The unfounded backlash against those who want to build a mosque NEAR Ground Zero has reportedly riled up Jihadists after the  community center being built near the site of Ground Zero sparked controversy against Muslims; critics of the mosque include fine patriots such as Sarah Palin who has infuriated her detractors by ranting against the proposed house of worship on her Twitter account.

Unfortunately, Sarah Palin is not even the worst critic of the mosque- one pastor has declared September 11th as "Burn a Koran Day" and intends to hold an event strictly for that purpose. Not surprisingly, comments such as the one the pastor made have not been met with enthusiasm by the Muslim community and have led to threats. In fact, one terrorism expert quoted by the Wall Street Journal is claiming that the uninformed opinions and comments have inflamed Jihadists and are actually working as a wake-up call for Jihadists- he called the events now "an absolute propoganda coup for Jihadists."

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is leading the construction at the site, claims that the protests surrounding the construction of the Islamic Community Center are actually positive- he also stated that the United States constitution is in "keeping with the principles of Islam." Of course, he is currently on a US State Department sponsored trip and his remarks more than likely reflect a need to counteract the vicious diatribes of those who turn their anger into hate.

Certainly, the positive attitude of Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf doesn't reflect the attitude of much of the population-it seems as if the nation is once again divided and the anger over 9/11 is once again being mis-directed to the people who worship Islam instead of at the terrorists who were originally responsible for the event.

While I can understand the conservatives' use of the US constitution as a defense of their right to protest the construction of the Mosque in theory, I wish that they would step back from their positions and understand how their words and intolerance are actually perpetuating the problem between radical Islamic fundamentalists and Americans. Giving Jihadists an excuse for more terrorist attacks is unacceptable as we need communication in order to heal wounds and relationships.

We are on the brink of ending the war in Iraq and should be celebrating the return of our troops by the established deadline; instead, all Americans are suffering and are potentially in danger as a result of a few idiots who should keep their opinions private. Everyone deserves a place to worship and I believe that a Mosque in the same zip code as Ground Zero could be a tremendous step towards showing the rest of the world our tolerance and understanding of different faiths.