MANHATTAN (CN) - On Saturday I joined thousands of demonstrators in support of the Ground Zero mosque. Actually, that's not accurate; I should define some terms before I describe the march. The "Ground Zero Mosque" is not a mosque; it's an Islamic cultural center, with a swimming pool, art galleries, lecture rooms, performance halls, a special-needs center and a top-floor sanctuary. And it's not at Ground Zero. It's proposed to be built at a former Burlington Coat Factory, two and a half blocks away from the former World Trade Center - not visible from the site.
It used to be called the Cordoba House, for the Spanish region known during the Middle Ages for reason, culture, tolerance and coexistence among Jews, Christians and Muslims.
The name was changed to Park51 after right-wing pundits described it as a site of Muslim domination and expansion.
The opponents of Park51, if I understand them correctly, believe that this former coat factory is "hallowed ground," and they demand that the developers move it elsewhere - or nowhere.
When applied to post-9/11 thinking, "hallowed ground" apparently refers to land within 3 blocks of the site of a massacre of Americans.
There is a mosque called the Masjid Manhattan 4 blocks from the World Trade Center site, where congregants have worshiped without complaint for 40 years. It is not on hallowed ground.
The rules to be followed within hallowed ground, apparently, are simple: Muslims are not allowed to gather in groups inside this three-block radius, and they may not own buildings there - or it would be "insensitive" for them to do so.
This applies even to Sufis, such as Park51's Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who belong to a mystical sect of Islam that brought the world the love poetry of Rumi, whirling dervishes, and the belief that all of the Earth is suffused with God's love.
God's love apparently has no place on hallowed ground, which is reserved for sites of death and slaughter, according to many trusted religious, political and media authorities.
Other than that, everything is permitted on hallowed ground, subject to local laws.
There are two strip clubs on the same street as the proposed cultural center, where men of sensitivity flock to observe sacred dances and pay for rituals that take place in private booths.
For weeks, the self-appointed guardians of hallowed ground planned to gather a block away from the old Burlington Coat Factory on Sept. 11 to oppose Park51.
Being naïve, I believed that many of the protestors could be reached if they were exposed to what they opposed and feared.
So about a week before the protest, I contacted the International Action Center, which was organizing a counter-demonstration in support of Park51, and suggested that an email moderator invite Sufi dancers to perform a whirling dervish between the two demonstrations.
As I understand it, Sufi whirling is a mystical religious practice consisting of spinning around continuously to transcend the ego, balance one's own will with God's and merge with the universe and love.
Having seen it before, I knew it was beautiful to watch, and thought that it could change the conversation from bigotry-versus-tolerance to a shared, inspiring cultural encounter. So I sent out emails with the subject line "Whirl for Religious Freedom."