Republicans’ decision to rally against the proposed mosque reflects a larger shift within the party against Islam. Under the leadership of former US President George W. Bush who, despite having led the march to war in Iraq, continued to court Muslims and called Islam a religion of peace.

With Bush now out of the picture many Republicans have openly sought to cultivate fear and hostility toward Islam and translate it into electoral advantage in November.

Republican strategist Ed Rollins, the National Campaign Director for the Reagan-Bush campaign in 1984 and the national campaign chairman for the Mike Huckabee presidential campaign in 2007, called Obama's comments “the dumbest thing that any president has said or candidate has said since Michael Dukakis said it was okay to burn the flag. "This is an emotional issue," Rollins said. "Intellectually the president may be right. But this is an emotional issue. People who lost kids, brothers, sisters, fathers… do not want that mosque in New York."

But others believe this issue could so polarize the nation that only our enemies would win. Mark Halperin noted in Time Magazine article on Monday: Why Republicans Should Avoid a Ground Zero Mosque Battle:

“...If you go full force on the offensive, every Democratic candidate in every competitive race in the country will have three choices, none of them good, when asked about the Islamic center: Side with Obama and against public opinion; oppose Obama and deal with the consequences of intraparty disunity; or refuse to take a position, waffling impotently and unattractively at a crucial time.”

Halperin said Republicans can take advantage of this heated situation, backed by the families of the 9/11 victims, in their most emotional return to the public stage since 2001.

“But please don't do it…” he wrote.  “What is happening now — the misinformation about the center and its supporters; the open declarations of war on Islam on talk radio, the Internet and other forums; the painful divisions propelled by all the overheated rhetoric — is not worth whatever political gain your party might achieve.

“…Republicans have a strong chance to win the midterm elections without picking a fight over President Obama's measured words. And a national political fight conducted on the terms we have seen in the past few days will lead to a chain reaction at home and abroad that will have one winner — the very extreme and violent jihadists we all can claim as our true enemy,” concluded Halperin.

To date, many Democrats have remained silent as they try to keep out of the fray of the mosque battle, but Tim Kaine, the current Democratic National Committee chairman and former governor of Virginia, strongly defended Obama's views.

"This wouldn't be a controversy if it was a proposal to build a synagogue or a church. We don't prefer people and we don't punish people based on their religion.”

Gov. Ed Rendell, D-Pa., admitted that the mosque issue is not ideal, but that the constitution must be honored.

"The mosque is an unfortunate situation, but we do have a right to practice our religion freely wherever we choose. Rights are not subject to the popular vote," he said.

Those familiar with Islam and the Muslim world are also speaking out. Dr. Jean Francois Seznec, Professor at Georgetown University specializing in Gulf political economy, told Arab News he was “very pleased that Obama together with Mayor Bloomberg had the courage to support the right to establish an Islamic center in NY against the strident opposition of so many who use the memory of the 9/11 victims to promote their prejudices and political agendas.”

Ironically, Islam's roots in New York City are in the area around the site of the World Trade Center, and they predate the Twin Towers: In the late 19th century, a portion of lower Manhattan was known as Little Syria and was inhabited by Arab immigrants — Muslims and Christians.