Sorry Mr. Caldwell, your August 15, 2012, column titled “Fear shouldn’t jeopardize our freedoms” is way off base.

Islam a religion of tolerance and peace? After a Jewish Temple and a Christian Cathedral are built alongside the Grand Mosque in Mecca I might begin to believe the, so far, worthless rhetoric.

Islam is a political movement in the eastern culture. Only a fool ignorantly imposes western attitudes upon the eastern culture of Islam.

In the eastern culture attitude, the Muslim cannot fathom any separation of church and state.

And lest we forget Qurtuba (Cordoba) was the Caliphate seat following the Moorish conquest of far western Europe. Just another harmless religious tolerance expression, courtesy of the religion of peace?

This Qurtuba Center (QC) project is not a free expression of religion issue.

The Qurtuba Center purpose is two fold.

First, the Qurtuba Center is intended as an insult against the USA. Second, the Qurtuba Center becomes a slippery slope for future gaming of the U.S. Constitution as a means to impose Sharia upon the USA.

Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Iman pushing this Qurtuba Center, does not believe Hamas is a terrorist organization.

Is that The Tribune’s definition of a moderate Muslim?

The Qurtuba Center location on Manhattan Island is on par with a Jim Crow Law Center across the street from the main entrance of Howard University. The Qurtuba Center’s distance from WTC is much like that from the Lawrence County Building to the Ironton City Center.

Questions The Tribune should be asking: Who’s funding the Qurtuba Center? Why are U.S. tax dollars being used to build overseas Mosques? And why is Feisal Abdul Rauf on the U.S. government payroll?

Joseph Benning

Kitts Hill