I too know a number of Muslims and like some of them a great deal. To be sure, Islam has its violent aspects but it certainly doesn't have a monopoly on religious violence or repression on non-believers. There are some Muslim tenets everyone should hold, like the duty to be hospitable to strangers and the absolute obligation to be charitable to the poor.

I lived in a remote part of Turkey for a while, the only Westerner for hundreds of kilometers, and was surrounded by Muslims, completely at their mercy. As a whole, they were unfailingly kind to me, overlooked my social gaffes and made me welcome in their homes. Certainly some people must have resented my presence but nobody was even rude to me.

That doesn't matter, though: as Americans we all have a duty to tolerate, at the very least, the beliefs of others. If it is allowable to build a church or synagogue (not to mention a bar or porn gallery) in this part of Manhattan, then a mosque is certainly allowable too.

And Pat, you're more than welcome to open your loutish comedy club across the street, if you have the money to throw away on such a thing. Comedy Central is under no obligation to support it, however. Maybe your chums at Fox News will give you some free press.