The Islamic Center at Ground Zero

I apologize for my absence. I've learned that it's hard to be an avid blogger. But I've conceded that not every post is going to be eloquent and thought out.

There is a current controversy in the news about whether an Islamic cultural center should be built next to ground zero in New York. The argument against sort of goes like this:

Why are they building an Islamic center next to a national site of mourning? That is insensitive to everything that American stands for. Why are we going to allow a religion that supports terrorists to build a center so close to the buildings they destroyed and the lives they took? The Imam over the new center is radical and dangerous, etc. and so forth.

The other argument goes something like this:

Freedom of religion, as enumerated by the Constitution, states that all religions should be allowed to practice their religion and build places of worship wherever they desire. Why should Muslims be held to a different standard than everyone else? It doesn't matter where it is, religions shouldn't be prevented from building places of worship just because of its proximity to places of national disaster.

Though I probably didn't hit all the points in every argument I think you get the gist. On this issue, most conservative thinkers have been against it while more liberal thinkers have been for it. What happened to conservatives being guardians of the Constitution? Are we going to just argue constitutionality when it is convenient? The Constitution is not something you trumpet when it's beneficial throw by the wayside when its not. I even find myself disagreeing with those I usually admire and with whom I usually agree. People like Mitt Romney.

Let me try to personalize the issue with what I believe to be a mostly fair comparison. We all know all hell breaks loose when we Mormons try to build a temple somewhere in the world. Neighbors and fellow residents oppose the temple's construction vehemently. Let's say they argue against it by saying we are a crazy cult that practices polygamy. We all know that that's not true and that they're associating us with our fundamentalist counterparts who have nothing to do with the church. Isn't that what we're arguing when we're opposing an Islamic center from being built because Muslim "fundamentalists" are terrorists and it's so close to a place the terrorists destroyed? Mormons have been and still are in many ways a persecuted minority. Are we as Americans going to do the same thing to Muslims? Just as the polygamist communities are gross distortions of our faith, so are terrorists to the Muslim (though admittedly in drastically different ways). Mormons should have an extra sense of sympathy for our fellow believers in this situation.

I'm all for a little compassion and building an Islamic center next to ground zero isn't the smartest idea in the world but nonetheless I must support their freedom of worship. Call me a liberal pussbag, but I believe it is times like these that demand bravery in maintaining the freedom of worship, an inalienable, God-given right, no matter which religion it is.