Equal protection of the law matters

Mel Lipman, Las Vegas

Friday, Sept. 3, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

In her Tuesday letter to the editor, headlined “Mosque backers misunderstand our Bill of Rights,” Jane Ham writes that there “is no dispute that Muslims have a right to practice their religion. But our Constitution doesn’t give them the right to build their mosque anywhere they please. They have a right to apply for a building permit, which is subject to New York City ordinances.”

If people were to read further in the Constitution, they would find the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection of the law.

Let’s be honest. If a Jew or Christian committed a bombing, would there be an outcry to prohibit building a synagogue or church two blocks from that bombing? The only reason for opposition to the mosque is that the horrific act of 9/11 was committed by Muslims. Should all Muslims now be considered bombers, or should we be guided by the Constitution and apply equal protection of the law?

We are not like the theocratic countries ruled by Sharia or other religious laws that would discriminate against anyone whose beliefs differ from the one accepted belief. To protect our right to our own religious beliefs, we must be vigilant in preventing the co-mingling of religion and government and we must not succumb to the fear-mongering of the demagogues who seek to make the United States a theocracy.