Religious Intolerance VS Righteous Anger: Imam Rauf's Ground Zero Mosque

The following article regarding 36 religious leaders, Muslim Imam Rauf, and Imam Rauf's plans to build a Muslim mosque, or Cordoba Cultural Center, near New York City's Ground Zero, was originally written and published on Wednesday, September 8, 2010.  

Thirty-six religious leaders representing Christians, Jews, and Muslims met in Washington D.C. on Tuesday night, having responded to an invitation of the Islamic Society of North America.The sentiments expressed by these 36 religious leaders, in regards to the majority of Americans who are protesting plans to build a Muslim mosque near Ground Zero, is that these Americans are bigoted and guilty of religious intolerance. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, a Roman Catholic archbishop, asserted that protests concerning the building of a Muslim mosque near Ground Zero are "not American." 

Those of you who are familiar with my published writings know that I am against religious intolerance. As a matter of fact, I have written and published several articles about tolerance vs. intolerance. For example, I fully supported former Republican Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, a Mormon (Latter-Day Saint), when he was campaigning for United States President during the 2008 Presidential Election. I outspokenly criticized those, including some (not all) born again Christians, who refused to support Mitt Romney solely because of his religious beliefs.

I don't like religious intolerance of any kind. For this reason, I don't use my words to bash all Muslim believers. In fact, whenever I have written, or continue to write, about Islam, my emphasis and focus has been, and is, on fanatical Muslim views as they relate to Muslim or Islamic (Jihadist) terrorists and terrorism. Consequently, I am appalled at the extent that certain prominent religious leaders have taken in order to support the plans to build a Muslim mosque near New York's Ground Zero.

In the meantime, it turns out that a Muslim imam is behind the building of the Ground Zero Mosque. Previously, news reports indicated that Muslim businessmen are responsible for the idea. But Feisal Abdul Rauf is the man, the Muslim imam, behind the plan to construct a Muslim mosque near New York City's ground zero. You can read what Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf wrote in a recently published New York Time's Op-Ed Opinion article entitled "Building on Faith."

Among other things, the Imam Rauf states that the plans are to build a community center called Cordoba House, in which there will be designated prayer areas for Muslims, Jews, Christians, and those of other religious persuasions. Feisal calls this a "multifaith, multinational effort." Plans are to include a include a "multifaith memorial dedicated to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks."

The problem is this: When you read Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's "Building on Faith" statement, there is no mention as to why the Cordoba House needs to be built near Ground Zero, as opposed to some other less controversial location. With all due respect to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's well-written New York Time's Op-Ed article, is the Cordoba House concept just one more attempt, very cleverly disguised in seemingly spiritual words and garb, at the Islamization of America?

According to Imam Rauf, construction of the Cordoba House has not yet begun. Let those of us who are tolerant conservatives pray that this attempt to ingrain Muslim tenets ever more deeply into American society will not succeed.

Imam Rauf's seemingly religious, spiritual, intelligent, and caring words do not fully indicate the rationale behind the idea to build a Muslim mosque, or Muslim-based community center, in America, near Ground Zero, where over 3,000 innocent Americans were murdered by Muslim terrorists on September 11, 2001. The true and underlying motives and reasons need to be understood in greater depth.