While President Obama appears to support Islamic rights, declaring that "Muslims enjoy freedom of religion in America and have the right to build a mosque and community center in lower Manhattan", he refuses to comment on the construction of a mosque yards away from ground zero of 9/11. There are already two mosques in the vicinity; one 4 blocks away, the other 12 blocks. I am completely support freedom of religion and the rights of everyone to practice as they wish, however, I do think it very insensitive to construct a mosque so close to ground zero as many affected families still associate Islam with the fear from 9/11. Besides, with two other mosques in the area, why does a third one need to be constructed? I find it hard to believe that there are enough Muslims in the area to completely fill two mosques so close to each other. However, the war "against terrorists is not a war against Islam", though Islam cannot be removed completely from the equation because it is the primary reason for terrorists acting the way they do: to spread and uphold the teachings of Islam. Overall, I say don't build the mosque, just find another location, its not worth all the fuss and controversy.
Article Referenced:
Dowd, Maureen. "Our Mosque Madness". NYTimes. New York Times. 17 August 2010. Web. 29 August.
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