Mosque to be Built Near Ground Zero

A read of this thread addresses all sides and angles of the situation.

Triumph for the Muslims? What did the Muslims do? Are you referring to the handful of terrorists that happened to be Muslim that flew planes? This too is discussed in the thread.

You do realize that the site is two blocks away and not within site of ground zero?

I have been following it, not too closely, am I missing something?

Which is dangerous because it causes tension, creates more problems and interferes with the right to build a place of worship so our values are at risk of crumbling. Being anti-muslim because of the WTC attacks is bigotry and does nothing but cause damage. If we cannot live side by side and respect each others rights without being ignorant of each other then how are we supposed to live! I mean it's a bad show.

Updated: Aug. 11, 2010 5:03 a.m.
Muslim mischief in Manhattan
By RAHEEL RAZA and TAREK FATAH
Board members of the Muslim Canadian Congress

Last week, a journalist who writes for the North County Times, a small newspaper in Southern California, sent us an e-mail titled "Help." He couldn't understand why an Islamic Centre in an area where Adam Gadahn, Osama bin Laden's American spokesman came from, and that was home to three of the 911 terrorists, was looking to expand.

The man has a very valid point, which leads to the ongoing debate about building a Mosque at Ground Zero in New York. When we try to understand the reasoning behind building a mosque at the epicenter of the worst-ever attack on the U.S., we wonder why its proponents don't build a monument to those who died in the attack?

New York currently boasts at least 30 mosques so it's not as if there is pressing need to find space for worshippers. The fact we Muslims know the idea behind the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation to thumb our noses at the infidel. The proposal has been made in bad faith and in Islamic parlance, such an act is referred to as "Fitna," meaning "mischief-making" that is clearly forbidden in the Koran.

The Koran commands Muslims to, "Be considerate when you debate with the People of the Book" – i.e., Jews and Christians. Building an exclusive place of worship for Muslims at the place where Muslims killed thousands of New Yorkers is not being considerate or sensitive, it is undoubtedly an act of "fitna."
So what gives Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf of the "Cordoba Initiative" and his cohorts the misplaced idea that they will increase tolerance for Muslims by brazenly displaying their own intolerance in this case?

Do they not understand that building a mosque at Ground Zero is equivalent to permitting a Serbian Orthodox church near the killing fields of Srebrenica where 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered?

There are many questions that we would like to ask. Questions about where the funding is coming from? If this mosque is being funded by Saudi sources, then it is an even bigger slap in the face of Americans, as nine of the jihadis in the Twin Tower calamity were Saudis.

If Rauf is serious about building bridges, then he could have dedicated space in this so-called community centre to a church and synagogue, but he did not. We passed on this message to him through a mutual Saudi friend, but received no answer. He could have proposed a memorial to the 9/11 dead with a denouncement of the doctrine of armed jihad, but he chose not to.

It's a repugnant thought that $100 million would be brought into the United States rather than be directed at dying and needy Muslims in Darfur or Pakistan.

Let's not forget that a mosque is an exclusive place of worship for Muslims and not an inviting community center. Most Americans are wary of mosques due to the hard core rhetoric that is used in pulpits. And rightly so. As Muslims we are dismayed that our co-religionists have such little consideration for their fellow citizens and wish to rub salt in their wounds and pretend they are applying a balm to soothe the pain.

The Koran implores Muslims to speak the truth, even if it hurts the one who utters the truth. Today we speak the truth, knowing very well Muslims have forgotten this crucial injunction from Allah.

If this mosque does get built, it will forever be a lightning rod for those who have little room for Muslims or Islam in the U.S. We simply cannot understand why on earth the traditional leadership of America's Muslims would not realize their folly and back out in an act of goodwill.

As for those teary-eyed, bleeding-heart liberals such as New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and much of the media, who are blind to the Islamist agenda in North America, we understand their goodwill.

Unfortunately for us, their stand is based on ignorance and guilt, and they will never in their lives have to face the tyranny of Islamism that targets, kills and maims Muslims worldwide, and is using liberalism itself to destroy liberal secular democratic societies from within.

