So you want to build a mosque…

…two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center collapse on Sept. 11, 2001.
Not smart.
Any reasonable person with an ounce of common sense—not to mention a conscience—ought to be asking why. What could possibly motivate American Islamic leaders to want to build a Muslim holy place so close to what has become hallowed ground in the United States of America? Moreover, what possible advantage is there in digging up painful memories and inflaming angst, anger and resentment all over again?
President Barack Obama is quite correct about Islam’s Constitutional right to freedom of religion. He’s also right about the attainment of private property. No reasonable person should be disputing the Constitutional rights of American Muslims to practice their religion, assemble freely and be secure in their property.
But, in my opinion, the issue is not whether Islam can establish a mosque two blocks from the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The rights of American Muslims are as plain and self-evident as those of all other Americans. As long as local zoning and building codes are not in violation, there is nothing legally to prevent the mosque from being built.
The real issue to me is whether or not the mosque should be built. We ought to know that it can be built. But just because we can do something doesn’t necessarily mean we should. And just because something is legal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right, either.
Would it be right for the Catholic Church to build a church near the site of Aztec, Mayan or Incan ruins? Such places have special spiritual significance for the descendants of these extinct people, and I’ve no doubt that there is resentment among native Central and South Americans toward the Spanish Inquisition that occurred in the New World during the 16th Century. Deliberate efforts to force native Central and South American civilizations to conform and convert to Catholicism helped to all but wipe them out.
Would it be right for a Neo-Nazi group to build a compound near a Jewish Synagogue, or near the site of one of many infamous European death camps? Considering that the German Nazis of the mid-20th Century were responsible for the deaths of millions of European Jews, I think such an endeavor would be in extremely poor taste.
Likewise, the religion represented by the 19 fanatical hijackers who killed 3,000 Americans should think twice before building a holy site so close to where so many people perished in the name of Allah and Islam.
I must, therefore, question the wisdom and the motivation of the American Muslim community in selecting this site for a new mosque and cultural center.
The wisdom, or lack thereof, of this endeavor is as plain as the nose on my face.
The motivation, however, is not so clear.
What constructive purpose could erecting an Islamic Mosque two blocks from where the twin World Trade Center towers collapsed nine years ago possibly have?
Many Americans are justified in asking this question and opposing the project.
We know about the rights. But this is not really about rights as much as it is about right versus wrong.
While it is true that the 9/11 culprits represented an extreme, fundamental minority of Islamic believers, the fact is that the attacks were carried out in the name of Islam. As such, the horrific results reflect on Islam.
Personally, I don’t believe that all Muslims agree with or support the actions of fanatical al-Qaeda. But precious few have also come out and publicly condemned the numerous Islamic terrorist attacks committed worldwide before and since 9/11/01. Rather, Islam both here in America and around the world has remained largely silent on the activities of its extreme elements.
Why?
If al-Qaeda and other fanatical fundamentalists claiming to act on behalf of Allah and Islam do not represent the religion, then why haven’t more Muslim leaders come out in public opposition to them? Why didn’t we hear a public condemnation from American and international Imams immediately following the 9/11 attacks? It has taken a good many years for Islamic religious leaders to finally come out and say what should have been said years ago. Many others, however, have remained strangely silent on condemnation, and yet are quick to separate themselves from the actions of the Islamic terrorists.
It seems to me that too many Muslims both here in America and around the world are just plain reluctant to condemn their extremist brethren. They talk out of both sides of their mouths. On one side, they try to separate themselves from the destruction caused by Muslim terrorists; but then, on the other side they refuse to speak against those who acted in the name of Islam.
Well, if al-Qaeda fanatics do not speak for the Muslim community at large, why does Islam continue to harbor them? Why not ostracize them from the faith if what they do and say is not consistent or representative of Islam?
The inconsistency and, dare I say, hypocrisy of Islam with regard to its extremist elements is a credibility issue with the rest of us.
Why should we believe that the American Islamic community pushing for this mosque and community cultural center two blocks from the World Trade Center site is anything other than peaceful innocence?
There are many Americans who rightly feel that building a mosque so close to where their loved ones perished is akin to rubbing their noses in it and pouring salt onto the wound. And let’s be honest here: American Islam has done little to separate itself from those who carried out the 9/11 attacks. Simply saying that they don’t believe as the fundamentalists do is not good enough. If American Muslims aren’t willing to come out and publicly condemn al-Qaeda and other extremist elements, then their words are empty…and cheap.
Show the rest of America that the monsters who savagely murdered 3,000 people aren’t your religious brethren by standing by your words.
Otherwise, how can we really believe you when you say that your mosque will promote peace and shall honor those who perished in the World Trade Center nine years ago?
Indeed, how do we really know that your Islamic center isn’t going to eventually include a Madrassa, like the publicly-funded school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where fundamentalism is not only taught, but is also part of the core curriculum?
What assurances do we have that your Imams who preach at this mosque aren’t going to preach fundamentalism; the kind that inflamed and impassioned the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001?
The answer is none, because Islam has not been willing to publicly condemn or separate itself even from its most extreme elements. Muslims worldwide talk a good game when it comes to denying any support for the violence perpetrated by fundamentalist followers. But they haven’t proven to me that they can play one.
At the end of the day, when all is said and done, Muslims by and large tend to regard these misguided extremists still as brethren. And their silence speaks louder than their words.
I oppose the construction of a mosque so close to the World Trade Center site because I see it as more than a coincidence. It is deliberate irony.
American Islam thinks that it can improve its image by building a mosque that honors the 9/11 victims and serves as a “memorial” of such. But Muslim leaders had to have known that building their religious center two blocks from the impetus of the international War On Terror would inflame anger among the non-Muslim population. They had to have known this. How could they not? Are they really so naïve and ignorant as to believe that the deaths of 3,000 people nine years ago has cooled off enough that few would even care?
That’s like saying World War II happened so long ago that Americans shouldn’t care anymore if Japan wants to build a monument to the pilots lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Or, Jews shouldn’t be concerned if Germans want to build a memorial to Adolph Hitler and the Third Reich.
This is not at all about Constitutional rights. It has everything to do with what is right and what is wrong.
I go back to my premise about essential liberty: Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Essential liberty is about choosing to do the right thing in spite of having the freedom to choose the wrong thing.
If American Muslims wish to demonstrate that they are worthy of essential liberty, then they ought to practice it by choosing to do the right thing rather than insist on doing the wrong thing here.
Building a mosque in close proximity to the World Trade Center site is not only in very poor taste, but it is just plain wrong, because it deeply offends non-Muslim Americans; especially those who lost loved ones at the hands of fanatics claiming to act on the side of Islam.
To American Islam, I’d like to respectfully ask that you reconsider relocating your planned mosque elsewhere in New York City; at least where it can’t and won’t be associated or linked with the World Trade Center. It is only the right thing to do.