NOT ONE DIME

for the "Crescent of Embrace." The heroes of Flight 93 deserve a memorial. That memorial should not be shaped around the most promiment symbol of their murderers.

What next--a holocaust memorial in the shape of a swastika?

UPDATE: Great line Bryan. That said it all. But just in case people still don't get it, let me add this:

The large scale of the design allowed the architect to try to get away with it on a subconscious level. He knew Americans wouldn't accept an "Islam is peace" Flight 93 memorial if they knew that's what it was. People who were voting on the original detailed design drawings(.pdf file) probably didn't even notice it. It's meant to be seen and admired from high above on a plane, or from Paradise, if you know what I mean. At least in spirit, it's probably designed to be an American mini-Mecca. It tricks you into the “loving” embrace of Islam rather than telling the visitor up front what it is. And lastly, it reminds me of George Harrison’s clever song My Sweet Lord:

My sweet lord (hallelujah)
My, my, lord (hallelujah)
Hm, my lord (hare krishna)
My, my, my lord (hare krishna)
Oh hm, my sweet lord (krishna, krishna)

Chris R. (Changed to mini-Mecca because I like the sound of it then added a bit more. That's my artistic interpretation and I'm sticking to it.)

MORE: Two good comments on Captain's Quarters:

This was not mere ham-fistedness. There is no group more attuned to symbolism and the "meaning" of structures than architects. It is their business to take drawings and, ultimately, wood, glass, and stone, and create meaning out of it. That this design is in some way accidental or coincidental is preposterous.
Posted by: rich

I want a big monument. One with the likeness of those who fought back, standing tall, facing the hijackers with anything they could find that could cause some harm to the hijackers... standing firm, and fighting back. At the base of the monument, all of the names of those in that flight should be inscribed, with an inscription at the top of the base: Todd Beamer's Battle Cry, "Let's Roll!"
Posted by: newton

And it turns out the jury did have a problem with the name being too religious and they asked that it be changed. To bad they didn't grasp that the entire project was worse than the name. Changing the name wouldn't have fooled anyone, which is probably why it wasn't changed.

Murdoch, however, said his crescent has no religious significance, but was created to add formality to the bowl-shaped valley surrounding the crash site.

"This is not about any religion per se," Murdoch said in a telephone interview with the Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown. "It's a spiritual space, and a sacred place, but it's open to anyone."

The word "crescent," he said, was used as a generic architectural term for a curved line.

"Sure, there is an Islamic crescent," Murdoch said. "Theirs is a lunar crescent. Ours isn't based on that."

The jury that recommended the final design, approved by the Flight 93 Advisory Commission, had suggested in a report that planners rethink use of the word "crescent" and, instead, use "circle," "arc" or other words not linked to religious icons.

Fouad El Bayly, leader of the Islamic Center of Johnstown, said the crescent isn't a holy symbol, but one identified with the lunar Muslim calendar.

"When it comes to a memorial, all mankind sympathizes," he said. "They recognize it was against everybody."

The crescent was created for "formality?" Please. This isn't about "religion per se" but about "sacred spirituality?" Whatever dude.

Look, this was almost surely conceived innocently by an idealistic liberal as symbolic of "peaceful Islam" healing and bonding with those slaughtered for Allah, but this shifty artiste doesn't want to say that outright. He may think that's a noble cause, but he would also think think CAIR has a noble cause. By not admitting any honest intent here, it raises the possibility that the mockery is intentional. It does almost feel like a big practical joke.

(Chris R.)

UPDATE: It looks like another tree artist in Germany did design a memorial swastika tree pattern to be seen best from a high altitude when the leaves changed, but thankfully it wasn't created over a mass Jewish grave to commemorate their deaths.

Forest rangers Monday put their chain saws to a cluster of trees that form a huge swastika when seen from the air, believed to be the legacy of a forest warden who planted them in 1938 out of enthusiasm for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Officials in the eastern state of Brandenburg say the relic near the rural village of Zernikow, some 60 miles north of Berlin, is an eyesore in what is now a nature reserve.

An attempt to make the swastika disappear five years ago failed because when some of the larches were cut down, the others grew to fill in the spaces. The swastika popped up again this fall for anyone flying overhead, when the trees turned dark yellow against the surrounding green pines.

"This is something of a wound, so we really want to do something," state agriculture ministry spokesman Jens-Uwe Schade said. "We want to finally bring this to a conclusion."

Officials reportedly also fear the forest could become a neo-Nazi pilgrimage site.

More here from the 1963 Mohawk swastika sightings.

MORE: A member of the architecture community addresses the design failures in the proposed Flight 93 Memorial.

Okay, so what does this all mean? I would contend that the attitude of "blame America first" is an attitude shared by liberals. It is members of the liberal who often contend that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter; even Cindy Sheehan is on the record as saying this. I will further surmise that Paul Murdoch's commitment to sustainable design is a sign of his inclination towards the left of center, compounded by the fact that he works, and probably lives in the one of the “bluest” sections of California.

Understanding this, it becomes even more likely that the appearance of this crescent in the Flight 93 Memorial design was intentional based on socio-political inclinations of the design. Being an architectural designer by trade, I knowing how the process of design works, and the implications of it. As architects, we are responsible for every single line (or arc) we draw--not only from a legal standpoint. A crescent shape, created out of Red Maple (Acer rubrum) trees that turn bright red in the fall, forming the red Islamic crescent, effectively during the season in which 9/11 occurred. Accident? No. Ideally speaking, everything is intentional with design. Plantings are not picked at random, this specific species was chosen for its color; perhaps even its timing.

No one outside the design team can say for certain that this Islamic crescent was an intentional design element or not, but I can say with certainty that any design, especially designs for memorials, are more about symbolism than utility and economy; symbolism is everything. A design for a memorial is one of a handful of projects where a designer can take symbolism to the extreme--an opportunity not afforded to most projects and budgets.

The designers, if not initially aware of the presence of the Islamic crescent in the design, became aware of the inference of the crescent in short order, and probably disregarded the relationship or worse yet, silently embraced it. The designers created this design cognizant of its implications in all dimensions--and if they can claim they were not aware of the appearance of the crescent, did not understand what it meant, realized it and did nothing, than they have failed as designers.

Once again, the architecture flowing out of the 9/11 tragedy is being marred with symbolism gone amiss.

And from a reader: Is the Flight 93 crescent really oriented on a direct line from the graves of the fallen (to which the opening points) to Mecca? If so, we can all be certain that it was just a coincidence and the bowl-shaped valley made them do it. Not.

OUR LATEST POST: Mecca, we have a problem.