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ground zero mosque hysteriaYesterday I wrote about the roots of the hysteria surrounding the planned Muslim Community Center, aka Park51, aka the "Ground Zero Mosque." Because much of the discussion online is being driven by the loudest, most extreme voices, we felt it necessary to provide a counterpoint to the opposition.

I've compiled a list of links, images and video to highlight some of the most compelling arguments in support of the community center. Click through to check them out.

Reason's Cathy Young offers the best argument in favor of the community center, digging up evidence that the center was originally conceived over a decade ago in a totally different part of New York, which implies that the center is not meant to be a sign of victory as claimed by the folks I highlighted in yesterday's piece. Furthermore, it won't "encourage" radicals:

...considering that the center will house both a mosque and facilities open to non-Muslims and host interfaith programs-and that its co-founder, Khan, is a woman who does not wear head covering-it is more likely than radical Islamists would see the project as an abomination.
Conor Friedersdorf at Forbes pointed out back in July that Ground Zero is already home to strip clubs, bars and adult bookstores. In other words, there's nothing sacred about the site and it's surrounding area. And if there is, where's the outrage?
As yet, I haven't heard anyone wonder why our political class is silent as the sex industry operates on sacred ground. It would be a bizarre complaint: It's Manhattan, where you can find anything mere blocks from a given location. The closest strip club to Ground Zero happens to be two blocks away, a fact that has nothing to do with our reverence for the place where so many Americans were killed by terrorists. As you've probably noticed, it doesn't even make sense to call it The Ground Zero Strip Club.
John Stewart commits an act of journalism in the following clip passed around online:

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Stewart shows clips from when which he mocked Fox for attempting to follow the money that is being used to fund the community center. Fox mentions a nameless man with ties to the center who turns out to be Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who happens to be one of the biggest shareholders of News Corp., which owns Fox News.

Reddit user litten15 points out the Daily Mail's usual sensationalism.

Another Reddit user, whatevernm, points out what should really incite American's outrage:

Seriously, people, c'mon. If you're going to be pissed off about the Ground Zero site, be pissed off that it's nothing more than a giant dirt pit. After close to a f---ing decade.

Personally I find that much more despicable than a mosque, strip club, adult toy store, and all the other crap that surrounds GZ.

The conversation that follows features interesting points about two of the most corrupt state governments which are preventing any effort to rebuild: New York and New Jersey, and whether or not the decade-long delay is justified.

Lastly, we couldn't not include this image created by Tumblr's Topherchris, which illustrates how overblown this whole argument has become by pointing out all the dumb stuff that currently exists all around the Ground Zero site.