On the Mosque in Manhattan

This letter to the Commercial Squeal says a lot of things well:

Passions run high about a proposed mosque near Ground Zero. No, it should definitely not be built there.

However, the "no" decision should not be coming from the government via Congress, or the courts, but from Muslims themselves who should have the decency, tact and common sense to realize that a mosque near Ground Zero is not a good idea and will not improve the image of Islam in the public eye.

No USO service center in Nagasaki or Hiroshima, no convent near Auschwitz, no Japanese cultural center near Pearl Harbor (although I must note that for the years I was stationed in Pearl Harbor, I noted that many of the exquisite and beautiful memorials dedicated to the honor and memory of U.S. servicemen who died there were from Japanese veteran associations.)

Muslims should not have to have this point explained to them, and their persistence in placing this insult upon real estate considered so dear by the American people reveals a lot about Islam in general and has weakened any arguments I have made in the defense of Muslims to my peers.

Muslims would do well to follow the example of the Japanese Pilot's Association and put flowers near Ground Zero, not a mosque.

Richard Miller

Munford, Tenn.

No one with a smidgen of intelligence can deny they have a constitutional right to build that mosque wherever they want, but there's more than intelligence at work here. Mister Miller makes some excellent points.

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