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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Mosque madness at Ground Zero |
| 2010-05-13 |
| A mosque rises over Ground Zero. And fed-up New Yorkers are crying, "No!" A chorus of critics -- from neighbors to those who lost loved ones on 9/11 to me -- feel as if they've received a swift kick in the teeth. Plans are under way for a Muslim house of worship, topped by a 13-story cultural center with a swimming pool, in a building damaged by the fuselage of a jet flown by extremists into the World Trade Center. The opening date shall live in infamy: Sept. 11, 2011. The 10th anniversary of the day a hole was punched in the city's heart. Plans to bring what one critic calls a "monster mosque" to the site of the old Burlington Coat Factory building, at a cost expected to top $100 million, moved along for months without a peep. All of a sudden, even members of the community board that stupidly green-lighted the mosque this month are tearing their hair out. Paul Sipos, member of Community Board 1, said a mosque is a fine idea -- someplace else. "If the Japanese decided to open a cultural center across from Pearl Harbor, that would be insensitive," Sipos told me. "If the Germans opened a Bach choral society across from Auschwitz, even after all these years, that would be an insensitive setting. I have absolutely nothing against Islam. I just think: Why there?" Why, indeed. A rally against the mosque is planned for June 6, D-Day, by the human-rights group Stop Islamicization of America. Executive director Pamela Geller said, "What could be more insulting and humiliating than a monster mosque in the shadow of the World Trade Center buildings that were brought down by an Islamic jihad attack? Any decent American, Muslim or otherwise, wouldn't dream of such an insult. It's a stab in the eye of America." Called Cordoba House, the mosque and center is the brainchild of the American Society for Muslim Advancement. Executive director Daisy Khan insists it's staying put. "For us, it's a symbol, a platform that will give voice to the silent majority of Muslims who suffer at the hands of extremists. A center will show that Muslims will be part of rebuilding lower Manhattan," said Khan, adding that Cordoba will be open to everyone. "We were pleased to see that the community welcomed us as an asset to lower Manhattan," she added. "The community board approved it." Not so fast. The Financial District Committee of Community Board 1 seems to have gotten ensnared in a public-relations ploy by mosque-makers. At a May 5 meeting, the committee gave the project an enthusiastic thumbs-up. But boards have zero say over religious institutions. Board chair Julie Menin, blind-sided by the move, predicts "this will be overturned by the full board" later this month. But the damage is done. Wounds that have yet to heal are now opening, as mosque opponents are branded, unfairly, as bigots. "The worst tendency is the knee-jerk, emotional, angry, hateful response to acts of violence and war," said Donna Marsh O'Connor, who lost daughter Vanessa on 9/11 and supports the mosque. "I think it's racist tendencies." Many more feel like Bill Doyle -- doubly maimed as he's forced to defend himself against charges of prejudice. "I'm not a bigot. What I'm frightful about is, it's almost going to be another protest zone. A meeting place for radicals," said Doyle, whose son, Joseph, was murdered on 9/11. "It's a slap in our face!" said Nelly Braginsky, who lost son Alexander. Unclear is how the mosque will raise the $100 million-plus it needs. "We would be seeking funding from anyone who would help," Khan told me. "Seeking maybe some bonds or something like that." At the May 5 community board meeting, she displayed a sign with names like "Rockefeller Brothers Fund" and "Ford Foundation," which observers believed meant money is coming from those organizations. But Khan says those groups merely gave money in the past, and no funding is yet in place. There are many questions about the Ground Zero mosque. But just one answer. Move it away. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #13 Involve the Mob, they're mostly Catholic, the building will never be completed. (Nice building you got here, be a shame if anythin' Happen'd to it) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-05-13 23:59 |
| #12 Well that depends on what your version of "peace" is... Sharia ...with fine Corinthian leather |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-05-13 22:41 |
| #11 Well that depends on what your version of "peace" is... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-05-13 22:29 |
| #10 Cordoba .....a place where Christians and Jews suffered as social inferiors under Islamic oppression.....hmmm funny name to pick for a project to promote peace |
| Posted by: classer 2010-05-13 20:21 |
| #9 Neutron bombing Mecca and building a Church there would have a similar level of cultural sensitivity. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2010-05-13 19:42 |
| #8 Start leaving a pig carcass at the site, within the structure or on the grounds - once a week and take photographs. The muslims may not be able to use the property and if they in fact do, then post the pictures weeks to remind them thir mosque has been stained Rob06 AWESOME! This just might work! I am feeling better already. Sweet. ;) |
| Posted by: Jan 2010-05-13 17:21 |
| #7 You can be certain there would be hell to pay if a militia group decided to build a monument to Timothy McVeigh near the Oklahoma City monument where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building used to be. As Joe Biden would say: "It's a big f**king deal." |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-05-13 16:35 |
| #6 Start leaving a pig carcass at the site, within the structure or on the grounds - once a week and take photographs. The muslims may not be able to use the property and if they in fact do, then post the pictures weeks to remind them thir mosque has been stained. |
| Posted by: Rob06 2010-05-13 16:33 |
| #5 It's a good bet the money would come from the Soddies. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-05-13 15:41 |
| #4 It's official, we've lost our minds. http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/05/why_the_ground_zero_mosque_mus_1.html |
| Posted by: Flapper Scourge of the Algonquins4926 2010-05-13 15:37 |
| #3 The American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative is a front for Feisal Abdul Rauf of Masjid al-Farah in NYC. Daisy Khan is his wife. Feisal Abdul Rauf blames Christians: |
| Posted by: ed 2010-05-13 14:14 |
| #2 They'd best be careful, or they'll find out what persecution is all about. Supposing a "smart bomb" went stupid? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2010-05-13 12:11 |
| #1 Is there nothing that we can do at this point?! It sure is a 'symbol', and one that in my view is so wrong for ground zero. How is it this 'slipped by'? Unf***ingbelievable. That New Yorkers along with the rest of America, who again put their trust in our government/management, which certainly gets an F- for this catastrophe . To make the right choices in choosing a company that would be put in charge, to hopefully make smart and sensitive decisions into the rebuilding of this site. I'm sure there must have been several layers of approvals that must have been necessary to get to this final decision right? I remember just regarding the architecture alone the first year after how the public was solicited with many billboard pictures of what it would look like and to vote on the design they preferred. Not even looking into what businesses were being considered. I'd like to see those responsible investigated to see if there were any payoff's. I don't want to believe that Americans would willingly want to put a Mosque at Ground Zero. This sends chills and is so very tragic. We all know of many Anti American sentiments that have been perpetrated in mosques across our country. I'd like to see head's roll over this one. I embrace diversity, not a f***ing takeover of our country a little bit at a time. This is a big bit. Bad mojo. end rant |
| Posted by: Jan 2010-05-13 11:55 |