The "Ground Zero" mosque, aka Park51 aka "9/11 Mosque" remain extremely controversial and potentially divisive for a group of people who have a hard time getting along as it is. Muslims within the New York community are faced each day with animosity from those who cannot get over the heinous 9/11 attacks.Therefore, it's not surprising at all that when plans became known to erect an Islamic community center 300 yards from the Ground Zero memorial, it felt like a slap in the face to New York.
While the constitutional right exists to build the mosque in that location, many think that it is inappropriate.
A recent poll said that 67% of people thought that the mosque should be moved to a different location. In addition, one out of five New Yorkers polled admitted to having animosity against Muslims.
A recent mosque fire in Tennessee goes to show that the tensions are building and people are starting to act out.
What is going to happen to the Ground Zero mosque? Should it be moved, or should the group stand their ground?
NO MOSQUE!
ReplyDeleteThere shouldn't be mosques anywhere to the west of turkey... and north of africa.
Islam is a terrorist friendly religion and a threat to human prosperity. Slay the dragon now before it lays it's eggs.
I feel it is worth mentioning that no-one (whether they are Conservatives, protesters against the centre, owners of the private property where the centre is being built, or the would-be attendees of this centre) seems to care that one of the neighbours of the Islamic cultural centre is the 'Pussycat Lounge' strip club.
ReplyDeleteAs the blog post says: It is not a mosque, but contains a mosque within. It won't even look like one.
I also think it is odd how the racist above me also thinks he or she thinks American law extends over the Western hemisphere in my own country (Wales) and provides no evidence or justification for his remarks.
Matt
think theyd let a church be built on their land? i dont think so.
ReplyDeleteeven if some countries may not allow a church on their land it's not relevant. that's what makes the U.S. different from many countries in the middle east. we have freedom of religion. If people weren't so ignorant about Islam, this would not even be a controversial issue.
ReplyDeleteIn the year of 1492, Spanish queen Isabella ordered expulsion for Muslim and Jews from Spain or to be killed. Same year, Sephardic Jews and all Muslims migrated to the Ottoman Empire as they escaped from the Spanish Inquisition. As revenge to this act, Sultan Murad II wanted to issue hatisheriff to expel all Christians from Muslim land too. When consulted with Caliph, citation from Quran “They have their religion, we have ours!” changed all of it. No such hatisheriff was issued as command to Ottoman Empire solders. Back then, it was Islam that saved Christianity from Ottoman Empire Sultan.
ReplyDeleteThe muslims say that they are exercising their religous freedom which sounds fine and dandy till you try and understand what Islam is all about. It fundamentally stands for everything but religious freedom. When a Muslim converts to Christianity in Saudi Arabia, he is beheaded. They audaciously report it in their newspaper. Is this religous freedom ? Even in countries that wouldn't behead for converting to Christianity, they make the person's live miserable. They can get anyone in trouble by framing them for blaspheming against Mohammed. This is true in any country where Islam is the predominant religion. Is this freedome of religion?
ReplyDeleteMy problem is not the percentage of New Yorkers that think the mosque should be removed, I am interested a lot more in the opinion of muslims about the replacement of the mosque, knowing that many people see it as an insult.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they still want the thing on that spot? Let they explain...
Watch. Listen. Think... Check out this powerful song/video about the Ground Zero "mosque" controversy:
ReplyDeleteHEY AMERICAN on YouTube
by NYC songwriter David Ippolito - a voice for PEACE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-dGCVwZdu4
Where did you get the idea that "for a group of people who have a hard time getting along as it is. Muslims within the New York community are faced each day with animosity from those who cannot get over the heinous 9/11 attacks."
ReplyDeleteThis is total nonsense. NYC has many mosques. To request that one, yes ONE, mosque not be built on what many consider to be hallowed ground is not "animosity".
I suggest that you read this.
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/09/05/2010-09-05_whether_or_not_ground_zero_mosque_is_built_us_muslims_have_access_to_the_america.html
NO MAS!!
ReplyDeleteNO MOSQUE!!
