…just to toss in another perspective…did you know that throughout history, Islam has done this? Each time there is a location where a perceived substantial “victory” occurs, they build a memorial to commemorate and elevate the event into their history books as well as to establish power over their victims.

Below are some excerpts from Justin Quinn’s recent blog which I, for the most part agree:

As far back as the Ottoman Empire, Islamic rulers made a habit of converting Christian churches, monasteries and chapels into mosques. The Muslims reserved their most elaborate mosques, however, for the sites where the churches had been taken by force. In many cases, the mosques were the first structures to be built by Muslim invaders — even before the ruler’s residences.

The proponents of the Ground Zero mosque will tell you that the mosque belongs at the site, if for no other reason than to serve as a symbol of tolerance and diversity. They’ll tell you that Christianity is also wet with the blood of hundreds of generations and that the very essence of liberty demands that Christian or Jewish Americans who oppose the structure step aside and allow the $100 million, 15 story building to be erected.

Here’s what they won’t tell you:

The proponents of the Ground Zero mosque won’t tell you that the erection of mosques traditionally symbolizes victory over the enemies of Islam. They won’t tell you that the chants of “Allahu Akbar!” that will repeatedly ring throughout the city at every prayer time is the same chant that was captured on the voice recorders of Flight 93. They won’t tell you that shooter Nadal Hisan repeatedly shouted “Allahu Akbar!” as he shot and killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base in Texas. They won’t tell you that “Allahu Akbar!” is traditionally shouted at prayer time, when animals are slaughtered and when the mujihadeen behead an enemy.

Tonight we learn that President Barack Obama has given his blessing to building a mosque at Ground Zero, and in fact, has virtually mandated it.

“As a citizen and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country,” Obama said. “That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable.”

No one is saying that Muslims don’t have a right to practice their religion, but let’s at least find out where the money is coming from to pay for this thing. And why must it tower over the site? If it were a simple two-story center for prayers, it might have been more palatable for the thousands of people who continue to mourn the loss of loved ones who were turned to dust in the attacks. While all these questions have yet to be fully and definitively answered, the biggest one is why does it need to be there at all? There are more than a half a dozen other mosques in the immediate area — East 55th Street, 96th Street and 3rd Avenue, West 29th Street, Allen Street, Warren Street, 116th Street, 126th Street, St. Nicholas Avenue, and that’s just Manhattan. There are dozens and dozens across the five boroughs.

The mosque at Ground Zero is being pursued to prove a simple political point — that Islamic fundamentalists can knock our buildings down, murder our citizens and then use our own laws against us so they can laugh in our faces.