The Mosque at ground zero

• 26 February 1993 – World Trade Center bombing, New York City. 6 killed.
• 13 March 1993 – 1993 Bombay bombings. Mumbai, India. 250 dead, 700 injured.
• 28 July 1994 – Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vehicle suicide bombing attack against AMIA building, the local Jewish community representation. 85 dead, more than 300 injured.
• 24 December 1994 – Air France Flight 8969 hijacking in Algiers by 3 members of Armed Islamic Group of Algeria and another terrorist. 7 killed including 4 hijackers.
• 25 June 1996 – Khobar Towers bombing, 20 killed, 372 wounded.
• 17 November 1997 – Luxor attack, 6 armed Islamic terrorists attack tourists at Egypts famous Luxor Ruins. 68 foreign tourists killed.
• 14 February 1998 – Bombing in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. 13 bombs explode within a 12 km radius. 46 killed and over 200 injured.
• 7 August 1998 – 1998 United States embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya. 224 dead. 4000+ injured.
• 4 September 1999 – A series of bombing attacks in several cities of Russia, nearly 300 killed.
• 12 October 2000 – Attack on the USS cole in the Yemeni port of Aden.
• 11 September 2001 – 4 planes hijacked and crashed into World Trade Center and The Pentagon by 19 hijackers. Nearly 3000 dead.^[178]
• 13 December 2001 – Suicide attack on Indian parliament in New Delhi by Pakistan-based Islamist terrorist organizations, Jaish-E-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba. Aimed at eliminating the top leadership of India and causing anarchy in the country. 7 dead, 12 injured.
• 27 March 2002 – Suicide bomb attack on a Passover Seder in a Hotel in Netanya, Israel. 30 dead, 133 injured.
• 30 March 2002 and 24 November 2002 - Attacks on the Hindu Raghunath temple, India. Total 25 dead.
• 7 May 2002 – Bombing in al-Arbaa, Algeria. 49 dead, 117 injured.
• 24 September 2002 – Machine Gun attack on Hindu temple in Ahmedabad, India. 31 dead, 86 injured.^[179][180]
• 12 October 2002 – Bombing in Bali nightclub. 202 killed, 300 injured.^[181]
• 16 May 2003 – Casablanca Attacks – 4 simultaneous attacks in Casablanca killing 33 civilians (mostly Moroccans) carried by Salafia Jihadia.
• 11 March 2004 – Multiple bombings on trains near Madrid, Spain. 191 killed, 1460 injured (alleged link to Al-Qaeda).
• 1 September 2004 - Beslan school hostage crisis, approximately 344 civilians including 186 children killed.^[182][183]
• 2 November 2004 – The murder of Theo van Gogh (film director) by Amsterdam-born jihadist Mohammed Bouyeri.^[184]
• 4 February 2005 – Muslim terrorists attacked the Christian community in Demsa, Nigeria, killing 36 people, destroying property and displacing an additional 3000 people.
• 5 July 2005 - Attack at the Hindu Ram temple at Ayodhya, India; one of the most holy sites of Hinduism. 6 dead.
• 7 July 2005 – Multiple bombings in London Underground. 53 killed by four suicide bombers. Nearly 700 injured.
• 23 July 2005 – Bomb attacks at Sharm el-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort city, at least 64 people killed.
• 29 October 2005 – 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings, India. Over 60 killed and over 180 injured in a series of three attacks in crowded markets and a bus, just 2 days before the Diwali festival.^[185]
• 9 November 2005 – 2005 Amman bombings. a series of coordinated suicide attacks on hotels in Amman, Jordan. Over 60 killed and 115 injured.^[186][187] Four attackers including a husband and wife team were involved.^[188]
