My thoughts on building a mosque close to Ground Zero

Here's what I think:

• The TERRORISTS responsible for the atrocities of 9/11 should be tried and punished to the fullest extent of the law.


• The actual Ground Zero site should remain as a symbol for our sorrow as a well as a reminder of the preciousness of life and our need for solidarity.


• Muslim fanatics do not and should not serve as representatives for Islam on the whole.


• While I agree that violent acts committed in the name of Islam are often reported in the media, I choose to believe (in an optimistic act of faith) that the vast majority of Muslims neither condone nor do they in any way wish to be associated with such acts.

In other words, I choose to believe that the vast majority of Muslims are not so different than anyone else. My children go to school with Muslim children. If these children were in NYC along with their families and decided to visit a mosque that happened to be in the vicinity of Ground Zero, I wouldn't see any problem in that.

Again, this is solely an expression of MY opinion.