James Madison, the driving force behind the Bill of Rights and specifically the First Amendment, got it right with respect to religious freedom and separation of church and state. Accordingly, there is no constitutional basis to deny building the proposed mosque near ground zero.

Still, one has to wonder about the in-your-face decision by the relevant Muslim leaders to build this huge complex at that particular location. The planners’ insensitivity apparent in this process is amazing, and the disregard for the feelings of 9/11 families and other affected Americans is the main cause of the uproar throughout the country regarding the proposed project.

Beyond this basic insult, the source of financing for what is a very large project is reason for questions and concern. If, for example, the money is coming from Saudi Arabia with its powerful Wahhabi faction, red flags go up immediately.

Wahhabis have spent millions of dollars around the world establishing madrasas and spreading a very fundamentalist and strict version of Islam. I would hate to see Wahhabism’s radical Islamic theology at work in our society, no matter what the Constitution says about religious freedom.

Don Delauter

Southern Pines