Mosque at Ground Zero?

Barack Obama's support of building a mosque near ground zero has spurred a heated debate the past couple weeks. It is important to recognize the contributions of the men and women who perished on 9/11 and in the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A mosque at Ground Zero embodies the founding principle of the nation that these men and women died for. The First Amendment of the our Constitution ensures all Americans the freedom of speech, religion, press and to peaceably assemble and petition the government. The first settlers in colonial America came to escape religious persecution. Religious freedom and acceptance of all religions in America has been the foundation of our culture and society for centuries. I understand the extreme frustration of many Americans who do not want a mosque at Ground Zero. In some respects I agree. While the mosque is certainly not my first choice for the site, the more I think about it and examine our nation's early history, I think it is the best choice. It is important to recognize that the terrorists were an extremist group of Muslims. They were much more than a regular practicing congregation. Each religion has extremist groups and the foundation of the religion typically will not support these terrorizing interpretations. Many Americans, myself included, do not know enough about the founding beliefs and sacred texts of Islam and other religions. The acts of a few extremist cowards should not, and cannot shape our opinion of millions of people worldwide. These crazed individuals were far from united and the attack changed American life as we know it. They tried to take down our nation. If they could see our nation today, they would weep and regret their acts based on our response to 9/11 and the strengthened unity of our nation. A mosque may not be the preferred tribute, but it is the best tribute to the fallen men and women. Al-Qaeda vainly tried to destroy our country and they couldn't. They wanted to destroy our deepest beliefs and highest aspirations of equality. A mosque at Ground Zero is a slap in the face to Al-Qaeda and Muslim extremists. To me the mosque says: Go ahead and try to bring us down. Your greatest effort didn't yield any change in the foundations of our nation. We still have freedom of religion and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't touch our morals and belief in the inalienable rights of man. We still accept your religion through our unwavering belief in the First Amendment and we feel for your ignorance and convoluted ways, but with any hope you will become enlightened to the American light and spread of democracy.

The picture above is a stone engraved with the First Amendment in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the site where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were approved.