On The Mosque

The big story of the past few weeks has been the report of the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City.

First of all it is not even supposed to be a mosque but rather, an Islamic center. Secondly, I think it is shallow to associate the Islamic religion directly with the 9-11 tragedy. The majority of Muslims are peaceful people and Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are mainly extremists.

If the leaders of the new center are moving there as a business decision (rent, proximity to target audience) they have every reason to move there. However, if they are doing it to make a statement then there is a problem. It is not like they are putting it right next to Ground Zero where they are planning on building the memorial and museum.

Also, the Obama administration needs to work on messaging. President Obama should not come out with an unclear statement and then have to go back and clarify it. This isn't the first time his communication did not come off the right way (see Henry Louis Gates).