The Houston Chronicle editorial "Ground Zero tolerance" on August 13, has raised some points about the grand mosque near Ground Zero but has chosen to ignore some vital issues. Tolerance is a virtue we have in plenty but not found in those that are clearly insensitive to the national tragedy with nearly 3000 killed, billions of dollars of loss suffered and national pride dented badly.

The basic issue is not any mosque, or at any other place; it's the mosque in the shadows of the very place where thousands had to die because of religious intolerance. That intolerance should not be rewarded with a mosque near that place. Period.

Those who are planning to build the mosque and their patrons in other Islamic countries have no public record of tolerance. The situation is just the opposite. Mere suspicion or allegation of the Holy Book being damaged or insulted results in destruction of temples, synagogues and public and private property. Attacks on non-Muslims, and even on other sects of Muslims, are frequent and show the depths of intolerance. It's an irony that the lesson of tolerance is sought to be taught to us on behalf of those who failed to pass the test themselves.

The mosque near the hallowed ground would hardly be the center for healing; it would be a grim reminder of what was done in the name of Islam by terrorists, mainly from Saudi Arabia, the most intolerant citadel of Islam and possibly the big donor for the project. All Muslims may not be suspects but those who hijacked and dashed planes against the Twin Towers were certainly devout Muslims, and frequented mosques. One even attended sermons in a Houston mosque. They [if they are in Jannat, or elsewhere] and their live supporters would certainly celebrate a mosque near the place the hijackers attacked and destroyed and killed thousands of people from 70 nations.

Mayor Bloomberg, with his wet eyes and bleeding heart should have read the history or opened his eyes to what is happening right under his nose and all across the world caused by intolerant people of the same faith he defends. As the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman [whose column is printed in the Chronicle and many others also] had rightly stated that if he had $100 million he would build a mosque for tolerance and inter-faith aims in Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, not here. We already know and practice tolerance, often too much tolerance and Politically Correct behavior to make others walk all over us.

Now president Obama has also put his weight behind the mosque preaching religious tolerance and endorsing the "right of Muslims" to build a mosque in Manhattan but ignoring the basic fact: the painful memories of the Twin Tower tragedy. He gave a lecture on religious freedom and tolerance at an Islamic gathering, not to urge his audience to learn the lessons, but to endorse the mosque plan. Unfortunately, liberals are giving yet another opportunity to those who take advantage of democratic and tolerant societies, like ours, to subvert them from within and try to thrust their own laws on us.

This is not acceptable.

Why the mosque near Ground Zero? A blunt answer is given by two noted Muslim authors, Raheel Raza and Tarek Fatah who wrote "Muslim Mischief in Manhattan" that "We Muslims know the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation. It's an act of "fitna." And this is an act of rubbing salt on the American wounds while pretending they are applying a balm to sooth the pain.

Neda Bolourchi, an Iranian woman whose mother was on United flight 175 that crashed into the South Tower, on September 11, 2001 wrote: "I try to take solace in the notion that her death has forced a much-needed conversation and reevaluation of the role of religion in the Muslim community, of the duties and obligations that the faith imposes and of its impact on the non-Muslim world.

"But a mosque near Ground Zero will not move this conversation forward. There were many mosques in the United States before Sept. 11; their mere existence did not bring cross-cultural understanding. The proposed center in New York may be heralded as a peace offering ..... but I fear that over time, it will cultivate a fundamentalist version of the Muslim faith, embracing those who share such beliefs and hating those who do not."

Indeed the proposed mosque would be anything but a healer; it would be counter productive and a rude slap on the face of a tolerant American people who suffered 9/11. This is not freedom of religion but unlimited freedom to one religion.

The intolerant and the extremists nurtured in some mosques, trained in some madrassas and instigated by some Mullahs like to impose themselves on others, thumb their noses in others' face, like they have done in Ayodhya, Mathura and Varanasi, Jerusalem and elsewhere. They have to deliberately impose themselves on the psyche of others to score points - now in the name of tolerance and promotion of integration and community cohesion.

This should not fool anybody. This is not a wise step and this should be opposed by all those really and genuinely interested in harmony. The Chronicle, August 14, reported that a CNN/Opinion Research poll found 70 percent of Americans opposed the mosque plan. That should settle the matter, if not any other fact.