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| Ground Zero mosque plan backed | |
| 2010-05-26 | |
| A New York City community board has voted for a plan to build a mosque and cultural centre near Ground Zero. The vote, 29-1 in favour with 10 abstentions, came after hours of contentious public comment. The board vote, while not necessary for the building's owners to move forward with the project, was seen as key to obtaining residents' support. On Tuesday night a top Manhattan politician backed the plans, which have angered some conservative activists and families of the victims of the September 11 2001 terror attacks. But standing in front of the ragged building at the centre of the proposal, Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer, who has been the target of disparaging remarks by Tea Party Express chairman Mark Williams for supporting the plans, defended his position and condemned offensive speech directed at him or Muslims. "What I want people to do is to take a look at the totality of what they are proposing," Mr Stringer said. "What we're rejecting here is outright bigotry and hatred."
The American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative, the organisations sponsoring the project, say they are trying to meet a growing need for prayer space in Lower Manhattan as well as provide a venue for the dissemination of mainstream Islam, to counter extremism. | |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #16 The community board most likely did not want to appear religiously intolerant [despite the muslims being religiously intolerant]. So they passed-maybe figuring it was someone else's problem. It is not illegal but it is insensitive and frankly in your face. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-26 17:30 |
| #15 Apparently the community board's vote is meaningless, at least until the Historic Property committee has ruled. This is just posturing. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-05-26 17:12 |
| #14 I think it was Hugh Hewitt or Lilicks who said we have become a "mincing leviathan", so constrained by PC that we are pathetic in our inability to execise legitimate power or authority. Since the Clinton era PC has hobbled us, to the point now where we have half the country questioning the exercise of any genuine pro-American act, in our own damn country! |
| Posted by: NoMoreBS 2010-05-26 15:38 |
| #13 Human beings (except for the few still living in the original homeland of the human race, wherever that is) are ALL invaders/colonisers/settlers. Various political groups put various spins on that fact to suit their agendas. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-05-26 14:08 |
| #12 It's not illegal but in VERY poor taste. Is this the only place they can build in lower Manhattan? |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2010-05-26 13:51 |
| #11 Uh - dunno, AzCat. Europeans are natives in Europe, but people of European descent in America are invaders/colonisers/settlers, depending on your point of view. Discrimination is indeed a part of our mindset, as with most nations, but it is more of a discernment heuristic than a hardwired prejudice; our tribal rivalries are not as deep as made out here; I love to hate the French, but have many French friends & am getting married over there in a few months. Pre-BHO, the most frequently touted accusation of Europeans on R.B. was of being submissive Dhimmis. Post-BHO, we are suddenly an angry mob, held back only by archaic structures of decadent political elites. We cant be both, but we can be neither. Anyway - I thought all this spitting on us from US conservatives would stop when Barack got in the White House. Why hasnt it? You have it worse than us now, surely? |
| Posted by: Admiral Allan Ackbar 2010-05-26 13:03 |
| #10 Ergo, NY City is now a moslem country. That was an easy sell (out) |
| Posted by: newc 2010-05-26 13:00 |
| #9 I predict that when the wheels come off, we will go primitive and it won't be very pretty. I predict the bloodbath / backlash will happen in Europe far before it happens here. Americans really are fairly tolerant whereas Europeans just like to think they are. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2010-05-26 12:21 |
| #8 I thought Ground Zero already represented Islamic culture. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-05-26 09:36 |
| #7 Strong horse, weak horse. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-05-26 09:35 |
| #6 Yeah, and OBL will most likely be given the Nobel Peace Prize when he shows up. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-26 09:16 |
| #5 So in simple terms OBL dream is now a reality. He bombed the WTC twice in an effort to bring it down and build a Mosque in its place. Well done OBL, well done. When they do their grand opening he will be there. Why not? |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2010-05-26 09:10 |
| #4 One day the wheels of phony feel-good liberal tolerance, PC, guilt, or whatever drives these leftist moonbats are going to come off. It may be when a nuclear weapon is detonated in Manhattan, or another islam-inspired mass casualty event occurs. I predict that when the wheels come off, we will go primitive and it won't be very pretty. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-26 09:03 |
| #3 Should have to show where the property tax and mercantile revenue is going to be made up from [besides thin air*] to cover the loss of the building's transfer from commercial to religious designation. Call it Economic Ecology. *Socialism is largely populated by Economic Creationists which believe value and revenue are magically created out of thin air. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-05-26 08:29 |
| #2 Just thinking didn't one of these militant groups say that once land was taken by conquest it's Islamic land till the judgement day. So might these groups claim ground zero to be Islamic land? |
| Posted by: Guillibaldo Unusing2147 2010-05-26 08:29 |
| #1 What we're rejecting here is outright bigotry and hatred." Outright muslim bigotry and hatred are what caused 9-11. Building a mosque on the ruins begs a tacit approval of their actions. Nay, a reward. It reeks of the same actions by muslims of razing temples and synogogues to build mosques. There are lots of spaces in lower Manhattan that would be suitable for a mosque. Claiming Ground Zero, in particular, as their own is chilling. Bin Laden can be heard gloating from his cave. Tacit approval. |
| Posted by: Swanimote 2010-05-26 08:23 |