Raheel Raza is author of Their Jihad ... Not my Jihad, and Tarek Fatah is author of The Jew is Not My Enemy (McClelland & Stewart), to be launched in October. Both sit on the board of the Muslim Canadian Congress.
This column was first printed in the Ottawa Citizen.
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/muslims-261529-mosque-understand.html

It's a repugnant thought that $100 million would be brought into the United States rather than be directed at dying and needy Muslims in Darfur or Pakistan.

Mosque would mock 9/11
By Star Parker
Monday, August 9, 2010

The mosque project at Ground Zero should not go forward and let’s hope that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is behind the $100 million effort, gets the message and backs off.

But given what he is hearing from the liberals in New York, including the city’s mayor, the congressman in whose district Ground Zero sits and The New York Times , it’s hard to be optimistic he’ll change his mind.

Opposition to the mosque is being portrayed, as the Times editorial page put it, as abandoning “the principles of freedom and tolerance.” But the Times makes its own tenuous grasp of reality clear, noting, “The attacks of Sept. 11 were not a religious event.”

We can only wonder what those at the Times think was motivating the young Muslims who committed suicide, taking 3,000 innocent people with them.

The Web site for the project, the Cordoba Initiative, advertises itself as “Improving Muslim-West Relations,” and “steering the world back to the course of mutual recognition and respect and away from heightened tensions.”

But if Feisal Abdul Rauf is primarily motivated to “reduce heightened tensions,” why would he do something as obviously provocative as building a mosque and Islamic Center 600 feet away from Ground Zero?

Critical to grasp here is the suggestion of the need for dialogue. That the existence of Islamic terrorism is the result of problems with Americans as well as problems that may exist in Islam. And it all would be fixed if we understood each other.

This is simply false.

Americans don’t need any lessons about freedom and tolerance.

Millions of Muslim Americans live, prosper and practice their faith freely in our country. According to a Google search, there are about 2,000 mosques in the United States.

We have one Muslim American member of Congress who took his oath of office with his hand on the Koran.

Many American universities have programs where students can learn about Islam, including Columbia in New York City.

As we know, President Barack Obama brought with him to the presidency a conviction that we Americans somehow bore some responsibility for the antipathy toward us in the Islamic world and that outreach would help.

But, of course, this is false. As Johns Hopkins University Middle East Scholar Fouad Ajami pointed out in The Wall Street Journal, Obama’s outreach program has accomplished only diminished respect for us in the Islamic world. Antipathy continues to run high and unchanged and it’s not because there something wrong with us. It’s because, as Ajami writes, the U.S. is a convenient scapegoat for nations and rulers that refuse to address their own problems.

Of the 17 nations that Freedom House rates the “worst of the worst” regarding their state of freedom, six are Islamic nations.

Feisal Abdul Rauf should spend his $100 million - wherever it’s coming from - to advance the cause of freedom in Islamic countries. That is where the problem is, not here.

Star Parker is an author and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/op_ed/view.bg?articleid=1273186

OmSigDAVID wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:

It is a concern born of bigotry and the casual lumping of people into groups.

So what ??

David

At least you, for one, are willing to wear your bigotry on your sleeve, Bigot. I condemn your opinions.
You should be ashamed of yourself [ Being so advised, I am PROUD ]- you are no different than those
you purport to be against.

Cycloptichorn

Actually, David, a bigot is a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own.

Being a MENSA member, you should be able to figure that out.

I hope you don't intend to take flying lessons.

US Muslims prep for Islamic holiday _ around 9/11
By RACHEL ZOLL (AP) – 18 hours ago

NEW YORK — The lunar calendar that Muslims follow for religious holidays is creating a potential for misunderstandings or worse in a year when American Muslims are already confronting a spike in assaults on their faith and protests against new mosques.

Eid al-Fitr, a joyous holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, this year falls around Sept. 11. Muslim leaders fear that their gatherings for prayer and festivities could be misinterpreted by those unfamiliar with Islam as a celebration of the 2001 terrorist strikes.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group based in Los Angeles, is contacting law enforcement and the Justice Department civil rights division to alert them to the overlap.

