Common Ground: Islam In The U.S.A.

What better place than "Ground Zero"? The construction of 13-storey mosque and Islamic cultural centre would be a slap in the face to terrorists on all sides of the religious spectrum. It would be tantamount to saying "No fear." The pathetic cowards who are trying to suggest that it would somehow be an affront to the victims of 9/11 are a disgrace to the values that created the founding documents of the grand ol' U.S. of A. One idiot actually went as far as to say on his radio program:

"If you do build a mosque, I hope somebody blows it up...I hope the mosque isn’t built, and if it is, I hope it’s blown up. And I mean that...It’s right-wing radicals like me that are going to keep this country safe for you and everyone else from the people who are flying the planes from the country you fled from. If you want to identify with those people, go live with them."

That's right - show the terrorists who the real terrorists are! Religious tolerance is the American way and the American dream. What place is better suited to promote reflection and dialogue about Islam and other faiths than ground zero? To try and expunge references to Islam anywhere is fundamentally Un-American. I have a real problem with the ongoing conflation of terrorism with Islam which informs these fear-based reactions. This article from The New York Post spells out the source of the fear:

"Americans must always remember the horrors of 9/11 and must be vigilant in not allowing political Islam to wear down the principles that built our country."

How can the "principles" that created the U.S. be so vulnerable? I've got news - that will only happen if they are aided by these types of gutless buffoons, the equivalent of those who would threaten murder over a drawing of Mohammad. Islam can't be used as a motivation for violence any more than Christianity. If it is, than as with terrorists in Northern Ireland, it ceases to be about any faith. Here's a discussion from CNN on the issue: