A proposal to build an Islamic Community Center near Ground Zero has become a flashpoint of controversy that is saying a lot about the kind of country we have become since 9/11. It is not a pretty picture. Those opposing it apparently believe in freedom of religion unless you are an American Muslim.

It is disrespectful (“slap in the face”), they say, to the victims of 9/11 to build the Community Center close to the place where radical Muslims killed Americans. They believe in first amendment rights, of course, just not in this instance. In other words, they want our country to pick and choose when the Constitution applies, and they want to be the ones who do the picking and choosing.

That this flagrant prejudice against Muslims is being debated says more about the state of our nation than it does about Islam. We are sick with fear and prejudice and cultural and religious warfare. Ground Zero may be hallowed ground, but the old Burlington Coat Factory the Community Center will replace is not. No one can make it hallowed. No one can make it anything other than what it is, valuable New York City business real estate. That it is within a stone’s throw of the former Twin Towers is irrelevant, if this is still America. Moreover, the original purpose of the Center was to show that those who attacked our nation did not represent the American Muslim community. But opponents prefer to ignore this fact in order to promote religious bigotry and score political points.

But here’s the truth. Just as all Jews or Christians believe different things and act in different ways, so do Muslims. The ones who want to build the Community Center are not radical, and are certainly not terrorists (sometimes we forget that “radical” and “terrorist” do not mean the same thing). They are Americans who also happen to be Muslim. Their faith does not disqualify them from any of the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of citizenship. In simple terms, their religion is irrelevant to the free exercise of their faith, including building the Center. It becomes relevant only when laws are broken. Unless those who are criticizing Mayor Bloomberg and other New York leaders for approving the Center can show that its board members are doing something illegal, they need to respect the Constitution rather than trying to undermine it.

What the opposition doesn’t get is that democratic freedoms make for messy community relations. People say and do all kinds of things other people would never say or do, but that doesn’t mean one gets to tell the other what to do or not do. Even worse, though, is that they are being disrespectful of the American Muslims who were also 9/11 victims and were among the First Responders. This entire controversy was started by a mean spirited blogger who is guilty of religious bigotry, and so are those who are joining her in supporting this nonsense.   

This is one of those times that requires all Christians to speak up against bigotry and prejudice. Failing to do so not only undermines the  integrity of our own faith, but betrays the trust our friend Khaled Elabdi had in us when he and his family came to speak about his Muslim faith. The idea that they should not be free to worship where they choose, or that they should be associated with terrorists, ought to offend us as much as them. Supporting brothers and sisters who are being maligned and used as political tools for selfish gain requires no second thought. We should not hesitate for even a moment to stand with them.

There is no wiggle room here, no place for “I understand how people feel” sentimentality. The American Muslims who want to build the Community Center are not terrorists. Insisting they move somewhere else is a de facto statement that they are, and none of us should put up with that kind of generalized hatred. Those opposing the Center are not being patriotic. Just the opposite, They are being un-American. Worse, they are promoting cultural and religious warfare. No Christian should need to be convinced that this is wrong. We should be a single voice against it!