A proposed mega-mosque, to be built just two blocks from Ground Zero, has dominated political headlines for the past few months.

When speaking at a dinner honoring Ramadan, President Obama stated, “I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances.”

There are few times nowadays that President Obama and I agree- this is one of those instances. When our government begins to dictate where a religious building can be located, we are treading in dangerous waters.

The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees us the freedom of religion, and one can argue that our country was founded based on the desire to practice faith in a free and voluntary fashion. Our founding fathers chose to free themselves from the religious persecution of the British monarchy. Thomas Jefferson once said, “all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion.”

The issue of constitutional legality, however, is not the core issue behind opposition to the mosque.

Many Americans believe, as I do, that the location of the mosque is legal, but simply inappropriate. A poll conducted by CBS News found that 67 percent of Americans feel the developer has a right to build the mosque. In the same poll, however, 71 percent of them said that it was inappropriate.

My concerns surrounding the mosque do not question legality or appropriateness. I question the details surrounding the developer, his organization and the source of funding for the $100 million project.

Developer Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his eyebrow-raising comments throughout the past decade are a driving force behind the opposition to construction of the mosque.

There is no question that liberal media outlets have gone out of their way to paint Imam Rauf as a peaceful, moderate Muslim. However, further investigation into his views on America and terrorism begin to show that he is far from moderate.

Imam Rauf refuses to condemn Hamas, the terrorist organization currently ruling Palestine. He has publicly stated that Osama bin Laden was “made in the USA” and that America has “more Muslim blood on its hands than al-Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims.”

We must also look at Imam’s organization, the Cordoba Initiative. Historically, the Islamic city of Cordoba was a thriving place in what is now Spain about 1,000 years ago. The city was conquered by jihad, or Muslim holy war, and was considered by most to be one of the most advanced cities of the time.

However, the power and grandeur of the city was not without bloodshed. During this time period, Arabs declared jihad against many areas of the surrounding region, including France and the Pyrenees.

During the jihads, they would plunder the city and murder all non-Muslim inhabitants. After the armies of Cordoba conquered a non-Muslim army, a mosque was built on the site to commemorate the victorious battle. Strangely, the Cordoba Initiative wants to build a mosque just a few blocks away from the site of a successful jihad mission on the infamous morning of September 11, 2001.

Imam Rauf also refuses to disclose the source of the funding for the mosque, leading many to believe that money is coming from Iran, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations and governments.

While many Americans are asking about funding for the mosque, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shocked many when she asked for information regarding the funding against the mosque, only further showing how out-of-touch she is with American public opinion.

There is no doubt that this hot-button issue will be at the forefront of the debates for the upcoming midterm election. With Democrats likely to lose control of Congress, their almost widespread support of this issue can only be a hindrance in their plan for re-election.

Americans have made it clear that they do not desire an Islamic mosque two blocks away from our sacred ground. While the dispute may be more moral-oriented than legal-oriented, I feel that we should be urging our lawmakers to ask the tough questions about the details of the project. Our politicians, however, do not seem to listen.

Austin Gaddis is a sophomore majoring in public relations and communications studies.