S INSIDE DETOUR to religious debate A look into the soul-search- ing memoir Eat Pray Love Collection of facts and opinions regarding the ........................................4 constructions of the Islamic community center near ground zero. OPINION See RESPONSES, page 3 How to tell he is not that into you ........................................6 SPORTS Wrestling program receives second wind ........................................8 dailytitan.com The Student Voice of California State University, Fullerton TOLERANCE IN QUESTION Controversy raised regarding the construction of an Islamic community center as the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches Islamic holy day Tension escalates over building of center smoking, sex, alcohol, etc. It ALYSSA WEJEBE was previously called Cordoba House in hon- ing the cultural center, said in an Op-Ed for the Muslims impose dis- teaches you patience and helps Staff Writer or of the city that was ruled by Muslims from New York Times that the construction of the you understand the pain that the eighth to 13th centuries. Now it is named community center would continue. cipline, seek spiritual those who are less fortunate Park51, after the project’s location two blocks “Our broader mission — to strengthen rela- reflection may have to endure.” The United States has been embroiled in a from the old World Trade Center. tions between the Western and Muslim worlds Amiwala attends her mosque controversial debate over plans to build an Is- Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the leader advocat- and to help counter radical ideology — lies not ALLY BORDAS in Corona on a daily basis. lamic community center (commonly known as in skirting the margins of issues that have polar- Staff Writer “You also should try to avoid a mosque) near ground zero in New York. ized relations within the Muslim world and be- watching TV, listening to mu- For many, that distance is too close for tween non-Muslims and Muslims,” Rauf sic and such, just to keep your- comfort. said. “It lies in confronting them as Every year Muslims around self focused on God,” Amiwala The center has been proposed a joint multi-faith, multina- the world celebrate the Islamic said. to be built about two blocks tional effort.” tradition of Ramadan. Though Ramadan is a time to dispel away from the site of the there are 1.3 billion Muslims all evil thoughts, actions and old World Trade Center, See MOSQUE, page 3 world wide who are followers words. Avoiding gossip and according to the Los of the Islamic prophet Muham- negative energy is also a must. Angeles Times. mad, many people are not aware Nonprofit radio did a special The center when their Muslim co-workers report and interview about Ra- or fellow Islamic students are madan on Aug. 10, 2010. Vali celebrating the holiest month of Nasr, a professor at Tufts Uni- Islamic tradition. versity’s Fletcher School of Law Ramadan takes place in the and Diplomacy, answered ques- ninth month of the Islamic lu- tions on Ramadan and gave a nar calendar. This year Rama- basic background information dan began after sunset on Aug. on the holiday. 10 and will continue until sun- rise on Sept. 10, lasting around See RAMADAN, page 2 30 days. “Ramadan commemorates the period when Muhammad is said to have received the first recitations of the Quran from Allah via the angel Gabriel,” said Boston University scholar Stephen Prothero, in a CNN report. Cal State Fullerton student Asra Amiwala, 21 years old and a senior liberal studies major, describes the basics of Ramadan. “It is a holy month where Muslims avoid things such as food, MARK SAMALA / Photo Editor Reaction to controversy puts freedom of religion in perspective CHRIS POTRYKUS citizens, we have the right to practice religion freely.” basketball court, a performing arts center, a 500-seat auditorium a museum Staff Writer El-Hajjaoui is a member of the Muslim Student Association, a religious and a culinary school among a number of other services. organization that reaches out to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The MSA “Only the top two floors are going to be space for prayer,” Mohamedui, seeks to educate the campus community about Islam and debunk any mis- president of MSA said. Our Founding Fathers believed America should be a beacon of freedom conceptions about their religion. One of the biggest concerns by the opponents of the project, namely and set in stone some of the most basic yet elusive freedoms in human rights “99.9 percent of Muslims in the United States denounce 9/11,” El-Hajj- 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America, is the sensitivity to the site. The history. Americans have the freedom of speech and freedom to practice the aoui said. “That is not what our religion stands for. Those are political fanat- organization