Lots of ink has been spilled in recent days on whether or not Muslims can or should build a Mosque, or Islamic Community Center, in the shadow of the former Twin Towers. The question of "can" is fairly simple. The Constitution protects both Private Property rights and the Freedom of Religion. Whether Islam is a false religion or not, the right to practice it remains.
The question of should is a bit more problematic. No one questions that the members of Al-Qaeda who carried out the attacks were professed adherents of Islam. Whether they were practicing a bastardized form of it or not, they did carry out the attacks in the name of Islam. Thus, it would appear that it is highly insensitive to build a Mosque that closely.
But what if you look at it from the other side? I don't believe Islam is an inherently violent religion. Perhaps Mulisms in NYC see this as an opportunity to show they can be peaceful. In essence, they can redeem their religion from the blot their so-called "brothers" placed on it. If this is the case, it makes sense to build the Mosque.
I tend to side with saying the project should move forward. As I said, I don't believe Islam to be inherently violent, and it therefore does not pose any civic danger to NYC. As a side note to Christians who oppose this: Be careful what you do. The Bush administration effectively gutted parts of ammendments 1, 4, and 6. Liberals have their known bias against the 2nd. Intolerance for other religions can quickly be turned back on us. What we should be doing is our best to put this mosque out of business by preaching the Truth to Muslims. Getting the government to squash the proejct or actively protesting it only invites similar retribution. (Do you really want Muslims protesting the less honorable Crusades outside St. Patrick's?)
Preaching the Gospel is the only way to effectively counter this. In the meantime, let's be civil. Islam is not violent. Let's all continue operating under the protection of the first amendment and by God's grace our Lord's prophecy that the gates of Hell will not prevail against his Kingdom will be found to be true.
Thank you for writing this Billy. I have been thinking the same thing for days. I understand the uproar about the site but if we as Christians say they don't have the right to build then who is to say in the future that our same religious freedoms won't be taken away. We need to realize we can't have it both ways.
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