I've yet to find anyone in my circle of family, friends, etc. who supports the burning of the Qurans...

Regarding the Islamic Ctr. near the 9/11 "ground zero."

There's no question its controversial. The question I ask myself is it worth it? Muslims have lived, in peace in this Country for quite awhile. Many if not most have moved here deliberately to live in a more tolerant society. If we as a people decide for whatever reason, that they're not welcome here or there or there, then we're on shaky ground.

Let's agree we don't want them 5 blocks from the ground zero. What about 8 blocks? What about 10, 15 or 20...at what point does it go from being reasonable to being racist? Who decides what's reasonable?

Muslims died that day in those towers and in our Pentagon as well. Not to mention in both wars abroad. There have been Muslim Calls to Prayers in the Pentagon on a daily basis since a month after the attacks. Not a mile away, not 2 or 5 or 10 miles. Right on the land where people died from the attack in DC. Now, no ones asked to build a Islamic Community Center or a Mosque on the Pentagon property, but you get my point, right?

My friends in NYC are unanimous that after careful and in-depth vetting of this Imam and his associates, if everything comes back clean, then as Mayor Bloomberg said, we should apply our American Values and embrace them. His speech really resonated with me and most of my friends in NYC. It appeals to the best within us. It doesn't advocate recklessness but it does speak to our "exceptionalism." To shun them, provided they pass muster, I think exposes our weak, fearful and unattractive underbelly.

Could it all turn out bad? Yes, it could...But if we start filtering out who can and can't be an American based on religion, then we've really lost something special.

If there's any resistance on their part to undergoing background checks, and a look into their finances, then its a deal breaker. We can't & shouldn't ignore what happened on 9/11. If they want to build a center that close to ground zero, then they'll need to understand the special circumstances that go along with it.

------------------
Bill in Dayton