Build the Mosque in New York City

Why shouldn't the mosque be built in New York City? Does it really matter that it's only a couple of blocks away from the 9/11 site? It shouldn't. This isn't exactly Rudy Giuliani booting all the strip clubs and what not out of the radius of schools and churches. It seems like the biggest problem with the Mosque being built is racism.

Too many people are viewing the Islamic religion as a religion that just spawns terrorists. The fact that the group backing the building of the mosque has come out and stated they condemned the actions of the terrorists, and have nothing to do with Muslim extremists, should be enough to allow the mosque to be built. You can't claim someone is a terrorist just because they are part of a specific religion. That's like saying I have blond hair and blue eyes so I must be a Nazi. It really comes down to, not enough people understand the Islamic religion, and are afraid of it. It's not like the mosque is going to be some secret headquarters that are going to be used to carry out terrorist agenda, or train new terrorists to unleash on New York City.

The argument that family of the victims of 9/11 find the plans, and the idea itself, offensive just shows how traumatized these people are. They lost loved ones and friends in a very tragic event in United States history. Having that kind of traumatic episode, and being able to link the event to one specific group, completely makes sense as to why they would have this reaction. Does that mean the mosque should not be built? No. It means these people are still haunted by 9/11, and anyone in their place most likely would be also. This is more of a call for help to help these people mentally progress past the disaster. I completely understand their motivation, and their thought process. They just need some extra help in accepting the building of the mosque. It's not like the mosque is being built to spit in the face of the people who died during the 9/11 attacks. The mosque is being built because the United States allows everyone to practice their own religion without persecution.

Our forefathers came to this land to be free to practice whatever religion they wanted to practice. That right has been embedded into out culture. Who are we to decide that right is only given to certain people, and certain groups? Do you really want to ban people from practicing a religion when you do so yourself daily? Everyone in the United States practices that right daily, whether they are Christian, Islamic, Jewish, an Atheist, or Agnostic, or whatever else. No one is lynching people in the streets because they met someone who is not of the same religion as them. So who are we to deny that right to someone else?

There is no viable reason to block the building of the mosque. These people are just building a center that can be used for the worship and practice of their religion. What's the fault in that? They are not infringing on anyone else's rights, so why should we infringe on theirs?