Cambridge, Massachusetts (CNN)  -- Opponents of an Islamic community center and mosque planned to be built near ground zero say it would desecrate hallowed ground. But suspicion has greeted proposed mosque projects in places less hallowed than ground zero -- in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Temecula, California; and elsewhere. This suggests that opposition to mosques is not driven only by sensitivity to the memory of terrorism victims, but also by a growing unease toward Islam, fueled by security fears. Opposition to Islamic centers and mosques in the United States shows remarkable similarities to anti-Islamic movements in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, where people also have sought to prohibit new mosques. Last December in Switzerland, citizens voted in a referendum to prohibit new minarets.
@highlight
Jocelyne Cesari: Opposition to mosques shows a growing unease and fear of Islam
@highlight
Opponents mix up terrorists spouting Islamic rhetoric with the religion, she says
@highlight
Cesari points out Christianity was not blamed for the terrorism during Northern Ireland conflict
@highlight
She says rather than demonize the "Other," we must imagine Muslims as fellow citizens
Scholarly literature often echoes stereotypical images of Islam and @placeholder, such as women in burqas or bearded fanatics with bulging eyes shouting slogans.