• 7 March 2006 – 2006 Varanasi bombings, India. A series of attacks in the Sankath Mochan Hanuman temple and Cantonment Railway Station in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi. 28 killed and over 100 injured.^[189]
• 11 July 2006 – 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, Mumbai, India; a series of seven bomb blasts that took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai. 209 killed and over 700 injured.
• 14 August 2007 – Qahtaniya bombings: Four suicide vehicle bombers massacred nearly 800 members of northern Iraq's Yazidi sect in the deadliest Iraq war's attack to date.
• 26 July 2008 – 2008 Ahmedabad bombings, India. Islamic terrorists detonate at least 21 explosive devices in the heart of this industrial capital, leaving at least 56 dead and 200 injured. A Muslim group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen claims responsibility. Indian authorities believe that extremists with ties to Pakistan and/or Bangladesh are likely responsible and are intent on inciting communal violence.^[190] Investigation by Indian police led to the eventual arrest of a number of terrorists suspected of carrying out the blasts, most of whom belong to a well-known terrorist group, The Students Islamic Movement of India.^[191]
• 13 September 2008 – Bombing series in Delhi, India. Pakistani extremist groups plant bombs at several places including India Gate, out of which the ones at Karol Bagh, Connaught Place and Greater Kailash explode leaving around 30 people dead and 130 injured, followed by another attack two weeks later at the congested Mehrauli area, leaving 3 people dead.
• 26 November 2008 – Muslim extremists kill at least 174 people and wound numerous others in a series of coordinated attacks on India's largest city and financial capital, Mumbai. A group calling itself the Deccan Mujaheddin claims responsibility, however, the government of India suspects Islamic terrorists based in Pakistan are responsible. Ajmal Kasab, one of the terrorists, was caught alive.^[192][193]
• 25 October 2009. Baghdad, Iraq. During a terrorist attack, two bomber vehicles detonated in the Green Zone, killing at least 155 people and injuring 520.
• 28 October 2009 – Peshawar, Pakistan. A car bomb is detonated in a woman exclusive shopping district, and over 110 killed and over 200 injured.
• 5 November 2009 - Fort Hood shooting, Texas, USA. U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent, shot and killed 13 people and wounded 30 others at a U.S. Army base.
• 3 December 2009 – Mogadishu, Somalia. A male suicide bomber disguised as a woman detonates in a hotel meeting hall. The hotel was hosting a graduation ceremony for local medical students when the blast went off, killing four government ministers as well as other civilians.^[194]
• 1 January 2010 – Lakki Marwat, Pakistan. A suicide car bomber drove his explosive-laden vehicle into a volleyball pitch as people gathered to watch a match killing more than 100 people.^[195]
• 1 May 2010 - New York, New York, USA. Faisal Shahzad, an Islamic Pakistani American who received U.S. citizenship in December 2009, attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square working with the Pakistani Taliban or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
• 28 May 2010 - Attacks on Ahmadi Mosques Lahore, Pakistan. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed attacks on two mosques simultaneously belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, killing nearly 100 and injuring many others.

