Don't build the mosque

Common sense is an interesting subject and it applies to about everything. You wouldn’t wear white socks with a tuxedo, you wouldn’t wander into the rain without an umbrella, and you probably wouldn’t back into traffic. To do so would go against common sense.

I would define common sense as the ability to avoid doing things that make no sense. That is why I wonder why New York’s main Muslim, Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, is intent on building a mosque in New York City located two blocks from where 3,000 innocent Americans died on 9-11.

Rauf has made comments like this referring to 9-11: “I wouldn’t say the United States deserved what happened. But the United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened.” His wife, Daisy Khan, has referred to the building of the mosque as “no big deal.” That sounds like a dismissal of the fact that 3,000 people died as a result of Muslim terrorists two blocks away.

A last ditch effort through a lawsuit is being made to stop the project but it probably will not be won. The families of 9-11 victims along with some politicians and religious leaders are opposing it and plan a protest on 9-11. It’s a nice gesture but will also probably be ineffective.

Mayor Bloomberg of New York supports the mosque and legally not much can be done about it. Apparently the Constitution says it’s all right as the U. S. believes in freedom of religion. However, here is where that pesky common sense gets involved. After 9-11, a massive dislike over anything Muslim has evolved in the United States. Most people are still incensed over 9-11 and that feeling will never go away. Adding fuel to the fire are recent stories of Muslim fathers murdering their daughters for dating men who were not Muslim. Punishment for women under Sharia law frequently involves stoning them to death. That’s not in line with the values of most Americans.

The insistence of building a mosque so close to Ground Zero reeks as a gesture of “sticking it” to the United States. I’m sure bin Laden is having quite a laugh over it as our politicians meekly let it happen. That mosque could be built in many other places but near Ground Zero was picked. Did they really think this would not create a controversy?

It will be interesting to see if the place gets built. I don’t see American construction workers participating and the controversy will not be going away any time soon.

Jim Croce once sang that “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit in the wind.” It’s only common sense and if you are Muslim, you don’t build a mosque next to Ground Zero regardless of the constitutionality.

To leave a comment or to read the other 67 comments, click "jim's azcentral blog" in the right column under links. You will not receive a virus. Jim McAllister writes for the Arizona Republic newspaper in Phoenix/Scottsdale.