Guest Thinkers — July 26, 2010

Ground Zero Mosque

Those who oppose allowing a mosque to be built near the World Trade Centers have lost sight of America’s tradition of religious tolerance and the simple facts of the mosque’s construction.

bigthinkeditor

Those who oppose allowing a mosque to be built near the World Trade Centers have lost sight of America’s tradition of religious tolerance and the simple facts of the mosque’s construction. A Chicago tribune editorial is critical of leaders who have taken too simplistic a view of the mosque controversy: “Newt Gingrich came out against the so-called Ground Zero mosque the other day. ‘There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia,’ said the former Republican House speaker and possible presidential candidate. It’s an interesting innovation to suggest that American freedoms should be no greater than those of repressive nations. What’s next? No political protests in Washington until political protests are allowed in Pyongyang?”

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