The proposal to build an Islamic cultural centre including a mosque within a short distance of Ground Zero is causing Americans a lot of heartache – and while I can understand the pain it must cause for many in the US, I cannot undertsand how some are connecting all Muslims with the murders of 9/11. It’s a bit like the people of Warrington being upset at the Catholics building a new church within a few blocks of where the IRA killed two innocent children in 1993 – there is no connection between the terrorists and the faith whatsoever.

That there are some who would want to stop the building of this centre should be a cause of great concern to all right-thinking Americans – be they Christian or not. To refuse them permission just because they’re Muslim would surely be a denial of one of the most fundamental values of the US namely the individual’s right to worship within his or her religion of choice. It was to enjoy this freedom that the Mayflower set off from Plymouth in 1620.

The case for denying the Muslims is partly based on the assumption that the US is a ‘Christian country’ and that only the Christian faith should be allowed certain privileges. This way of thinking lies at the heart of Christendom – an ideology that may have caused more harm to the faith than any of its external enemies. The imposition of Christian vales upon a country’s population through the laws of the state can have very dangerous implications for the rights and freedoms of minority communities. That there are some in the US who want to travel down this path does not bode well for the future.

If the protection of the rights of non-Christians is not a strong enough reason for allowing religious freedom, then maybe one additional reason can be given: when they have finished trampling on the rights of other religions, will they then turn on those minority views within the Christian faith, of which you could be one?

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