The Islamic Center: Should it be built?

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  • Evan - 14 years ago

    Your "no" response was not, "can it be built constitutionally", but, "should it be built", making the two options a "yes, it's legal" or "no, it's immoral", so it was apples and oranges. On the legal end, yes, it's very simple. 1st amendment. Problem solved. On the moral end, it's very complicated. I've decided that it is not immoral, and here's why:
    A. It's not a mosque. It's a community center with a mosque in it. That's like saying St Mary's is a church and not a hospital because it has a church in it. Plus, according to Time, people have been praying there for over a year already. Who are Muslim.
    B. It was bought privately. I do have a problem with public funds being spent this way, as it sometimes is on Christian projects, which I do oppose. However, it was a private venture, and as long as the building is up to code, there is not church-and-state issue here.
    C. It is not on Ground Zero, but just a few blocks nearby. Porn shops, alcohol dispensaries, and drug dealers, things I consider much more offensive to be near Ground Zero, are within the same distance and closer.
    D. The more I think of it, it's a symbol of tolerance and victory. Many of the supporters of this building are Muslims the Muslim terrorists consider infidels sleeping with the enemy. That we allow this to stand is a symbol that we accept those who are not extremist, that there are Muslims who support America, and that we have indeed beat them by living on. Terrorists aim to strike terror in the hearts of men, as the name suggests, and I believe that part of 9/11 was to make Muslims terrifying as a war tactic, both to make them seem stronger to us and to make Muslims here feel isolated enough to join their jihad. If they do not get that, and we show we have overcome our fear, then they lost.
    While it may offend some, one of the credos of my life is that some things should be done even if they cause momentary discomfort, and I do live by my credos. I nearly stood silently with a sign outside teh building site that would have read the following: "It's Legal/But Insensitive/Please Move". But I thought about it, did research, and found that while it was offensive, it was for the better and would stop being offensive pretty quickly. When people see how useful and nice it is, they'll stop complaining. Unless, by some chance, by some blind luck, the detractors who claim it's a terrorist centre were suddenly right.

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