This is a partial list posted on wikipedia of attacks perpetrated by people using the religion of Islam as a sounding board for their agenda.

The debates over freedom and peace in the middle east rage on every day, yet nothing has changed there in thousands of years. That region of the world is steeped in ignorance, tribalism, despotism, and religious oppression. Toss in billions of dollars for oil from all over the planet and you have a recipe for disaster.

Now Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has proposed the building of a thirteen story mosque a couple of blocks from the site of The World Trade Center. Currently, eighty percent of the people polled about this issue think that the mosque shouldn't be built.

Rauf has been tapped by Presidents in the past to act as an ambassador of sorts to "bridge" understanding between Islam and western societies. Looking at the man's history, he would be considered to be an Islamic moderate by any measure, even though he has made statements that would bring this into question...

"For many people who do not understand Islam, Muslims do not appear in the Western media to act in a way that let them believe that Islam is a religion of peace. So there is a certain cognitive dissonance here. If Islam is a religion of peace, why do we see Muslims unpeaceful? Why do we see suicide bombings in Muslim countries? Why do we see indiscriminate killing of people? "

That is a quote by the man that we rarely see in the media today.

People will bring out statistics, numbers, and lists as I have done here about deaths surrounding Islamic terrorism. Lists of how many people that have been killed by American military operations and U.S. sanctions will also be brought out and held in the waving fists of those who oppose the lifestyle and freedom we have built for ourselves here.

This is a never ending argument that has and will lead to bloodshed. There are people all over the world that stand behind the Koran who desire for me and you to simply die. I have read the Koran and, like all religious tomes, the book speaks of love and respect while at the same time condoning slaughter of people who either don't believe as they do or break the list of rules they have published as the only path to true salvation.

It is apparent that religious fanatics of any ism feel that it is their duty as commanded by god to kill whoever they wish, whether its a doctor that performs abortions, or people going to work in World Trade Center.....

The way I see it, historically, neither Christianity or Islam has a leg to stand on when you enter the arena of the argument over violent fundamentalists...

It's at this point that laws take over. Equal protection means just that, equal. When you break a law you are punished by systems set in place to keep the peace.

In observance of these laws and ordinances, voted into place by the citizens of this society, we must allow the building of this mosque.

My personal opinion is that it is in poor taste, a slap to the face of all those who lost family, friends, and fellow countrymen on September 11th, 2001. I believe that this building will be a target of malice and hatred that will be held up to the rest of the world to show either the barbaric nature of this country or the "victory" Islam has over this society by picturing the power they hold over us. Just as paintings of the twin towers in flame adorned many walls in the middle east as people danced about in celebration of the attack, this mosque will be used as a thumb in the eye of this society by these same ignorant muslims.

We are discussing cultural differences that will never be ironed out. We can not understand why a woman should be stoned to death after committing adultery when the man involved walks away unscathed. We can not understand why women in this culture are subjugated to the point of not showing their faces in public, not allowed to go to school, or vote, or have a voice in anything political.

Just as strongly as you and I are confused by things of this nature, these people are baffled by how we can allow our daughters to make porn movies. They are confused by how we let our society morally crumble around us, holding that anything done to get money is ok. For every belief that you have which you hold onto dearly there is a person that believes exactly the opposite and will fight as fiercely as you would to protect it.

This is where the breakdown starts.

How do we overcome this impasse?

There are only two ways to do this. We either understand and recognize the differences, accept them and move forward without violence, or one group must destroy the other. The destruction must come from either violent means or assimilation.

Any rationally thinking person can make the universal plea for peace. Here is mine:

"Do we not think that it is time that we, as a human race, came to learn the lesson that violence begets nothing but violence? In order for us to move forward as one people, untied in peace, we must accept that cultural and religious differences within our societies are to be celebrated and haled as one of our greatest achievements; That we indeed can exist together and move forward in an atmosphere of understanding would usher in one of the greatest moments in our history. When we can work together to overcome the real problems that we face throughout life - poverty, disease, ignorance, famine, and oppression, we shall truly know what it is to be enlightened. One word encompasses this thought, freedom. The allowance of individuals to be and remain free is the cornerstone of the foundation that our future will be built upon. To recognize the right of the person next to you to worship, live, and think as they wish is the only answer to our very survival. If we do not learn this lesson then we are forever doomed to repeat the historical outrages that our forefathers fell victim to. No person has the right to own another human being. No government has the right to oppress people who disagree with its policies. No one group may have control over another. No one has the right to take anything from anyone through force or fraud, this is true with all things from intellectual freedom to our very lives. We are individual people, each with the right to live and believe as we see fit. The choice is a simple one, the time is now at hand when we must make the decision to perish, or to survive."

The imam Rauf and his supporters have every legal right to build this mosque. While I do not agree with it being so near the site of the largest Islamic fundamentalist attack on this society, I must step back for a moment and see that we can not allow popular opinion to trump law. They have been cleared by all the applicable licensing and approval boards to go forward, therefore they must be allowed to do so.

While some may consider this to be us taking the high road, others may consider this to be another case in point of the weakening of this country. Political correctness and poplar opinion must not be allowed to overtake law. Allowing them to do so would be one of the most dangerous moves we have ever made.