There’s something very wrong when the forthcoming memorial ceremonies of 9/11 at Ground Zero in New York City will not include prayer. Almost by definition, a memorial service includes prayer for the souls of the dead and for renewal in the face of adversity.
No doubt a combination of political correctness and common sense made it clear that having a Muslim imam joining the clergy would be a very bad idea, given that it was Muslims that planned and carried out the attack. That would have been an affont, but denying representatives of the Judeo-Christian faiths on which America is based seems to me a bad idea, too.