There has been a great deal of discussion these past weeks about the proposed building of a Muslim Center/mosque two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center.

The more cogent arguments generally can be summed up as: We are not against a Muslim Center but why does it have to be near Ground Zero when it could be anywhere. Especially since some of the 9/11 families object to the Center as an insult to the memory of their loved ones killed that day. Weren't they killed in the name of Islam? Why not build it some where else?

A recent article in the NY Times about the objections to the building of mosques in many communities across the United States suggests that there is something else going on here. I believe if the Center was being built on the Upper East Side it would still face the opposition of many of the same people who have demonstrated against it. Their claim is that Islam is the enemy of America and that it is dedicated to the destruction of our way of life. This is why mosques are facing opposition in places far from Ground Zero.  Read more»