It has been discussed in the West for generations that forgiveness is an important, if not often an overriding, characteristic of a civilised person. Being a generalised term this includes forgiveness of all people, or any state, for any crime. Which of course begs the description of what ‘crime’ means, it also requires thought about who is doing the forgiving.
The reason for this entry is the proposed siting of a Mosque near the site of the Two Towers in New York. Those agreeing to this idea cite the fact that Muslims are a part of American society and it is a statement to the terrorists that America is bigger than their narrow view of exclusive religious practice. There are probably other reasons given in private which are palliative to the American Muslim community who have the ability to strike inside America if they are alienated by more wars and since the war in Afghanistan is being lost, which threatens the loss of part of Pakistan and future war with India on whose side the USA would naturally be, gestures are probably welcome.
However it should be said that every Empire takes its religion with it to further stamp its authority upon the vanquished. Christianity is a bond which links Latin America and Africa tightly to the West despite huge injustice. And no Mosque ever built is just a place of worship, it is like other religious places, an aspiration that the politics of the area will one day be fully Islamic.
The greatest gift we can give Islam is atheism.