Mosque or no Mosque???

I've listened pretty intently for about a week now to all sides of the debate concerning the building of a Mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center now often referred to as "Ground Zero". This is a very difficult situation indeed because it raises serious questions about our ability to live up to one of our core principles in the founding of our great nation, religious tolerance.

I firmly believe that if the World Trade Towers were still standing that having a Mosque and Islamic Community Center two blocks away wouldn't cause anyone to take a deep breath or blink more than usual. I also believe that if the World Trade Center was still standing that the purchase of the property for that purpose would not have ever occurred. Putting a Mosque in that location is without question a statement of sorts and the only problem any of us has is determining what exactly that message is, so the most reasoned choice is not to go there. If you do go there you begin to look at everything from completely innocent and socio-economic motives to the building of a victory monument designed to rub it in the face of the infidels. No one really knows, all they know is that it's something they don't understand and don't really see a need for in that neighborhood. So at the risk of being intolerant of New Yorker's feelings, why even go there. There are some things you do not do simply because you can. I mean realistically the US could have nuked every Muslim country to be sure that all of the culprits of the 9/11 conspiracy were punished. Just because it's possible doesn't mean it should be, and while that is an extreme example it is nonetheless accurate.

Today there are noises of cooler heads prevailing and the Governor of New York is to be commended for offering a reasonable solution to the problem. The developer and the Imam will meet with him at some time in the near future and hopefully a deal can be struck to put the Mosque on a plot of land nearby but with a less conspicuous footprint. In that case everyone wins. No one wants to deprive the Muslim face of a place to worship or the developer an opportunity to create something that he can be proud of and profit from. So, the rest of us need to let them work things out and keep our mouths shut, from the Whitehouse on down.