Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty Slams Ground Zero Mosque, Says it Would be Unpatriotic of Muslims to Build on “Hallowed and Sacred Ground”

From Weasel Zippers:

The controversy over a proposed mosque near New York’s ground zero memorial hit Minnesota on Friday, with Gov. Tim Pawlenty trashing the idea and Rep. Keith Ellison, the nation’s first Muslim congressman, slamming the governor.
“I know he wants to be president really bad, and I know he’s trying to appeal to the most extreme elements of his party to do that,” Ellison said, “but I hope he doesn’t want to be president so bad that he’s willing to dishonor the First Amendment and our heritage of religious tolerance.”
In an interview with Real Clear Politics on Friday, Pawlenty suggested it would be unpatriotic to build a mosque near the site of the 2001 terrorist attack on New York City.
“I’m strongly opposed to the idea of putting a mosque anywhere near ground zero — I think it’s inappropriate,” Pawlenty said. “I believe that 3,000 of our fellow innocent citizens were killed in that area, and some ways from a patriotic standpoint, it’s hallowed ground, it’s sacred ground, and we should respect that. We shouldn’t have images or activities that degrade or disrespect that in any way.”
Ellison said Pawlenty displayed “a profound lack of understanding” about religious tolerance, and should apologize for his remarks. “It’s very unseemly that a Midwestern politician would try to divide New Yorkers and Americans on the basis of religion,” the Minnesota Democrat said.