The heated debate over the proposed mosque near Ground Zero has taken to the airwaves.
I see both sides here.
An opposition leader, Pamela Geller and editor of a conservative blog site – atlashrugs.com – sees the building where the mosque would be as part of a war memorial and sacred ground. I was in Lower Manhattan in 2002 about eight months after the attack. While all that was left at that point of where the Twin Towers once stood was a large hole in the ground with heavy equipment, the followers and pictures on the sidewalk remained. So, too, were the bomb-scarred buildings nearby, looking more like a Salvador Dali painting come to life than one of the most vibrant cities on the planet. It is a moment as Americans we can’t — nor shouldn’t — forget.
In contrast, Ibrahim Ramey is the director of the civil rights division for the Muslim American Society. He pointed out that Muslims should not be judged as collectively guilty, and I get that. I have close friends whose families have Muslim backgrounds who had as much to do with 9/11 as I would with ever playing in the NFL. Every time I hear blanket comments made about all Christians being idiots because we must be eccentric homophobes like Fred Phelps and his family at Westboro Baptist Church or simply greedy and all observing the prosperity gospel, it makes me cringe.
I won’t pretend, however, to have a corner on the market of wisdom in this area. Your comments are always welcomed.
Follow the link to a CNN video discussion between Geller and Ramey.
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