Mosque near Ground Zero Shows Poor Taste

I've been under a rock for the past few months, caring little for what is going on in the world at large. So I was astonished when I found out that there were plans to build a mosque less than a mile from Ground Zero. I thought that I had read a faulty article, that it was a joke, or at least if there was truth to it that it would be squashed immediately. I was wrong on all accounts. Easing back into the world of reality, where justice, consideration and even compassion are stuff fairytales are made up of, I have learned more about this architectural atrocity. Americans, apparently, are Islamophobic...in the most current hip slang that I know, we are "haters"...better get your hater blockers on, because apparently it is also a viciously contagious epidemic sweeping the nation. Whoever is writing these articles clearly never visited a college campus, where it is "cool" to have a diversified group of friends. Having a gay friend is so last year, now the cool thing is to have some Muslim homies. (Maybe I'm old school, but I still like to pick my friends based on conditions like sincerity, trustworthiness and integrity...as opposed to this new trend of picking friends based on the who is the new cool cultural phenomenon.) Lest someone be offended, I say Muslim homies not as a derogatory slam at Muslims, but to make light of the current youths changing and ever shallow preferences.
Religion aside, I don't know how anyone from any varied walk of life could think building a mosque where so many people lost their lives could be a good idea. Having lost a huge part of my life and future plans recently and living through the aftershock of this loss, anyone, and I mean absolutely anyone who has lost someone close to them knows that the way in which that life was lost is a deeply sacred and painful thing that should be respected. With my own personal loss, there really was nobody to blame, it was one of those things that are unplanned and happen and somehow you work through and accept it. Those who lost their lives on September 11th were taken intentionally from those that love them. This was a premeditated act that was intended to inflict pain and suffering for years, generations even. I just do not know, I cannot comprehend how someone can live with the loss of a sibling, husband, wife or parent knowing that somebody wanted them dead. Knowing that this person you spent so many years with, making memories and future plans with will no longer be around to fulfill those future plans because of somebody else's intentional act... Being honest with myself, I do believe that I would probably hate the perpetrators and anyone related even remotely to them. I would wish pain and suffering on them, to feel what I feel. I also believe this is normal, especially as an initial gut reaction to an immense loss. So perhaps there is some hatred toward Muslims, I would be willing to bet that much of that initial hatred has dwindled. At some point in the grieving process it becomes more and more of a burden to hold onto that anger. Of course some people make it their life's purpose to hold a grudge; in a situation such as 9/11, I couldn't blame them, but they are hurting themselves more than anyone else.
The belief that those in opposition to building a mosque so close to Ground Zero are hate filled, Islamaphobes is preposterous. I'll be reasonable in admitting that like in every other group, there are probably some radicals who truly hate Muslims, but I'd stake my life on them being a miniscule minority. The issue is this: thousands of people were intentionally killed by a group that claims to be followers of Allah. Some Muslims argue that the perpetrators are/were not truly Muslim and are radicals...this argument while valid, is moot. This is about being sensitive and compassionate to the lives that were senselessly lost. This is is not about legalism and who's right or who's wrong. People died a gruesome death, leaving thousands and thousands of loved ones grieving their loss. Building a mosque on this ground is saying to those still alive and suffering that their pain is inconsequential to true Muslims being able to have an opportunity to prove that they are peaceful. It says, you're pain is nothing compared to us being able to get our way. Those in favor of the mosque do not stop and consider how they might feel if the shoe was on the other foot. What if it had been thousands of Muslims that were slain that day by a group of radical Christians in the name of God. Years after the fact a moderate Christian group wanted to build a church there in an attempt to show they are peaceful. That would not fly. Muslim families who lost a loved one would still be grieving and rightfully so. The empty place in their home that their loved one once filled would be a cold reminder of what happened to them. That ground would be a reminder of those who in the name of God took their loved one...and now a group claiming allegiance to the same god wants to desecrate that site with their place of worship?
It's about principle and it's about compassion and it's about common respect. You don't spit on a dead person's grave. While it may not sound logical to those in favor of the mosque, to anyone who has suffered a tragic loss it makes perfect sense. You respect the dead in the manner that the dead person or their family would want them to be respected, not in the manner that you personally feel is correct. You do it because someday if you or a loved one is in the ground, you hope that the same will be done for you. The most classy thing that Muslims could do is to demand that the site of the mosque be moved further away from Ground Zero. That would be an immense display of integrity.