Muslim ‘bridge’ has only one end
Islam wants to build a mosque on ground that has been rendered – physically and consequentially – holy to us, in order to “build a bridge” between religions.
If those who want cooperation between religions are sincere, they could begin by allowing Christian churches to be built in Islamic countries. There are something like 1,200 mosques in the U.S. They could allow visitors, including our supporting troops, to carry their Bibles and allow visiting women to walk with their heads uncovered.
They would not commit honor killings of daughters fraternizing with their supposed religious enemies and not kill those who medically help them for carrying Bibles. Neither is a sign of tolerance.
A bridge has two ends. I do not see any sign of a bridge being started from their end.
PAUL RESZEL Fort Wayne
Represent all faiths at trade center site
I was shocked to open the Perspective page Aug. 22 and find the Journal Gazette had actually printed such racist propaganda as “U.S. not Muslim.”
If Richard Burridge is “sick of people coming to America and demanding people adapt to them,” he’s welcome to attend my daughter’s fourth-grade history lesson; he obviously needs reminded that the very idea of America was founded on freedom of religion! It’s called “America,” not “Christians Only,” and there are a lot of people out there who need reminded of that.
One in four people in the world is Muslim. You’ll not convince me that 1.5 billion people are terrorists. Likewise, it’s not President Obama’s decision to build a mosque at the World Trade Center site. It’s the World Trade Center, and all religions of the world should be represented or none.
America is supposed to represent equality, tolerance and freedom. We lose sight of that every time a letter like Richard Burridge’s is printed.
JULIE PEEBLES Fort Wayne
It’s the location, not the Constitution
Julia Gouveia wrote a letter Aug. 20 defending the building of a mosque at the site of ground zero. I profoundly disagree.
New York is home to hundreds of mosques where Muslims pray. Opposing the building of a mosque at ground zero has nothing to do with opposing religious freedom. As Charles Krauthammer recently wrote: “Location matters. Especially this location. Ground zero is the site of the greatest mass murder in American history ... perpetrated by Muslims of a particular Islamist orthodoxy in whose cause they died and in whose name they killed.” Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is a man who has called U.S. policy “an accessory to the crime” of 9/11. We need to question the good will of this man.
America is a free country and you can build what you want ... but not anywhere! We have zoning laws, architectural codes and respect for the sacred. We all have an obligation to preserve the dignity and memory of those who died and suffered that tragic day. We must remember them and their families who are still suffering.
The majority of Americans are against building this mosque at this sacred site. President Obama is the one who is “out of touch” with the American people, not Sarah Palin.
ANITA McMAHON Fort Wayne
