I know I covered this topic on Monday, but I am doing it again today.  Yesterday I was invited to join a Cause on Facebook to stop a mosque from being built near Ground Zero, the site where 9/11 happened.  What hateful, spiteful cause somebody decided to create.

I did some research.  I quickly found an article on Muslims who died on that fateful day.  Among the 2,995 dead were 58 Muslims.  No, that number does not include the terrorists.  These deaths were people who had nothing to do with those who planned and executed this act of terrorism.  According to the article I read, there was at least one who was an EMT found with his life-saving gear.  That’s right, he was trying to save lives, not destroy them, and lost his own in the process.

But people overlook this.  They see people of middle-eastern descent and two words come to mind:  Muslim and Terrorist.  They forget there’s over one and half billion Muslims out there in the world and that the vast majority of them do not advocate much less participate in acts of terrorism.

The simple fact is the attempt to prevent this mosque from being built is an act of fear and hatred.  Those are strong words, I know, and many if not most will not admit to them.  Those opposed to the construction will say it’s out of love for their country–a country founded in part on Freedom of Religion, by the way–or out of respect for those who died in the 9/11 attacks–conveniently forgetting there Muslims among the dead who also deserve mourning and respect.

So I say build the mosque.  Let it be a symbol of love, peace, hope and–dare I say it?–understanding.  This last is probably the most difficult part for both sides of this equation, but I believe it’s the most important.  Even if we cannot achieve understanding, let’s at least aim for acceptance, not of those who committed the atrocities of that terrible day but of those who are of a similar but non-violent form of the Islamic faith who want hatred and terrorism to end as much as you and I.