President Obama on Friday forcefully joined the national debate over construction of an Islamic complex near New York's Ground Zero, telling guests at a White House dinner marking the holy month of Ramadan that opposing the project is at odds with American values. [source]
These restrictions are for reasons of aesthetics. Others are for more profound reasons of common decency and respect for the sacred. No commercial tower over Gettysburg, no convent at Auschwitz — and no mosque at Ground Zero. [source]What's the big deal? Already there are plans to build 15-story memorials to U.S. soldiers who were killed in current Middle Eastern wars. One will be built next to a mosque in Sayedebad, Afghanistan... a Taliban stronghold... and the other will be built next to a mosque in Mosel, Iraq which was the "last stand" of al Qaeda in Iraq. Each will fly a 50 ft. American flag [one foot for each U.S. state]. Each will have pictures of the slain soldiers on the exterior walls which will be lit during the night. Inside of each memorial, as well as at the 10th floor on the exterior walls, videos of the U.S. war efforts against the terrorists will be shown. Each will have chapels for the major religions, except for Islam because of the adjacent mosques.
It is expected that there will be no opposition to these memorials and religious facilities. Local politicians have already agreed that these memorials are appropriate and would "bridge the gap" between the Western tradition and these countries. Some undercurrents of displeasure have been noted, but these are considered irrelevant.