I understand fully that the land owners have every right to build whatever they please on the land that they own, but the idea that they would INSIST on building a mosque so close to the former WTC site is marks such insensitivity towards such a dramatic, and for many Americans traumatic, event.
As I said before, they certainly have the right to build a mosque there if they so choose, but this action is going to do nothing for the current PR stance that Islam is a "religion of peace," and will no doubt strike a sense of contempt, spite and sheer anger from many Americans, especially New Yorkers, simply because it is an overly insensitive act and a callous refusal to accpet the emotions and pain that many victims of 9/11 are still dealing with. If this mosque becomes a reality, I wouldn't be surprised in the least if some insensed "patriot" set it on fire, blew it up or ran in there "guns a blazin.'"
Long story short, while they may have the right to build a mosque on that site, this is really asking for a heap of trouble IMO (whether it is deserved or not is another issue), and just because they have the right to do so, doesn't mean they aren't insensitive dicks for doing so. And, apparently, muslims in America (or at least these muslims in specific) are not subject to the norms of "cultural awareness" and "cultural sensitivity" so many of us Americans must abide by.
So now Conservatives and teabaggers are going to use the groups that helped right the RLUIPA, which BTW creates strong protections for churches and other houses of worship from local governments using zoning and other land-use laws to restrict them, essentially saying that if local municipalities interfere with religious institutions, they'd better have a very good reason for doing it, to defend their position that it should not be built there.
