One of the hottest debates in New York City lately is whether an Islamic community center and mosque should be built near Ground Zero. Needless to say, people were disgusted and angered by the plans when they first surfaced.
Ever since the attacks on 9/11, the fear of and resentment towards Muslims has grown more and more. Some Americans fear Muslims, automatically associating the otherwise peaceful religion with terrorism. Because of this, there is opposition from all sides towards the construction of this mosque. On one hand, many believe that the mosque spits in the face of all those who died or were affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. However, others, like Mayor Bloomberg and President Obama, fiercely defend and support the proposal because they believe it will promote freedom of religion and advocate tolerance.
Although the construction of the mosque might not have bad intentions, it is done without a shred of sensitivity. The World Trade Center once stood only a few blocks away, and thousands of people perished there because of Muslim extremists on September 11, 2001. The fact that it is so close to Ground Zero sparks anger and offense in many Americans, especially those affected by the 9/11 attacks.
It also misrepresents the Muslim population in America as a whole. This is not the right way to go about Muslim tolerance and to advocate religious freedoms and rights. The mosque is more of an upsetting presence to American sensibilities than it is a monument to religious tolerance.
The tragedy that happened on September 11 should be respected. However, the United States Constitution has no room for sensitivity on this issue. It clearly states that everyone has the freedom and right to practice their religion. Although Obama and Bloomberg might reflect on the sensitivity of the matter and remember those who have died because of attacks on September 11th, they see this as an opportunity to get past fear and hatred and to advocate tolerance and respect. This is not exclusive to those of Muslim faith.
Ultimately, the mosque should not be built in such close proximity to Ground Zero. Whether or not it has support from President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg, the plan should not move forward. It is apparent that many Americans do not want this mosque to be built.
Everyone is free to practice his or her religion; that is stated in the Constitution. However, it would be in everyone's best interest to have the Islamic center and mosque built further away from Ground Zero, or for it not to be built at all. With the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th approaching, perhaps a proposed solution will arise that will put all sides at ease.
is a member of the 
8 comments
"In the house of the hanged, do not speak of rope."
What upsets me is not that over 60% of the participants voted against it, but it is their reason why they are voting against it. To summarize the anti-mosque voting attitude, is that they don’t want a mosque near Ground Zero because the terrorist who attacked the twin towers were Muslim extremists and building it near that memorial ground would be hypocritical and not fitting.
But is that the real reason?
Opposition against Mosques isn’t just to be witnessed in NYC’s Ground Zero, but all over America.
What was the reason for the opposition in Murfreeboro, Tennesse, where hundreds of protesters came together with signs “Keep Tennessee Terror Free” and “Don’t Glorify Murders - No Victory Mosque”. And another Protests took place in June in Temecula, California and again another in July Sheboygan, Wisconsin and that is just to name a few. So what was their reason for protesting?
The answer to that would be discrimination and hate.
Since 9/11 America is putting ALL Muslims in one big pot. If asked to name one Muslim, who would you name? I guess not me because you don’t expect me to be one. I guess you also wouldn’t name Malcom X or Richard Thomson (one of the best guitar players) or Muhamed Ali or Mike Tyson, and neither would you name Rima Fakih (Miss USA 2010), we just don’t fit into your expectations of a Muslim. The one name you all would name would be Bin Laden.
Isn’t that a sad example of America “the land of the free”.
The main point is that we have rights in this country -- which is what makes America great and also unique --- the founding fathers wrote religious freedom into the first amendment -- that was no accident -- the had seen what state religions and majority religions had done to victimize minority religions and unpopular religions -- and they rejected that explicitly. They did it precisely because of issues like this mosque thing -- that is when the constitution and 'freedom of religion' really matter ---- The price of living in a country with a free press and free speech and free religion is that you have to hear and see things you don't agree with and just like your neighbors can't stop you from building your house of worship because they don't agree with you -- you can not stop them.We don't have freedom of religion because we say, "we're America and every has freedom" that just an empty statement, unless we actually practice it.It's a good thing the author is still a freshmen at Baruch and still has much to learn about proper reporting.