There is already a mosque four blocks from Ground Zero that predates the radical Muslim Jihadist attacks of September 11, 2001! Why is this existing worship center not sufficient to satisfy the need for a mosque in lower Manhattan?
According to one source, the existing mosque is roughly 1300 feet from the site of the proposed Cordoba Initiative site. By extension, it would follow that in order for there to be enough mosques to satisfy the Islamic community, there would have to be a mosque every 1300 feet, or approximately 400 mosques on the 23 square miles of the island of Manhattan. There wouldn’t be much room for anything else, would there?
Let’s get real here, folks!
They don’t want 400 mosques in Manhattan!
The original name of the mosque project was the “Cordoba Initiative”, recently renamed “Park51” after the backers noticed the alarming amount of heat that was being generated as the folks started researching the significance of the name, “Cordoba“.
Back in the eleventh century the Christians were defeated when they tried to retake Cordoba, Spain, from the Muslims. It was a crushing defeat, complete with scores of martyrs, who were executed when they refused to renounce their Christianity.
Way to go, Islam, the religion of peace!!
The Muslims converted the Christian church of St. Vincent at Cordoba into an imposing mosque, to demonstrate their dominance over Christianity.
Similarly, the Hagia Sophia Mosque in Instanbul, Turkey, was originally an Eastern Orthodox church that was converted after the conquest of Constantinople, to demonstrate their dominance over Christianity.
It becomes cogently obvious what is the intent of erecting that mosque as close to the ruins of the World Trade Center as possible. Let’s face it, if they could have built it over the geometric center of Ground Zero, that is where it would be!!
The Cordoba Initiative (Ground Zero) Mosque will be a constant reminder to the Muslim extremists of the triumph over Christianity in Cordoba, Spain, and a monument to the triumph over America on 9/11.
It will forever stand as a middle-finger salute to all those who lost family and friends on that day of infamy.
I feel some important issues have been grossly neglected in this uproar.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Imam Rauf has been reported to have been giving extremism-oriented speeches and his finances are not in order (please see the website of Investigative Project on Terrorism).
Besides, he has ignored the fact that the 3 Abrahamic religions are not the only ones existing in the US. There are non-Abrahamic religions as well as many shades of non-religious ideologies in the US.
A proposal to build inter-community dialogue is most welcome and protecting the rights of the minority groups in a democracy is fine. But the responsibility for inter-community dialogue should not be given to an extremist person. Nor should the rights of the minorities be determined by the extremist sections in that group, when a large number of democratic Muslims have clearly opposed Park51.
The US Govt is not doing a favour to the Muslim population of the US by giving right of passage to the extremist voices amongst them. It will do well to protect the right of the democratic Muslims who don't want Park51 and should not allow the project to go on.
Treating this as the personal religious freedom of a private individual on his personal property is also grossly wrong.
Imam Rauf never said he was building a private residence or a place for his private religious activity. He said he wanted a community centre for engaging the community. And the community - the democratic Muslims and the non-Muslims - doesn't want it. In this event, his project should not be allowed to go on.
Those who support the project in the name of religious freedom of the minorities have actually attempted to suppress the voices of the democratic Muslims. They don't realise that the Muslim community is not homogeneous. There are different shades of Muslims around.
It only shows their own ignorance of Muslim society.
Instead of indulging in populist politics and supporting an extremist Imam, they should support the democratic Muslims who are against Park51, if they truly cherish the American democratic values.
I think the comments posted above (except a few) are extremely arrogant and portray Americans as people full of hatred and evil. This nation is based on freedom of religion, freedom of speech and etc. So why is it that us Americans get upset when someone chooses to act on their rights? Whoever said that "they" don't let churches be built in their countries obviously hasn't ever traveled the world. Then again, who is "they"? The Muslim people? The followers of a peaceful religion? Christians, Jews and Muslims alike all have their extremists. By why is it that we Americans seems to only link the word to Muslims and to Islam? Only UNEDUCATED individuals would choose to have an issue with the mosque being built.
ReplyDeleteFort Wayne, Indiana