Don't Build the Mosque!

Calling it a "seed of peace" a New York City community board voted Tuesday night to support a plan to build a mosque and cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero. The decision came after hours of emotional public comment in which people were shouting "No Mosque" while carrying signs with pictures of the Sept. 11 victims on them.

Manhattan Community Board member Rob Townley told the Associated Press that the group believed they were making a significant step for the Muslim community to counteract the hate and fanaticism that has occured against them.

Really?

First of all, is there really that much fanaticism occuring against the Islamic community? Granted, shortly after September 11 there were plenty of incidents where misguided people hurled inappropriate epithets at anyone who claimed to be a member of the faith. In recent years however,most Americans have stopped spewing hate,(in fact "MOST" Americans never did) realizing there is a difference between Muslims who live in peace and those who call for Jihad.

Secondly, Islamic fanatics that have caused problems for America in recent years have all been affiliated with particular mosques inside the country, so one can understand the concerns of those who would live and work nearby the proposed New York site. The building will obviously not be earmarked as a place for terrorist training, but what or who will be able to stop the fanatics from coming in? It would seem that a site so close to the place where Islamic Jihadists destroyed the lives of thousands in 2001,would hve a special spiritual significance for those who thought the attacks were justified. After all,in recent weeks, we've witnessed a couple of unsuccessful terrorism attempts in Mid-Town Manhattan, so New York obviously remains a target.

Finally, since our country has become so consumed with protecting the rights of everyone but the majority, it's no surprise that a group of well meaning do-gooders have been blinded to the reality of just how insensitive this whole proposal is. Innocent people died that day. Do their families and friends really need to
be reminded of the terror every time they look out their window at the thriving Islamic establishment near the site where their loved ones were murdered? It is cruel.

While comparing all Muslims to the Jihadists who attacked the World Trade Center is ignorant and wrong, allowing this mosque to be built is equally ignorant and wrong. The proposal should not be allowed to go forward. The victims should not be made to suffer even more.

Ultimately those who say terrorism isn't confined to one particular race or religion are exactly right. Terrorism is nothing more than a misguided reaction on the part of thugs who refuse to accept law and order, and who think vigilante justice is the only way to make their point to the world. Terrorism ultimately comes in all shapes and colors. Terrorism is not confined to Islam. That point alone should serve as a reminder to those who are trying to push this temple project forward, that crazy is crazy and if the mosque is built it will bring even more fanatics out of the woodwork, putting even more innocent New Yorkers in danger.