The "Ground Zero" mosque and freedom of religion

There has recently been some furor over a proposed interfaith mosque, tentatively named the Cordoba House, that is being built near where the World Trade Center once stood (if you're unclear exactly what I'm talking about, I suggest you click the link). This mosque has been demonized as insensitive because some feel that it would be celebrating the religion that caused the deaths of thousands of innocent people. These people say that the mosque would be like a victory flag for al-Qaeda, planted on the ashes of those they murdered. This is, of course, not true, for several reasons.

First of all, the name that the building is most often referred to as- the "Ground Zero mosque", has led many to believe that it is situated right next to or maybe even on top of the former World Trade Center. This is false. The proposed mosque/community center would be a full two blocks away from Ground Zero. In New York, two blocks is like twenty miles because of the density of the city. There are, in fact, quite a few mosques or Muslim prayer areas already within two blocks of Ground Zero, including one in the building that would need to be demolished for the Cordoba House to be built. Are all of these mosques monuments to terrorism also? If the Cordoba House isn't allowed to be built, why should all these other mosques be allowed to exist?

Secondly, the claim that this mosque would be akin to an al-Qaeda victory flag is completely untrue, because the whole idea of the mosque/community center is as a bulwark against jihadist Islam. The proposed iman (preacher) of the mosque, Faisal Abdul Rauf, is well known for his preachings condemning the 9/11 attacks and terrorism in general. Rather than encouraging terrorism, this mosque would help prevent it.

But the most important reason that the proposed mosque should be allowed to be built is because it would send a message to the rest of the world. America is unique in that it's a nation founded not on ethnicity but on ideals. Two of the most important of these ideals are freedom of religion and freedom of speech. These two principles have been abused numerous times in the past, but many had believed that America had finally turned a corner on its ugly history and was finally ready to live up to the ethos on which it was founded. Support and understanding for the construction of the Cordoba House would have been the ultimate symbol of this new tolerance and egalitarianism. We had a chance to show the terrorists that no matter what they did, no matter how badly they wounded us, they could never touch that which is at the core of our country: freedom. And we blew it. We showed that we have not turned the corner from the segregation and religious intolerance of years past. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it best: "We do not honor [the 9/11 victims'] lives by denying the very constitutional rights they died protecting." Somewhere, Osama Bin Laden is laughing and watching us do his job for him- radicalizing more Muslims against the US. If we had accepted and supported this mosque, it would have sent a powerful signal to Muslims the world over, that we are not at war with Islam and rather that we respect it as a religion. Instead, we now could see an increase in homegrown terrorism as Muslims see this debate as the true face of America, and ignore the innumerable good things about the country. Rather than waging multiple wars in foreign countries, perhaps the best way to hold back terrorism in America is by taking a long, hard look at our country and what it stands for.

So did I misrepresent the issue? Did I overlook something? Did I make any factual errors? Comments would be appreciated.