To Mosque, or not to Mosque?

So there's been a bit of a brouhaha recently over plans to build a Mosque near the 9/11 site in New York. Given that the perpetrators of the heinous acts of 9/11 claimed to be acting in the name of Allah, a little consternation over the issue is understandable. The terrorists that plotted and executed the attacks of that day claimed that their Islamic faith compelled them to act in such a violent, deadly manner. It's easy to take their actions as being representative of all Muslims and the Islamic faith.

But do these murderers truly represent Islam? Does the Koran and it's teachings condone the actions of 9/11? Are all Muslims evil, homicidal, nut-jobs? Of course not. Far from it. Therefore its unfair to judge Islam and its followers based on the actions of a few dozen crazies that claim to be acting on their behalf.

Should Christians and Christianity be judged based on the Crusades? or the Inquisition? Even Hitler occasionally referenced Christian principles as justification for his, um, leadership style. Should Christians and Christianity be judged based upon he actions of Hitler? Jeez, I hope not.

What if Timothy McVeigh claimed he was acting in the name of Jesus Christ when he bombed the federal building in Oklahoma City? What if he claimed it was his Christian faith that compelled him to kill all those innocent people? What if the Catholic church wanted to build a cathedral across the street from the bomb site? Would there be a huge public outcry? Not likely. The public would rightly separate the acts of a deranged individual from the organization of people he claimed to represent.

Let's take a look back in history to a previous, unprovoked attack on American soil, Pearl Harbor. How did we respond to those that perpetrated that attack? Ok, we bombed the snot out of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But after that? We forgave. And we helped them rebuild. We helped rebuild them into the world's second greatest economy, and a valued ally.

In Mark 12:31, Jesus says "Love your neighbor as yourself". Note He doesn't say "Love your Christian neighbor as yourself". He doesn't say "Love your neighbor as yourself as long as he/she has similar beliefs and values as you". He says "Love your neighbor as yourself". Period.

The flag-waving American in me wants to say "Hell no" to a Mosque near ground zero. Too risky, too disrespectful to those that lost their lives that day. But the Jesus-following Christian in me says "Let them". It's time to forgive.  And to rebuild.