Yesterday a community board in Manhattan voted to approve a proposal to build a mosque two blocks from where the World Trade Center once stood: Local Board Endorses Muslim Center Near Ground Zero.

The anti-Muslim bigots of the so-called “anti-jihad” blogosphere are freaking out, of course.

Pamela “Shrieking Harpy” Geller is spewing insults like a malevolent street corner lunatic: The Fix Was In: 911 Mega Mosque Community Board Farce, Board Votes Yes for Mega Mosque.

And Robert Spencer is fawning over Geller, doing his patented “I’m not a bigot, I’m just asking questions” routine. These kinds of questions:

There was a great deal of catcalling and booing of the multiculturalist platitudes and self-righteous moralizing, and the schoolmarmish chairperson of the Community Board repeatedly warned catcallers in the crowd that they would be held “out of order” — but their threats were as toothless and empty as their moralizing, and the indignation of the crowd would break out repeatedly throughout the evening whenever another bemused liberal or smooth-talking Muslim would excoriate “hatred” and “bigotry” and extol “tolerance.” Daisy Khan showed a brief Power Point presentation that said, among other things, that the Islamic Center would help non-Muslims to integrate.

Interesting word choice. Not help Muslims to integrate into the American secular fabric, but to help non-Muslims to integrate. Into…a Sharia state? Is that the goal?

Right, that must be it. Because in Spencer’s twisted world, all Muslims are “smooth-talking” mindless religious robots, advancing sharia law with every waking moment.

It’s wonderful that Spencer and Geller are bringing their dog and pony show out into the open more frequently. Every time they show up in public ranting like tinpot Crusaders, more people see their irrational hatred for what it is.

UPDATE at 5/26/10 11:20:13 am:

The bigotbloggers are describing this project as a super-scary “MEGA MOSQUE!” But here’s a little bit of reality; it’s actually a remodel of an existing building, and a more accurate description would be “community center:” Cordoba House - New York City.

Cordoba House is a Muslim-led project which will build a world-class facility that promotes tolerance, reflecting the rich diversity of New York City. The center will be community-driven, serving as a platform for inter-community gatherings and cooperation at all levels, providing a space for all New Yorkers to enjoy.

This proposed project is about promoting integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion through arts and culture. Cordoba House will provide a place where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds, will find a center of learning, art and culture; and most importantly, a center guided by Islamic values in their truest form - compassion, generosity, and respect for all.

The site will contain tremendous amounts of resources that otherwise would not exist in Lower Manhattan; a 500-seat auditorium, swimming pool, art exhibition spaces, bookstores, restaurants - all these services would form a cultural nexus for a region of New York City that, as it continues to grow, requires the sort of hub that Cordoba House will provide.