Mosque or memorial?

To the editor:

For the last few weeks, there has been a debate about Muslims in New York attempting to build a new mosque just five blocks from Ground Zero where the twin towers used to stand. This group of Muslims have adamantly refused to build it elsewhere, will not budge; rather they strongly insist it is their “right” to build their mosque on this exact location, so close to where the hijacked airplanes flew into the towers.

Have you ever considered perhaps, Muslims are planning their own 9/11 memorial, but for a far different reason? After all, America is building a 9/11 memorial in honor of the thousands of Americans who died at Ground Zero. This New York “mosque,” could well become the “Muslim memorial,” to honor the “martyrs” of Islam, the very Muslims who hijacked the aircraft and flew them into the towers.

It could very well turn into the main attraction for Muslims around the world to make a pilgrimage to New York to pay their respects and homage to their 19 fellow Muslims who took over the four aircraft and killed 3,000 Americans in their “jihad,” carried out in the name of Allah and Islam.

Perhaps this is not a debate or argument about freedom of religion or if Muslims have rights, but rather about the possibilities of a second monument in the name of 9/11, a monument that celebrates the death of Americans, rather than honoring their memory. Mosque or memorial? It could possibly serve as both.