Muslims died on 9-11

OK.
The reason for my last post might seem a little vague. But this anniversary for some reason has been so controversial, when all this day should be about is reminding us of one thing: life is fragile. We are not guaranteed tomorrow.
By the way, you can't tell me that in a cosmopolitan city like New York, that there weren't Muslim New Yorkers in that building who died along side all the others. Some reports, naturally, are widely inaccurate, designed to lean sympathies in one way or the other. But I know there were Muslims there. People who lost their lives. To make this some christian holiday of hatred against them not only infuriates me, but isn't even... well... christian.
I was working at Delta Air Lines headquarters the day of the attack. It shut down the campus, after shutting down the internet as so many people tried to connect to it for updates. I sat in the basement all morning with a radio, playing news of what was happening. It felt like being in a bomb shelter. And with just that voice, telling us what was happening, my account manager could simply not fathom that the Twin Towers would collapse. "That's not right," he said. "They are enormous."
They were enormous. Past tense.
I think they are bigger now. In memory. Maybe the memory is getting us all a little crazy? Let's think about this Muslim Community Center debate for one moment.
Who attacked us? Muslims.
Nope. Al-Qaeda attacked us.
Oh. Right. Al-Qaeda.
What is Al-Qaeda? Extremists.
That's closer. Who wants to build near the Twin Towers? Muslims!
That's closer too. Let's go deeper. What kind of Muslims?
American Muslims. New York Muslims. Immigrants and Natural Born Muslims. Not extremists. In fact, I would hazard the guess that they make Al-Qaeda Extremists sweat and itch. These are thriving, healthy American Muslims, with enough personal wealth to build in prime real estate.
How is this an affront to the terror created on 9-11? How is this an affront to the lives that were lost? Seriously? How is this anything MORE than a big old poke in the eye to extremists and their way of life than to plant a big fat moderate, centrist Muslim community center IN the community they tried to destroy? How much prouder should we be than any soldier, stationed in Iraq, who has sacrificed time, connection to home and family and even his life to calm the terror of war there, and revitalize a community in that clearly more war-torn land?
Hey! Dudes? Pluralism works. We're not scared of you. Suck it.
Sorry if my words aren't elegant today. I am not filled with sad remembrance today. I am ready for the future, when we recover from our stumblings and stand tall, with the finest qualities we are capable of.
We're capable. We are.

-Laura