The Mosque

     I've come full circle on the issue of the Mosque in Manhattan. My original post was angry and, frankly, unfair. Since then, I've decided that blocking the mosque would become the perfect example the next the next time a religion that is out-of-favor wants to built its house of worship.

     Here's what former Birmingham News cartoonist Scot Stantis drew about it yesterday in The Chicago Tribune, and it perfectly expresses where I am now.

     But if we are going to block it, how many feet away from ground zero is considered sacred ground? Would five blocks be OK? Four? Supposing it's a reformed mosque?

     There are people who believe mormons are a dangerous cult...would they be allowed in your neighborhood? There's no shortage of anti-catholic rhetoric...should a parish be kept away?

     Yet I can't leave this posting without another thought: Are Muslims known for their own openness to other faiths? Would they welcome a synagogue or a gay church or a white supremicist church next door to their new Mosque, if it is built?