I find myself surprised daily by the continuing opposition to Cordoba House. There’s no real argument here. Americans are free to practice their religion unmolested. If you disagree, then you can take it up with the Constitution.

I could at least console myself by enjoying the more humorous aspects of this sorry episode, if it weren’t for the very real possibility of violence. This scene from a protest at the planned site of Cordoba House is an excellent example:

At one point, a portion of the crowd menacingly surrounded two Egyptian men who were speaking Arabic and were thought to be Muslims.

“Go home,” several shouted from the crowd.

“Get out,” others shouted.

In fact, the two men – Joseph Nassralla and Karam El Masry — were not Muslims at all. They turned out to be Egyptian Coptic Christians who work for a California-based Christian satellite TV station called “The Way.” Both said they had come to protest the mosque.

“I’m a Christian,” Nassralla shouted to the crowd, his eyes bulging and beads of sweat rolling down his face.

But it was no use. The protesters had become so angry at what they thought were Muslims that New York City police officers had to rush in and pull Nassralla and El Masry to safety.

“I flew nine hours in an airplane to come here,” a frustrated Nassralla said afterward.