Mosque, eh?

I find it incredible that there's so much flack over the (possible) building of a Muslim "mosque" near Ground Zero. Many compare it to the (possible) building of a Japanese religious structure near Pearl Harbor. Impossible, right? Statement by Feisal Abdul Rauf: "It is not a mosque, although it will include a space for Muslim prayer services. It will have a swimming pool, basketball court, meeting rooms, a 500-seat auditorium, banquet facilities and many other things a community needs to be healthy. The center will offer theatrical programming, art exhibitions and cooking classes. These are amenities missing now from this part of the city. And, yes, the center will have a public memorial to the victims of 9/11 as well as a meditation room where all will be welcome for quiet reflection. The center will support soul and body. The center will be open to all regardless of religion." Arguments: Anti-mosque: Muslims should be sensitive to the feelings of Americans and build elsewhere, even though they have the constitutional right to build ... Pro-mosque: Americans should promote the building to demonstrate American freedoms and to improve worsening relations with the Muslim world ... In 1998, bin Laden said: "... the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors ... ... Americans' continuing aggression against the Iraqi people ... huge number of those killed, which has exceeded 1 million ... in compliance with God's order, we issue the following fatwa ... kill the Americans and their allies." There is little point in arguing that the U.S has provided immense aid to Muslims of the Middle East. There is little point in arguing that the U.S has protected countries of the Middle East from aggression. There is little point in arguing that the U.S is motivated by Christian ideals. There is little point in arguing who is responsible for this attitude toward the U.S. ... BUT, can we still wonder why?