Religious freedom

Brian and I have been watching the debate unfold over the building of a Muslim community center and mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center site and, frankly, we are both shocked and appalled by the outcry over the project. For those of you who haven't been following this topic, a Muslim developer applied for permission to renovate a former Burlington Coat Factory building in lower Manhattan to build a 15-story Muslim community center. The new building would include a 500-seat auditorium, pool, classroom space, and--yes--prayer space. Intense opposition has sprung up among some political candidates and news organizations. If you really love America, they say, you would clearly oppose this building. I disagree.

My primary objection is based on the principle of religious freedom on which our country is based. The religious freedom protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution protects the rights of people from all religions to practice their faith without government interference. More importantly, the government is prohibited from making decisions that specifically impact a religious group for no other reason than the majority just doesn't like it. In this case, opponents are trying to pressure the government into blocking this project (which was approved by a unanimous vote in the committee responsible for it) simply because they don't want a mosque to be built in this location. And this is not the only situation like this. There are many other cases in the U.S. where local communities have tried to block the building of a mosque.

Can you imagine the outcry if the situation was reversed and new church buildings were being blocked? As my friend Alisa pointed out, there are 10 Christian churches built within a five block radius of the Alfred Murrah Bombing Memorial in Oklahoma City, which was carried out by Christian extremists. No one proposed that having those churches so close to "sacred ground" was inappropriate. So why the hypocrisy?

I'm reading a book by David Gushee called "The Future of Faith in American Politics: The Public Witness of the Evangelical Center." In a chapter I read last night about the issue of torture (and the surprising lack of opposition to torture among many evangelicals) Gushee made this statement, which seems particularly appropriate to the issue of the Muslim community center:

"We often say in evangelical circles that people of integrity respond to life on the basis of scriptural principles, not preferences, feelings, or circumstances. We act on the basis of who we are, not who others are. If someone is ruthless to us at work, this does not authorize biblical people to be equally ruthless in return. If people violate their covenant with us, it does not authorize us to do the same to them. Mature people, and nations, know what their core values are and seek to act in every circumstance in a manner consistent with those values. If they abandon those values when severely tested, it raises real questions as to how deeply such values were ever held."

I know it's easy to jump on the public opinion bandwagon when it comes to emotional issues like this, but I ask you to please take the time to move past the rhetoric and think about what is really at stake in this debate. Are we, as a nation, going to fall into the trap of judging all groups by their most extreme members? Are we ready to trade freedoms and protections which have protected our own ability to worship how, when, and where we want for over two hundred years for a few more blocks of "sacred space" (when we all know that if the community center isn't built, they'll probably just put in a Starbucks)? I sure hope not.

Discuss.