Michael Kronk asks in his letter “Maybe mosque argument just a question of distance” (Sept. 20) if those who approve of the mosque in NYC would approve of a mosque being built “directly on top of Ground Zero” or “just right beside the site?” As a supporter of the mosque in lower Manhattan (and the over 100 other mosques in the city), I believe that our common sense judgments for where mosques should be built ought to follow our common sense judgments for where churches should be built. Do I think it would be okay to build a mosque on Ground Zero? No. Do I think that a church should be built there? No. Do I believe it’s okay to build churches and mosques around and near the site? Of course.
The argument is not about distance, it’s about treating one religion and its places of worship as different from another. Allowing the mosque to be built would be the greatest sign of American ideals. It would show the world we understand that fundamentalists do not represent an entire religion. More importantly, it would be a message that we can look past our differences and know that we are all Americans.
Ben Muller
Class of ’10
