Preacher fights Flight 93 marker's 'Islamic' crescent
Friday, September 09, 2005
AP
SOMERSET, Pa. -- A Somerset County preacher vowed to fight the design of the Flight 93 National Memorial, insisting that the crescent pathway used in the design is a symbol of Islam.
"This is a memorial to the terrorists who killed those people, not a memorial to the folks who died there innocently," said the Rev. Ron McRae, leader of the Bible Anabaptist Church near Jerome, about 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
"The crescent is as much connected to Islam as the cross is to Christianity," said McRae of Conemaugh Township, also listed as director and founder on the Web site of the Lancaster-based Street Preachers Fellowship.
McRae said the group may go to court to try to block the "Crescent of Embrace" memorial designed by Paul Murdoch Associates of Los Angeles. The design centers on a mile-long semicircle of red maples surrounding the point of impact, where 40 passengers and crew were killed when the hijacked plane crashed near Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001.
Though not accepted by all Muslims, the crescent moon and star is an internationally recognized symbol of Islam and appears on the flags of many Muslim nations.
Murdoch, however, said his crescent has no religious significance, but was created to add formality to the bowl-shaped valley surrounding the crash site.
There is an infinite number of possible designs that don't remotely resemble the enemy or their motives for this attack. Why would any of us stand against those who feel the need to remove the one shape that causes so many to think of the attackers first?
The only answer is pride. Feelings get hurt when you say you don't like someone's idea or design or you don't agree with their decisions. I know we live in a self-centered society but are we really this lost as a country?
Does it resemble a prominent Islamic symbol? Yes. Can we make slight changes in the the shape so it would never resemble a monument to Islam? Absolutely. Then why not change it? Because we might hurt the feelings of the people who approved the design. No disrespect intended, these are the objective facts.
This country was built on selfless service and sacrifice. The people on flight 93 are the ultimate example of selflessness but most of us would have done the same thing in the circumstances. Their circumstances revealed the futility of selfish thinking and action. We should share their perspective each and every day of our lives. Let's try to stop our self-centered emotions from dictating our words and actions. Let's try love and respect for all that is good in this world. There is only one that meets this criteria.
All Americans are victims of 911. We should try to behave like the heros of that day.