A Staten-Island group called Where To Turn, formed to provide assistance to 9/11 families, has asked that anti- and pro-“mosque” rallies scheduled for lower Manhattan on September 11 be rescheduled out of respect for the mourning families.

Well, you know how the “antis” responded. [Bronx cheer]

FYI, the September 11th Families Association has issued a statement on the Park51 controversy:

The September 11th Families’ Association represents a diverse, multicultural community with many different opinions and views pertaining to 9/11 issues. The Association’s main goal has always been to unite the 9/11 community and as such we recognize the validity of all sides in issues affecting it. We encourage and promote productive dialogue in the hopes of reaching a resolution to sensitive issues such as the proposed building of a mosque and Islamic cultural center near the WTC site.

I take that to mean they polled the members and there was no clear consensus among the victims’ families.

The Families of September 11 have yet to take a position. Same thing with the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network. As I’ve said before, the September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows supports Park51.

I think a lot of why we can’t have a rational discussion about this issue is summed up in a comment on the Poltico, by someone who calls himself “Louisiana Broker” —

Lest We Forget… Allahu Akbar (God is great) were undoubtedly the last words uttered by the Islamic terrorist hijackers…as they they dove their fully fueled, fully loaded (with innocent passengers) airliners into the World Trade Towers…in rapid succession…on 9/11/2001. What irony now…to have a towering,13 story,100 million dollar mosque…casting an ominous shadow over this empty pit of sorrow and grief…where the dead must hear these same words over and over and over again…in a daily call to prayer…literally…”over their dead bodies.”

It’s like time froze for some people.

First: While we will never know for sure if every bone fragment that wasn’t completely pulverized when the towers collapsed has been found, at this point the pit itself has been pretty much dug out and sifted. They’re still sifting the Fresh Kills landfill, I believe, and occasionally finding remains. (Would Pam Geller object to a mosque at the Fresh Kills landfill?) Also, they occasionally find remains in lower Manhattan outside the “ground zero” area, such as bone fragments on roofs. But the Ground Zero site itself was scooped and scraped out awhile back, pretty much down to bedrock. It hasn’t been a smoldering pile of ash for several years now. By 2006, it was a 16-acre, 70-foot-deep hole. Now they’re starting to plant trees.

Second, yes, it finally is a real construction site. Barring unforeseen disaster, I predict that in five years it will mostly be built over, and in ten years it will be hard to tell where the parameters of “ground zero” were. Life goes on.

Anyway, “Louisiana Broker,” who obviously has never been to Manhattan, imagines that Park51 will “tower” over the Ground Zero site. That’s a joke, right? For anyone who doesn’t get it — see “The Usual Hysteria.” Note in particular the links to satellite image of lower Manhattan and the two really, really big buildings that are in between Ground Zero and the Park51 site.

Finally, the builders have been clear there will be no audio system blasting the “call to prayer” outside the center, and even if there were, no way would you be able to hear it two blocks away over the usual city noise.

But the point is that most of the opposition misunderstands the situation. They’re imagining a mosque towering over the Ground Zero they remember from a few years ago, which isn’t even in the ball park of what’s actually going to be built.

I’m still torn about whether to go down there on September 11 to stand with the “pros.” I’m leaving the date open.

Update: This is a very recent video showing the construction on “ground zero” that also shows what the memorial part of the project will look like. As you watch this, keep in mind that people are getting bent out of shape over a measly 13-story building.

The memorial part of the project, a “forest” of 400 trees surrounding two reflecting pools built on the “footprints” of the towers, is supposed to be finished in time for the 10th anniversary. The memorial museum and the One World Trade Center tower (I understand the name “Freedom Tower” is officially nixed) are supposed to be open to the public by 2013.