From the New York Times:
After a raucous hearing, a Manhattan community board backed a proposal on Tuesday evening to build a Muslim community center near the World Trade Center.
The 29-to-1 vote, with 10 abstentions, followed a four-hour back-and-forth between those who said the community center would be a monument to tolerance and those who believed it would be an affront to victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The board’s vote was advisory — it did not have the power to scrap plans for a center — but it was seen as an important barometer of community sentiment.
Middle school students and rabbis were among the more than 100 people who testified at the hearing, which was held a short distance from ground zero. Some carried pictures of family members killed in the attacks; others brandished signs reading “Show respect for 9/11. No mosque!”
C. Lee Hanson, 77, whose son Peter was killed in the attacks, said he opposed the center not because he was intolerant, but because he believed that building a tribute to Islam so close to the World Trade Center would be insensitive.
“The pain never goes away,” Mr. Hanson said. “When I look over there and I see a mosque, it’s going to hurt. Build it someplace else.”
Jean Grillo, 65, a writer from TriBeCa, said shutting out any faith undermined American values. “What better place to teach tolerance than at the very area where hate tried to kill tolerance?” she said.
The proposed center, called the Cordoba House, would rise as many as 15 stories two blocks north of where the twin towers stood. It would include a prayer space, as well as a 500-seat performing arts center, a culinary school, a swimming pool, a restaurant and other amenities.
...City officials, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn; and the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer, have rallied behind the proposal.
The City Council has the power to overturn decisions on landmarks, but Ms. Quinn pledged on Tuesday to help shepherd the center to completion.
“I’m very confident we could find a way for both the landmark concept and the development of the mosque to move forward,” she said.
The center is estimated to cost $100 million, but exactly how the Cordoba Initiative will finance the project remains unclear.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who has led services in TriBeCa since 1983, told the board the center would help “bridge and heal a divide” among Muslims and other religious groups.
“We have condemned the actions of 9/11,” he said. “We have condemned terrorism in the most unequivocal terms.”
I understand the emotions of family members who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks.
I also understand the point about tolerance for all religions.
I think there needs to be a thorough look into the Cordoba Initiative. Who is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Chairman of Cordoba Initiative?
Are there any connections at all between the group and radical Islam, such as financial support of terrorist factions?
Even if the Cordoba Initiative is thoroughly vetted and found to be staunchly opposed to the barbarism of radical Islam, I don't understand why there should be a mosque at the World Trade Center site.
Why is it that if a Muslim is offended or may be offended, we all are warned to back off? No cartoons. No films. No novels. Faisal Shahzad attempts to murder Americans and tourists in Times Square and the twisted NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg lectures people about a backlash against Muslims.
At the very least, shouldn't similar concern about insensitivity be shown to the families of the victims of 9/11?
I think it's inappropriate for "Allahu Akbar" to be shoved in their faces at the place where their loved ones were slaughtered, innocents.
A display of intolerance would be outlawing mosques and Islamic centers in the city of New York or in the United States. That would be against our values as a nation. That would be shredding the Constitution. Objecting to a location for a mosque is not.
The problem is the line between Islam and radical Islam can be thin. Without question, there are Muslims who abhor the terrorism done in the name of their faith. IF those individuals speak out against the radicals and take care not to financially support their violence in any way, they are properly seen as victims of the Islamist movement as well.
However, it's not wrong or intolerant to be critical of the location of the proposed mosque at Ground Zero.
Actually, I think supporting that particular location is being remarkably insensitive to the tremendous loss suffered by so many on 9/11.
I wish Bloomberg and other leaders would consider their pain and show some compassion for them.
"Allahu Akbar!"
Build a mosque? HERE?
I don't think so.
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Video.
4 comments:
I have no problem comprehending.
Different Muslim factions argue over the "true beliefs" of the faith. Each faction claims to be the "true" practitioner of the religion.
As I already stated in my original post, it would be an unacceptable sign of intolerance as well as unconstitutional to outlaw mosques in New York or the rest of the country.
In this case, we're clearly talking about location, not elimination. That's a significant point.
A national study conducted by Mediacurves.com asked about American opinions regarding plans to build a mosque and Islamic community center near “Ground Zero” of the World Trade Center attacks. Results found that Republicans were the least favorable of plans to build the mosque, with the majority of Republicans (63%) reporting that it was “not at all appropriate.” Also, 37% of Democrats and 39% of Independents indicated that the plans were “not at all inappropriate.” The majority of all political parties reported that it was disrespectful to the victims of the World Trade Center attacks to build a mosque near ground zero. More results can be seen at http://www.mediacurves.com/NationalMediaFocus/J7849-GroundZeroMosque/Index.cfm
As a deployed Soldier and someone who lost family on 9/11, this sickens my stomach. While I understand what our country was founded on and for, it is sad to me that we have become SO afraid to stand up for ourselves; did we forget the English, the French, or the Japanese? Why is it that there is not a Buddhist temple at Pearl Harbor? I remember the 90 days after 9/11 that we as a country banded together, it didn't last long. I also remember the 30 days or so after the invasion when we as Soldiers felt like America "had our back"...those days are over I guess. We can NOT allow ourselves to be fooled or show our ignorance, make no mistake about it, our enemy is no longer a uniformed army. It is a faceless, coward that hides behind its women and children. I agree with tolerance, I agree with letting wounds heal and the process that leads to it. I just don't think THIS is it. Have you all forgotten that myself and my brothers and sisters at arms are here because of 9/11? Why would you slap the faces of the thousands of family members who lost their loved ones in the 9/11 attacks and in the War on Terror? It truly is a sad day.
Eric, a large segment of the country supports our troops and is grateful for the sacrifices that you've made. Don't ever think that those days are over.
I also think that most of the country (more than half) is still united and understands the terrorist threat.
We haven't forgotten 9/11, the horror of those attacks and the enormous loss of life.
It's sad that some of our fellow Americans, including our elected officials, bow to terrorists and tyrants, but there have always been appeasers and apologists.
Most of us are not on the same page with them. We understand that we must never take our freedom and safety for granted.
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