http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08/13/obama.islamic.center.support/index.html

In New York, there has been a controversial debate whether an Islamic Center should be built near Ground Zero.   On Monday, the news soon spread that President Obama threw his support behind the proposal to build the Islamic Center.

My initial reaction upon hearing this (from 1:15-1:27):

Besides the fact that this news heats up the political landscape for the upcoming elections in November, it provides more fodder to those arguing the President is a foreign-born Muslim-Communists-Nazi, bent on setting up a Marxist-style government that allows death panels to kill grandma.

It’s just not a good look.

However, Obama did have great reasoning and justification for his support:

“Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country… That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances,”

They say that there is nothing new under the sun, and that history repeats itself.  Our country’s first president, George Washington, responded to a letter,  from a Jewish citizen, which supported our newly formed government, and welcomed Washington on his goodwill tour.  Prior to the Revolutionary War, Jews in Newport, Rhode Island, were somewhat accepted, but not able to obtain political equality as citizens of Rhode Island.  Washington’s response to the letter:

“The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for giving to Mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens…

May the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

This day in age, it is very easy (and wrong) to associate Islam with terrorism, extremists, and the like.  If we had the type of media and technology back in the days of Jim Crow that we have today, one could easily (and wrongfully) associate Christianity with extremists who lynched blacks, hated Jews, and burned crosses as a way of intimidation.

With all of that said, I know that, legally, those looking to build the Islamic Center have every right to do so.  I know that it is supposed to promote unity and peace in the midst of the tragedy that occurred at Ground Zero.   I also know that the wound of 9/11 still hasn’t fully healed; and I believe that it is somewhat disrespectful to the families of those who lost loved ones on 9/11, to build, next to Ground Zero, a center associated with a religion, that is still somewhat associated with negative sentiments.  And though these sentiments are wrong, it still takes time to heal.

In other words, right now,  it’s just not a good look.