re: #159 Charles

It’s right there in the quote. You don’t like the idea of a mosque in that location.

Why?

Okay, I thought that was what you meant, but I wasn’t completely sure.

Any argument of propriety is, almost by definition, based upon a subjective judgment and is grounded in emotion. However, not all emotions are rooted in prejudice.

Islam was not incidental to the 9/11 attacks. The religion of the men who carried out the attacks was not a miscellaneous attribute like shoe size, the color of their eyes, or the length of their hair. On the contrary, the terrorists’ interpretation of Islam was a driving force behind their actions.

For this reason, I associate 9/11 with Islam, with a full understanding that this association involves a radical interpretation of the religion.

I simply do not feel it is appropriate to build a facility dedicated to the celebration of a religion that was, however wrongly, used to justify the most horrific attack in our nation’s history, in a place that was itself damaged in that attack.

My feeling is rooted in emotion, but that doesn’t make it bigotry. The U.S. Cavalry has a long and distinguished history, replete with stunning examples of heroism and selfless sacrifice. That said, it would not be appropriate to build a 7th Cavalry museum two blocks from Wounded Knee, nor would it be appropriate to label someone who objected to such a museum as a bigot.

For me, Feisal Rauf’s role in the Park51 project only increases my concern. He’s been wishy-washy at best when it comes to denouncing Hamas terror, and he has sounded hauntingly similar to Jeremiah Wright or Ward Churchill by implying that we somehow brought 9/11 upon ourselves.

On the other hand, while I do associate 9/11 with Islam, I do not associate Islam with 9/11. Now, this may seem like a distinction without a difference, but I just don’t see it that way.

I was raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, in a very diverse neighborhood. I’ve lived in the city as well as the suburbs, and have been fortunate to be able to have called a wide variety of people my friend.

I do not hate Islam, or Muslims. I wouldn’t think of objecting to a mosque in my town, in my neighborhood, or down the street from my house.

However, I believe that some events imbue a location with a certain sanctity.

I don’t think it is appropriate to build a mosque in the parking lot on the west side of the Pentagon.

I don’t think it is appropriate to build a mosque next to the field in Shanksville where Flight 93 crashed.

I don’t think it is appropriate for people who consider the U.S. to be an accessory to the 9/11 attacks to build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero.

It is unreasonable to conclude that this objection somehow makes me a bigot.