Timelines

Migration is a natural part of living systems, and human history is no exception. Yet it remains one of the most debated public issues of our time.

Both people and borders move. Who is allowed to move, and who is granted rights, lies at the heart of how nations define belonging. In Germany and the United States alike, these debates have been deeply intertwined with evolving ideas of race and ethnicity.

These timelines trace how citizenship and belonging have been constructed, challenged, and redefined through laws, social movements, global events, and cultural works — and how those histories continue to shape the present.

2010

Opening of Islamic Cultural Center Sparks Controversy

In May 2010, plans to establish an Islamic cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan ignited national controversy about the place of Islam in post-9/11 U.S. society.

The Islamic center filled headlines only months before mid-term elections and a broad spectrum of lawmakers—from Sarah Palin (R, Alaska) to Harry Reid (D, Nevada)—decried the project as insensitive to the memory of those who perished in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. Often misrepresented in the news media, the physical site for the new Islamic cultural center was already a place of worship for American Muslims, led by progressive Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Though the project sparked virulent anti-Islamic sentiment and failed to garner broad public support, prominent officials such as Mayor Michael Bloomberg and an interfaith coalition of religious leaders helped to bring the center to fruition. Park51 opened its doors in September 2011.

United States

Sources

Anne Barnard. For Mosque Sponsors, Early Missteps Fuel Storm. New York Times. August 10, 2010. Date accessed: September 12, 2015.
Julianne Hing. Ground Zero Mosque. Colorlines. August 16, 2010. Date accessed: September 12, 2015.

Additional Resources

Stand with Park51. Date accessed: June 17, 2015.
Nathan Carlin, Heba Khan. Mourning, Memorials, and Religion: A Psychoanalytic Perspective on the Park51 Controversy. Religions. Edition 2, no. 2. Pages 114-131. Date accessed: June 17, 2015.
Liyakat Takim. “The Ground Zero Mosque Controversy: Implications for American Islam”. Religions. Edition 2, no. 2. Pages 132-144. Date accessed: June 17, 2015.
Christina Antonakos-Wallace. Article of Faith.

Related Events

2001

9/11 Spurs Stricter National Security & Islamophobic Backlash