A shocking lack of sensitivity

Within the next couple of weeks, New York’s Landmarks Preservation Commission will make one of its most politically sensitive decisions — whether a historic downtown building just two blocks from the World Trade Center site can be torn down to make room for a mosque and Islamic cultural center.

Legally, New York’s zoning laws make it impossible to intimidate a religious institution from building on the site. The sole responsibility of the commission is to determine whether the current building on the site meets the criteria for landmarking. It’s not within its power to determine whether the site is appropriate for the intended use. Most legal experts have opined that the board has little discretion in this matter, and almost all agree that under the law, the building doesn’t qualify for landmark status.

While it’s clear that the mosque has a legal right to be built, I don’t understand why it has to be built so close to a site where so many families lost loved ones on Sept. 11. Ground zero and the surrounding area are considered holy land not just to New Yorkers, but to Americans everywhere. Building a mosque there is like rubbing salt in a wound that already has little chance of healing.

The estimated 13-story, $100 million project is being headed by the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Institute. The planned building will be more than a place of worship; it will be a community center. The plans have already been met with overwhelming support from two community boards.