Ground zero mosque

Should the ground zero mosque be allowed? Is it acceptable?
Cordoba House, also referred to as the "Ground Zero Mosque" and "Park51", is a planned $100 million, 13-story, glass and steel Islamic cultural center and mosque. The plan is to raze an existing 1850s Italianate building that was damaged in the September 11 attacks, and build the mosque in its place. It is to be built two blocks (less than 600 feet, or 180 meters) from Ground Zero in New York City. An anticipated 1,000 to 2,000 Muslims will pray at it every Friday, once it is built. The proposed location of the mosque triggered an intense national controversy.
Polls showed that a majority of Americans, as well as most New Yorkers, opposed the mosque being built on that site. Many were upset by the prospect of an Islamic center being built so close to Ground Zero, where Islamist terrorists had killed nearly 3,000 people in the name of Islam. Across the United States, families of 9/11 victims, as well as politicians, Muslims, and organizations, came out both for and against the mosque being built in the Ground Zero vicinity. Some relatives of 9/11 victims argued that the project's choice of location was insensitive, while others said that the project would be an opportunity for Muslims to demonstrate that there are moderates among them. Some politicians, such as Rick Lazio, questioned the project's source of funding, as well as the project leader's views on 9/11 and terrorism. Others, such as New York City Mayor Bloomberg, welcomed the mosque as an expression of freedom of religion. Prominent Muslims split over whether the project was an act of friendship, or an unnecessary and ostentatious provocation. Newt Gingrich and others assailed the name of the project. It harked back to 8th century Córdoba, Spain, the Islamic seat of power after Muslim conquerors defeated Western Christians and occupied and ruled Spain, though the project sponsors said it was meant to point to where Muslims, Christians, and Jews co-existed peacefully. With the name proving to be inflammatory, its investors subsequently renamed the project "Park51".

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