Part II - Invasions and the New York Mosque

With all of this being said... do the Muslims have the right to build a mosque  in that space near Ground Zero in New York? Yes, they do. Should they? No. Probably not.

At the very least, they're either totally obtuse and completely  insensitive to the fact that to build a symbol of the very religion that caused  such destruction and pain to the US in general and New York in particular would  be pouring salt in an already festering wound; or they simply do not give a  flying fuck what Americans think or feel.

I don't know if this is truly the case, but it looks like they want to  erect a monument in honour of the guys that were piloting the airplanes that day.  It looks like they're using our own laws and freedoms as a tool to rub our faces  in it.

If the Muslim people want to truly change the opinion of the American  people regarding who they are and what they stand for, this group would  graciously back off, and agree to build it further away from Ground Zero. Or  build a museum instead, with educational displays and invite Americans to learn  about their culture and offer opportunities for the city of New York to  participate in the planning and content of the building and the displays therein.

Can we do anything about it? Yes - we can protest - intelligently --  and voice our concern about the wisdom of such a building in that area. We can  try to appeal to their sense of humanity and ask them, in the name of peace, to please see why we have such a problem with this. But the moment we raise a hand  in violence or deface or vandalize -- well, at the very least, some indignant  and righteous American will be arrested for a hate crime. At the worst, all it  will do is perpetuate the hate and add to the already significant body count  that has already resulted and continues to climb due to the events of September  11, 2001.