The vocal disagreements among Americans about the Ground Zero Mosque has heightened protests and anti-US chatter among Islamic radicals. One website threatened suicide bombings in revenge if there are any burnings of the Koran. The Obama administration says it is taking this situation seriously. There is a belief in the intelligence community that terrorists will use this issue as a recruiting tool. These postings are appearing not only on al-Queda sites, but on mainstream Muslim sites. Much of this is being fueled by more radical anti-Muslim views, such as a pastor in Gainesville, Florida swho plans to use September 11 as “burn a Koran day.”
I think Americans like this pastor in Florida are a major problem in this discussion, because they move the argument away from concern for the 9/11 families and making about the religion of Islam. We truly are a country that allows religious freedom, so burning Korans is not only wrong, it inflames people when there should be a calm discussion about differing points of view. The radical Islamists certainly don’t reflect the views of most of Islam any more that the attitude of the pastor reflects the views of most Americans about the mosque. Poll after poll shows that most Americans believe there is a legal right to build the mosque, but believe that it is too hurtful to those who lost loved ones to build it so close to Ground Zero. The discussion needs to be one of compassion on both sides.
Weisman, Jonathan. “Protests, Rhetoric Feed Jihadists’ Fire.” The Wall Street Journal. 23 Aug. 2010.
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