It appears to me that the consensus (sort of) is that there is the clear "right" to build the mosque but varied concerns about the wisdom to do it. Ironically, last night I received a call from a friend who came to work for me after 9/11 that was actually in the North Tower when the first plane hit. The call was related to a follow up session on some consulting work I did a while back and eventually drifted to the topic of the mosque. Her view was interesting. First some background: Her office was in a lower floor and she was able to evacuate the facility fairly early after impact. And in the confusion she and others stood around on the street below not knowing what was happening when the second plane hit. For the next hour the chaos and panic swept the area until the towers collapsed to what sounded like a series of internal explosions. (que the nut job conspiracy theorists). For her, the worst part was watching poor souls jump to their deaths to escape the flames. Those images still haunt her even after the years and extended therapy. It's also how she came to work for me, she wanted to get out of the city and every year around 9/11, she had a breakdown of sorts that eventually required her to resign as she could no longer bear to work in a high rise building. (The fact that it was near the Tampa airport didn't help either.) For those of us that have been in the military, it's classic post traumatic stress and it will probably be with her to some degree for her life. Her view is that she wants peace with all this. If it were up to her, turn the whole impact area into a national park memorial like Gettysburg and build an interfaith religious facility to bring people together. It seems that the quiet peace of Gettysburg resonates with her-I've never been there. Needles to say, the idea of a mosque alone is not her favorite. Given property values, that will never happen but I thought it an interesting view. For those affected this is a very intense and sensitive issue and I really don't think that any of us who weren't there can fully appreciate their pain.
I've held back on commenting on this thread, but as some of you may recall (at least, those who were members of the original iteration of GT40s.com pre 9/11), my cousin Jeff, one of my first cousins whom I was very close to, lost his life at the WTC.
Stating that, I totally agree with Veek's friend - that a more serene and park-like memorial would be a better choice, with a multicultural/interfaith center so that like minded people can come together and better understand each other, each others' beliefs, the scope of what happened that day, and foster better relations and tolerance. There are extremists in every religion, to blame all Muslims for what happened is misguided.
It is troubling to me that the imam spearheading this mosque has associated himself with some of the more radical Islamic causes, and that he has said US policy is partially to blame for what happened. But, legally, and with the full support of the beliefs the US was built on, building a mosque and Islamic center two blocks away from Ground Zero is within those rights and beliefs. If we should be upset with anyone, it is the corporation that currently owns that land.
As far as Muslim's building mosques as signs of conquest - the same happened during the Crusades. And the colonization of the US. And, a christian religion that advocates the destruction/elimination of another religion? Yes, that has happened in the past. Religion is often used to that end. And, I am not pointing a finger at Islam and Christianity alone - almost all religions have done so. Now, this is a "misguided" practice, but then again, many believe that the radicals who have declared jihad against the US and Western Civilization are just as misguided.
And, Ron - the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster should have no problem establishing a foothold in Japan. Beer may not be as popular as sake (or, Nihonshu as it really should be called, which is brewed more like beer than fermented like wine), but brands like Asahi, Sapporo, Suntori and Kirin are pretty popular.
