First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

There has been a lot of talk recently about a plan to build a mosque near Ground Zero (two blocks away). Supposedly you won’t be able to see Ground Zero from the mosque (if it’s built). For those readers who don’t follow religion, a mosque is a place of worship for the followers of Islam.

President Obama made some remarks about it at a White House Dinner Friday night which was taken as being for the mosque near Ground Zero:

But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. (Applause.) And 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 unshakeable.

Then, the water got a little choppy for the President, so on Saturday he was quoted saying:

I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right that people have that dates back to our founding.

A little waffling, Mr. President?

Surprise! Republicans like Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich have come out against it.

Almost everyone has come out with an opinion about the mosque near Ground Zero. I have not heard or read anything from Montana’s Congressional delegation, although I probably know which way they lean. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said it should be built somewhere else. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is for it.

We all have a right in this country to do basically whatever we want as long as we don’t infringe on other people’s rights. Sometimes we do unwise things with those rights and building a mosque close to Ground Zero is unwise to some.

But, how far away from Ground Zero is far enough for a mosque to be built so that it won’t be hurtful to those affected by 9/11? Two blocks seems to be too close for some. How about four blocks, or a mile, or maybe 10 miles? According to this story from CNN there are 100 mosques in New York City already for an estimated 800,000 Muslims.

I guess we’re left with the question: What would Muhammad do?