By QASIM RASHID | TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST
Published: July 22, 2010
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votesBuzz up!Controversy comes knocking. The American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative are spending $100 million to build a mosque, dubbed the "Ground Zero mosque," just two blocks from the site of the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks.

Adding to the controversy is the fact that the majority of the financing is coming from the Saudi government, not from American Muslims. Proponents of the mosque implore that there is no problem. They cite the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as a guarantor of religious freedom, insisting that since they have done nothing illegal, there should be no controversy.

The problem is that this mosque has little to do with religious freedom, and everything to do with a complete disregard for the sentiments of non-Muslim Americans -- enough of whom are understandably sensitive about the mosque's location.

Let's start with the basics. If American Muslims earnestly want this mosque, decency requires they pay for it with their own hard-earned money. Why take a foreign oil-money handout?

Perhaps most relevant, Muslim terrorists committed the 9/11 atrocities at virtually the precise location of the proposed mosque. Regardless of the fallacy of blaming Islam, when nearly 3,000 lives are snatched in an instant, who would not be sensitive? Yes, Muslims have repeatedly condemned the attack. However, such explanations cannot be expected to bring comfort to the families of the 9/11 victims.

But let us assume that the Muslims building this mosque neither care to spend their own money, nor have a genuine concern for the sensitivities of those offended. Even then, if these Muslims sincerely wish to represent Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, they will not build this mosque at that location for one simple reason -- Prophet Muhammad required that a Muslim must never practice his faith in a manner that offends his non-Muslim neighbors.

In other words, Islam implores Muslims to limit their own freedoms, rather than needlessly offend others. Muhammad's life is replete with examples of such incidents.

For example, the Quran extols Muhammad as the greatest of prophets. Yet, when a Jew complained to Muhammad after a Muslim claimed Muhammad's superiority over Moses, Muhammad immediately rebuked the Muslim.

In another instance, Muhammad rebuked a Muslim for the same reason with respect to Jonah, after a follower of Jonah complained.

In a famous letter to all Christian nations, Muhammad wrote, "Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them." The fact that Muhammad formalized this expectation in writing demonstrates its immense importance. He concluded the letter with a firm reminder, "No one of the nation of Muslims is to disobey this covenant till the end of the world." If only these words were heeded today.

Muhammad's tradition continued even after his passing. Umar, Islam's second khalifa, deliberately offered prayer just outside a massive church in Jerusalem to ensure future Muslims would not violate the sanctity of the church. Just as he hoped, though a mosque was later built exactly where he offered his prayer, the church itself was not hindered.

In the modern era, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community have carried this torch. In 2007, after American members invested millions of dollars of their own hard-earned money into a property to build a mosque, local residents made it clear they did not want a mosque in their town. Rather than pursue litigation to force the issue, or sue to recover their substantial financial loss, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community decided to respect the wishes of the town. Despite having the legal right, they chose to follow the example Prophet Muhammad set forth, and refrain from displeasing their neighbors.

Sure, the Muslims building the New York mosque may have a "legal" right. They may not care how it is funded nor care who they offend. But, if they have the slightest regard for Islam and Prophet Muhammad, they will end plans for construction, as continuing the project directly opposes Prophet Muhammad's clear example.

However, if they do persist, add one more victim to the 9/11 death toll; its name is human decency.
Qasim Rashid is a student at the University of Richmond School of Law. Contact him at [email protected].