Legal Commentary

Planned NYC Islamic Center Clears Hurdle

By Jeralyn

Plans to build a Mosque near the site of the former WTC cleared a final hurdle today. The ACLU says:

We congratulate the Landmarks Preservation Commission for promoting our nation's core values and not letting bias get in the way of the rule of law. "The free exercise of religion is one of America's most fundamental freedoms. For hundreds of years, our pluralism and tolerance have sustained and strengthened our nation. On 9/11, religious extremists opposed to that very pluralism killed 3,000 Americans. Those fanatics would want nothing more than for our nation to turn its back on the very ideals that make this country so great.

The ACLU calls the planned center a "monument to pluralism, symbolic of America's commitment to religious freedom."

I agree the Islamic Center has every bit as much of a right to be built on the site as any other kind of building. To reject it because of 9/11 is to further the very prejudices we should be striving to overcome. [More...]

According to The Times, the center will

... focus on interfaith dialogue, include members of other religions on its board, and feature what its developer called “a Sept. 11 memorial and contemplation space.”

Islam is a religion, it is not al Qaeda. Tolerance will get us a lot farther than blind prejudice.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 04, 2010 (boomark / email).