On the mosque at New York City 9/11 ground zero question, columnist David Broder asks the right question:

“If Ground Zero is ‘sacred ground’ as some argue, because of the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost there to savagery, then, should it not be shared with any religious building?  Would a church or a synagogue be equally objectionable as a mosque?  If not, then the implicit message is to blame one religion — Muslims — for the actions of al-Queda, a leap into stereotyping that is almost racist.”

I share Broder’s discouragement concerning President Obama’s lack of courage in backtracking from his claim of the right of a Muslim charity to build a mosque and community center.  I say this: why not build a mosque, synagogue, and church at Ground Zero with a mutual commitment to build relationships, engage difficult conversations, and attempt to build a small community of peace beyond the polarities of tolerance and offense.  Now that would be sacred ground.