Mosque Letter One

Dear Editor:

I have noticed that there is a community of Muslims in New York that are trying to build a mosque a couple blocks from Ground Zero. I was surprised to find that after the mosque was already approved by the city there were people still protesting the idea. Even though the protesters were outnumbered by supporters, I still find it absurd to be protesting the mosque. The Muslim community owns the land that they wish to build the mosque on and they are U.S. citizens through birth or naturalization. These people are no less U.S. citizens than anyone else. They have the same rights. One of these rights is the freedom of religion. The Muslim community has the right to follow whatever religion they wish. By protesting the mosque people are protesting this right in the Constitution.

Many people saying that they believe the mosque shouldn’t be built are afraid of terrorism and also say that it is an insult to the people who lost their lives because of 9/11. These people are not the people who helped in the 9/11 terrorist attack. The only way it would be an insult would be if the Muslim terrorists who helped in the 9/11 attack were asking to build a mosque. The mosque that is going to go up isn’t even going up on Ground Zero. It is two blocks away and is owned by the Muslim community. If they wish to build a mosque on their land then they have every right to do so. The mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, also believes that the mosque should be built, saying,“ The attack was an act of war, and our first responders defended not only our city but also our country and Constitution. We do not honor their lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting.”

According to an article in Upfront Magazine, “Islam: Not In My Backyard,” 67% of Americans believe that the Muslims have the right to build the mosque. However, 71% say that they find it inappropriate. The mosque is not inappropriate, however, because it is not being built on Ground Zero. Also according to this article, 43% of Americans say they feel at least a little prejudice towards Muslims. The reason that people do not think the mosque should be built is because they do feel prejudice towards Muslims. People are trying to take a couple of Muslims who were terrorists and group them with every other Muslim out there. This not the right thing to do and should not be the reason why the mosque isn’t built.

Sincerely,

Josh Gary