A majority of Americans oppose the construction of a new Islamic community center about two blocks from ground zero.

Constitutionally this issue is quite clear. The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

The U.S. Supreme Court case Gitlow v. New York established precedent in 1925 that the Due Process clause of the 14th Amendment applies the First Amendment to each state, including local governments. The proposed building is not a mosque. However, it is a community center affiliated with a specific religion and as such, it is protected under the First Amendment. As long as the organizers of the Park51 project fulfill all other legal obligations, there can be no objection simply based on the religious affiliation of the center.

I am concerned because there is.

The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was an abomination to all Americans, of all faiths or of no faith. The Islamic faith is not to blame. I respect the loss of families and friends whose loved ones died on 9/11, but also acknowledge the loss the Muslim community suffered on that day. The extremists responsible for the attacks hijacked not only planes, but also the respectability of the Islamic faith. An alarming percentage of Americans believe the Quran advocates violence, when in fact, the reverse is true.

The purpose of the Cordoba House, the proposed name for the community center, is to foster religious tolerance and understanding. The multimillion dollar project will “provide a place where individuals, regardless of their culture or background, will find a place of learning, arts and culture and, most importantly, a community center guided by the universal values of all religions in their truest form — peace, compassion, generosity and respect for all,” according to the Cordoba Initiative, a non-profit organization not formally connected with the project.

During a high school trip to Spain, I spent time in the city of Cordoba for which the community center is named. The famous Mezquita de Cordoba has the foundations of a Roman temple, the floor of a synagogue and a beautiful mosque with a Catholic cathedral at its center.

I saw and felt the prosperity that can come from the harmony of religions living together in tolerance and respect. However, in the history of Cordoba, I also learned of the strife and pain that comes from intolerance and disrespect.

Today, in New York City, and in the United States, we need to strive for what was achieved 1,000 years ago in Spain. We need to strive for tolerance, from which springs prosperity and peace.

The proximity of the Cordoba House to ground zero is one of the main issues of contention in this debate. The proposed construction has been labeled as an insult to the families, and memories, of those who were killed.

However, the area of Lower Manhattan home to ground zero also is, and has been for decades, a home to many Muslim Americans. One of the organizers of the Cordoba House, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, leads services at a mosque 12 blocks from the ground zero site. Here, peaceful worship has occurred for almost three decades.

Once again the Cordoba Initiative speaks out, “The community center will be a platform to amplify the voices of the overwhelming majority of Muslims whose love for America and commitment to peace gets drowned out by the actions of a few extremists. As Muslim New Yorkers and Americans, we want to help and be part of rebuilding our neighborhood.”

As a Christian, I have an obligation to love my neighbor. There are no qualifications on that statement. I must love not only my Christian neighbors, but my Jewish neighbors, my Muslim neighbors and my neighbors who have no faith.

Christianity is the dominant religion claimed by Americans. However, this does not give us special privileges; it sets before us obligations.

We have an obligation not to convert, but to respect. We have an obligation to set an example of tolerance and love. A faith that does not do this does not deserve to use Christ’s name. Respecting a neighbor who has a differing opinion is not just a Christian ideal, it is an American ideal. The core of our country is not only protecting the ideas with which you agree, it is protecting the ideas with which you disagree. A truly American community is not a homogeneous one; it is a diverse coalescence of culture founded on respect.