Freedom of Religion?

I have been wanting to write about the Ground Zero mosque controversy for quite some time and I finally have decided to do it. This debate has captured the attention of the Nation and is even being used in political campaigns. For me, the decision is easy. I am of the opinion that although the developers have every RIGHT to build a mosque there, it is not appropriate for them to do so. Islamic history tells us that Muslims like to build mosques at the sites of their greatest victories; IE. Jerusalem and Constantinople. Ground Zero is the site of one of their greatest victories, as perceived by Muslims. For Americans, it is a site of great tragedy and the rebuilding of One World Trade Center represents great triumph. Although 2, 711 Americans lost their lives there, America has risen to the challenge of answering the terrorists and have been striking out against Al Qaeda. For many Americans building a mosque at this site represents a slap in the face to all those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and the families and friends that lost a loved one.

President Obama is missing a great opportunity to demonstrate that he is not completely out of step with the American people, as so many have said lately. He should have spoken out against the building of the mosque, but instead he equivocated their project by saying that they have a right to build it there. Then he tried to clarify and messed it up even further. The right thing to say would have been that the right of the developers to build there is not in dispute, rather it is the wisdom and situational awareness that is being questioned. Several polls have been taken lately regarding the President and his job approval rating as well as questions about his religion. Over 24% of the Americans questioned believe that President Obama is a Muslim. His response to this issue has done nothing but solidify this possibility in the minds of the voters. Obama has governed from the far left and has enacted many things that most Americans do not agree with; healthcare, the wasteful stimulus, pushing cap and trade and other pieces of unpopular legislation. This was a clear opportunity to dispel the religion questions by demonstrating his disagreement with the Muslim developers of Ground Zero's choice of location. The mantra for selling real estate has always been "Location, locations, location!" This has never been more true than in the case of the Ground Zero mosque. Many Democrats have spoken out against the building of the mosque and have probably won a few votes from their constituents for their willingness to oppose the President's opinion. This was a smart move made by the Democrats.

Another concerning aspect of the development of the mosque is the funding of its building. It has been discovered that the developer, Sharif el Gamal, has not paid his property taxes for quite some time and only has a few thousand in the bank. This is a far cry from the 100 million dollars that is needed to build this mosque or as they call it, the Cordoba Center. The imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf continues to insist that the center will be a place for multi-cultural worship. This is simply not true. According to the Quran, a Muslim may lie to an infidel if it serves the greater purpose of Islam. Therefore, the imam can say anything to get the "Cordoba Center" built and then change his mind about the multiculturalism aspect of the center. Also, what red blooded American or New Yorker, for that matter, would want to go pray at the site of a great victory for Islamic terrorists. Have we forgotten the images on television and in the newspapers the day after September 11th? The images of Muslims rejoicing in the streets and burning the American flag as the towers fell. These images will forever be ingrained in my memory and although 9-11 was perpetrated by radical Islamists, I feel that the collective rejoicing of the Muslim world truly demonstrates how most Muslims feel about America and the awesome people who call her home. Building this mosque at Ground Zero is not only a very bad idea, but to allow it to be built represents a total lack of regard for the people who call it their resting place. Just think about this: would we ever build a Shinto temple at Pearl Harbor?