considers ground zero as hallowed. religion of our choosing. Americans can protest and vote our officials out of ics. It’s time that Muslim Americans are detached from (Sept. 11).” “Nobody disputes the freedom of religion,” said Bonnie McEneaney, the office when we think they are wrong. The project is often referred to in the media as a mosque. But according widow of a Sept. 11. McEneaney was quoted in the New York Daily News. The recent controversy over the building of a mosque in the ground zero to the Cordoba Initiative’s website, which is the official title of the project, “The question isn’t about that. The question is about sensitivity. To me, this area of New York City has put the freedom of religion into perspective for it’s much more than that. is solely about sensitivity, the feelings of friends and relatives who lost loved many Cal State Fullerton students. “It’s more of a community center,” said Ozair Mohamedui, a 23-year-old ones on 9/11.” “Our First Amendment right is our freedom of religion,” said Rached business major. “Technically a mosque is just a place for prayer.” El-Hajjaoui, a 24-year-old biology and accounting major. “As American The building plan includes an athletic center with a swimming pool, See REACTION, page 3 Contact Us at [email protected] dailytitan.com September 9, 2010 2 NEWS IN OTHER NEWS The ethics INTERNATIONAL of public Gang targets those probing Mexican migrant killings relations WASHINGTON – Slowly but surely, the criminal gang behind the kill- ing of 72 migrants late last month is killing anyone coming close to the case. Officials confirmed lateT uesday that they had found the bodies of a prosecutor Current, future members and investigator into the massacre. Earlier this week, the bodies turned up of of campus organization three of the alleged gunmen involved in the execution-style killings. The new deaths underscore the power of the criminal organizations involved have their first meeting in migrant trafficking. KEITH COUSINS NATIONAL Staff Writer The Public Relations Student So- Obama proposes $300 billion business tax break ciety of America met Wednesday to MARK SAMALA / Photo Editor Muslims in Southern California pray five times throughout the day. They face the northeast because that is the direction of Mecca. welcome interested students and par- WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama proposes $300 bil- ticipate in an ethics discussion. lion in business tax breaks and more broadly addresses how he plans to PRSSA, a student-run organi- revive the economy in a speech in Cleveland, Ohio, an economically zation that works closely with the battered city in a big swing state. RAMADAN: TIME FOR SPIRITUAL REFLECTION Public Relations Society of America, It’s also where Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who’s poised to be the hosts speaker sessions, helps students next speaker of the House of Representatives if Republicans win control ... Continued from page 1 their experiences thus far. like burning a shared tradition, it is get internships and attends a national in November, gave his own speech on the economy in recent weeks. “Muslims fast during the day, but burning God’s name and his word.” conference every year. Wednesday’s speech is more about the politics of the economy than “Ramadan is a period dedicated they also break the fast usually in The Imam, or religious direc- “It’s a great opportunity to net- fixing it, for Congress is unlikely to act on these proposals before the to God. It’s a period of spiritual re- large events. They get together with tor, at the mosque in Anaheim also work, we have a really good mentor elections. Obama’s combining a populist tax stand against the rich with flection,” Nasr said. “It’s a period of family, with friends. It’s often a feast,” commented on the controversy sur- program and touch on every aspect pitches for business-friendly tax breaks that put Republicans on the imposing discipline on ones desire, Nasr said. rounding the Florida pastor wanting of the public relations field,” said spot. most basic desires and wants, which “They invite people to their homes, to burn the Quran. Kristina Bello, fundraising director. is hunger and thirst. And it’s an im- and they also go out a lot after the “Symbolically speaking it is a ter- Cal State Fullerton Chapter Presi- portant part of the Muslim religious fast breaks and spend differently than rible thing that could trigger a wave dent Christa Keizer stressed that the calendar.” they do the rest of the year,” Nasr of actions and reactions that are ex- organization promotes hands-on STATE “Muslims pray five times through- said. tremely negative,” said Imam Mo- experience by working closely with Appeal for more marijuana clinics heard out the day beginning with the dawn The last 10 days of Ramadan are hammed Faqih.