"Sacrificing Survivors" – A New Film about 9/11 and the Ground Zero Mosque
by Jerry Gordon (September 2010)
Late that day, I spoke to ash-covered survivors who had escaped the destruction and death at what we now call ground zero. I listened to their gripping tales of watching helplessly as bodies fell from burning upper floors and the bravery of fire, police and emergency personnel who unflinchingly gave of their lives in trying to secure the safe passage of those fortunate enough to escape this burning holocaust.
Nine years have passed, but the graphic images of what occurred that horrific day have not dimmed. Interminable plans and designs come and go about memorializing this hallowed ground. But nothing has been built.
Instead we have the abomination of a callous affront to the memories of these honored dead in the form of a mosque and Islamic community center a few blocks from ground zero. Originally called the Cordoba House initiative, that name should not be lost on you. It harkens back to the great wave of Muslim conquest of Al Andaluz in Southern Spain and the construction of the Mezquita Mosque on top of a Catholic Cathedral in Cordoba, an early symbol of Muslim triumphalism and conquest. The controversy surrounding the Ground Zero mosque project and New York City Community Boards and Landmark Commission decisions have aroused public opinion among New Yorkers and many Americans. 3/5ths of New Yorkers
That callous insensitivity is the subject of a new film, “Sacrificing Survivors; The Ground Zero Mosque Story” produced by the Christian Action Network and PRB Productions which is to be released in late September. The film producers note the scope and theme:
Here are comments of several survivors from the transcript of this film about their personal losses and experiences that fateful day:
Tim Brown, New York firefighter: “I was in the Marriott… my legs were in the air … I saw bodies’ falling… it was a terrible thing they did to us…the devil is smart… (My friend) called from the tower, and said… ‘I love you brother, I may never see you again.’ “
Madeline Brooks, New York City resident, a counter-jihad activist and writer:
Michael Burke, brother of firefighter Capt. William F. Burke Jr., Engine 21, who died in the attack:
Andrew Sullivan, construction field supervisor, and founder of
Tim Sumner, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America, brother-in-law of firefighter Lt. Joseph Levy, Ladder 15, who died in the attack:
Maureen Santoro:
Lee & Eunice Hanson, whose son Peter, his wife and 2 year daughter Christine were killed aboard one of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers: Here are comments from some of the survivors in the film about the insensitivity of a Ground Zero mosque.
Madeline Brooks:
Tim Sumner:
Narain Kataria, President of the Indian American Intellectuals Forum:
Note what film producer Martin Mawyer says about current plans for a Ground Zero Memorial and the comments of survivors:
Andrew Sullivan:
“Imam Rauf lies about bridge building. He has ties to terrorism.”
I urge you to go see this remarkable and engrossing film. It is sure to awaken your collective memories of that horrific brilliant late summer day nine years ago, and raise your consciousness and opposition to the dominating image of a mosque like a conquering colossus astride Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.
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