I have to agree with Obama — they have every right to build a mosque/community center near the World Trade Center. And those who oppose it have every right to do so as well. Both are protected by the First Amendment.
I also agree that the president should weigh in because this is a national issue, not just a New York City issue. Do I think it’s in bad taste to build a mosque near the site of the 9/11 attacks? Not in this case, not given the explanation for the mosque by Daisy Khan, Executive Director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, one of the two organizations proposing the project:
It will have a real community feel, to celebrate the pluralism in the United States, as well as in the Islamic religion. It will also serve as a major platform for amplifying the silent voice of the majority of Muslims who have nothing to do with extremist ideologies. It will counter the extremist momentum.
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The time for a center like this has come because Islam is an American religion. We need to take the 9/11 tragedy and turn it into something very positive.
But again, aside from the debate of propriety, they own the land they plan to develop on and they are within the zoning limits of the area. Therefore they have every right to build a mosque there. If we allow others to deny them that right then we lose a little bit more of what it means to be American, something we can’t afford to do.
Yep, totally agree. I'm not a Muslim "supporter", but allowing any peaceful religion to congregate is something I consider a hallmark of the USA. I think we're mature and "big" enough to understand that the desire for NY locals to worship is not related to terrorists (who didn't live there) who picked a building close by as one of three USA symbols to target.
You know, Dylan Klebold, a Columbine shooter was a practicing Lutheran… should we ban all Christian churches around Columbine, CO? That idea sounds silly, and I'm guessing it's because we've all known tons of good Christian's our whole lives, so that one bad egg didn't affect our overall opinion of Christians. Even though Islam is growing fast in America I think the avg. American knows few if any Muslim's and don't have peaceful Muslim neighbors so they can distinguish between the vast friendly majority and terrorists.
I could care less about the media's role in this event, but listening to CNN yesterday I felt like they were baiting us all on this issue.
The New York Times editorial staff must read my blog. =) They released an article yesterday strikingly similar to this one, though they don't mention how the constitution protects these individuals (you can't say it's obvious because many people these days don't have as solid an understanding of the Constitution as they should).
They even conclude their article much the same as I do — by tying this issue to our identity as Americans.