120 Mosque of the Red Death

Wow. Talk about a "hot-button" issue. Our President has paved the way for the $100 million dollar, Cordoba mosque. The City of NY still has to go through its motions, voting by council to decide if the Muslims will be allowed to proceed. By LAW, there is no real issue to whether the mosque can legally be built. If they have the money and the city approves it, they CAN build a mosque. The question, then, is SHOULD they build it?

Last night, Roz asked me if the American public would welcome a Japanese Shrine, built in Pearl Harbor. Not 5 minutes after she said it, we heard Michael Savage(asshole talk radio host) say the same, exact thing. This is really a profound question. SHOULD a group(culture,religion,race, etc) attempt to establish a self-culturally-significant(my idiotic wording)foothold within or near an area that was in some way devastated by a part or the whole of their group?

To put it another way- how would the citizens of Nagasaki or Hiroshima feel if we were to put a shrine to U.S. WWII pilots at their ground zero? How would the Chinese react to a Japanese memorial to all of their fallen soldiers from WWII?

The people that are planning this mosque are demonstrating a GROSS disregard for the wound that was created by extremists of their faith. Or is there another reason? Is this a slap in the face? A shoe in the face, as it were? I have Muslim friends and they are nice enough people. They may have some customs that seem odd, but they have never demonstrated this kind of insensitivity. One of the talk radio idiots that I love to listen to said that they will be "laughing and smirking behind our backs" or in our face?

People being what they are, I havent heard anyone address the possiblity that the mosque, if completed, would be subjected to vandalism, protests or worse. Can you not see some home-grown terrorists trying to destroy it? I dont think that we should discount the possibility of a faction here feeling like maybe we should have an "eye for an eye".

If we were all rational and non-biased, we wouldnt be feeling animosity towards these folks. Has anyone checked to see if these particular devotees have or had any ties to any of the terrorists responsible for the WTC bombing or any known terrorists here or abroad? A rational person wouldnt blame these people for something someone else did. The fact remains that we feel animosity towards Muslims and middle-easterners. How many decades did we harbor anger at anyone of Japanese descent?

The question still remains- Should we, or they for that matter, allow this mosque to be built? I have to say NO. The wounds, though almost 10 years old, are still tender. There were people of many races and religions that died within a stones throw of what could potentially be a "safe" place for Muslims both devoted and distorted. When(and that is a seemingly HUGE when) the Freedom Towers are completed, how would YOU like to have an office facing a CONSTANT reminder that we have sent brothers and sisters, sons and daughters for almost 10 years to die at the hands of extremists of the very religion that is purportedly wanting this mosque to promote understanding and unity?

I was wrong on MANY counts about the abilities and intentions of our current president. I cannot fathom why he would in any way, shape or form, approve this mosque. There have been questions about his Muslim heritage, indeed, his very citizenship. Did he not consider that this may only WORSEN the public perception of his potentially being a "closet muslim"? As the ultimate representative of the AMERICAN PEOPLE, he CANNOT allow this to take place. There will be NOTHING good to come of it. Our resentment will only fester and there will be nothing but trouble on one or both sides. How many MORE fights must we be in? How many people will be hurt in the months and years to come? This will only build MORE resentment, cause MORE anger.

If we allow this mosque to be built at THIS location, we are doing a dis-service to the ones that died and are dying still. We are making a mockery of what it is to be an American. There SHOULD always be freedom of religion, but this is NOT about freedom of religion. This is about RESPECT. Respect for the dead, respect for people who are NOT pushing you and your unfamiliar religion OUT the door. Do you think that if we tried to build a Christian church in a predominantly Muslim country(Iraq, Iran, Syria, etc.) that the poor guy who mentioned it out loud there would still have his fingers and toes attached? They would cane and stone him and all his followers. Oh, thats right, Christianity is not allowed over there. There WOULDNT be another religion "over there" because ITS NOT ALLOWED!

If you are going to one noble thing in your life, e-mail your congressman and the White House, right now. Message someone else, or a bunch of someones and tell them to do it too. I have hoped that there was something I was missing. I hope I am wrong, but I dont think so.