The Islamic Circle of North America, which organizes Muslim Family Days at the Six Flags amusement park in several cities around Eid al-Fitr, this year planned nothing for Saturday, Sept. 11, because of the anniversary. A founder of Muslim Family Day, Tariq Amanullah, worked at the World Trade Center and was killed in the attacks.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based civil rights group, is urging mosques to review the group's security guidelines, including clearing brush where people could hide and installing surveillance cameras.

"The issue I can sense brewing on hate sites on the Internet is, `These Muslims are celebrating on September 11,'" said Ibrahim Hooper, national spokesman for CAIR. "It's getting really scary out there."

The exact date of Eid al-Fitr this year is not yet known. Muslims follow different authorities on moonsightings and astronomical calculations to decide when a holiday begins. In North America, the eid could fall on Thursday, Sept. 9, Friday, Sept. 10, or Saturday, Sept. 11.

It is one of the two biggest Muslim holidays of the year, often compared to Christmas in its significance and revelry. (The other major holiday is Eid al-Adha, at the end of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.)

Muslims who rarely attend congregational prayer fill mosques to overflowing on Eid al-Fitr. Mosque leaders often rent hotel ballrooms or convention centers to handle the crowds. Families wear their best clothes, exchange gifts, plan special meals with friends and relatives, sometimes decorate their homes inside and out, and organize carnivals for children.

In predominantly Muslim countries, the celebration can last for three days. But because of work and school obligations in the U.S., American Muslims generally attend congregational prayer on the day of the holiday, then continue the festivities over the next weekend or two.

Most mosques usually intensify security around Ramadan because of the attention the month brings. This year, leaders have grown especially concerned about safety. In recent months, mosques around the country have faced protests and vandalism. The debate over a proposed mosque and Islamic center near ground zero has become a national issue.

Yet well before these recent tensions, American Muslim leaders saw trouble ahead when they checked the calendar. Haroon Moghul, a New York Muslim leader who speaks regularly at mosques, said mosque leaders have been discussing Eid al-Fitr for months.

"When we realized that Ramadan would be ending around that time, a lot of people started sitting down together and saying, `How do we handle this in a way that's appropriate?'" said Moghul, executive director of Maydan Institute, a communications consulting company.

Moghul said most New York Muslims likely won't celebrate the way they normally do, and noted that a significant number lost relatives when the World Trade Center was destroyed. Many imams in the city plan sermons on dealing with loss and grief.

"It's a very painful day for everyone," Moghul said.

However, he and other American Muslim leaders don't want to make so many changes that they appear to be giving in to those who reject any Muslim observance in the United States. Some critics have said Muslims should move the date of the eid.

"It's like being offended that 9/11 and Christmas fall on the same day," said Safaa Zarzour, secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America, an Indiana-based communal group with tens of thousands of members. "There is something unsettling about that."

Yvonne Maffei, 35, of Des Plaines, Ill., a Chicago suburb, said she and her husband plan to stick with their usual Eid al-Fitr plan. They will attend morning prayers at their local mosque, go out for brunch then visit friends during the day.

"I think most Americans understand the value and place of religious holidays in a person's life," said Maffei, editor of My Halal Kitchen, a blog with recipes that meet Islamic dietary laws. "For those who don't, I just hope they will take the time to try and understand not only why we are celebrating at this time, but also what we are celebrating, which is the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a blessed month of fasting and attaining closeness to Allah."

Rizwan Jaka, a board member of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, based in Sterling, Va., near Washington, D.C., said he hopes the attention to Muslim traditions during the month of Ramadan will help educate non-Muslims and decrease the likelihood of any problems.

He said the mosque will reach out to its interfaith partners and others ahead of the eid. The All Dulles Society is one of the largest mosques in the country and expects to host as many as 20,000 worshippers during the holiday at several locations.

Jaka said the board met a few weeks ago to discuss the overlapping dates and decided to include condemnations of terrorism and extremism in the holiday sermons. The mosque will also hold its annual interfaith, memorial and peace events tied to the anniversary.

"Could there be some misperceptions because of the anti-Muslim climate? Potentially," Jaka said. "We will make sure our neighbors and friends understand that we all stand firmly as Americans for peace and for creating an environment of respect."

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

US Muslims concerned over Eid, 9/11 anniversary overlap
(AFP) – 8 hours ago

NEW YORK — US Muslim groups have urged law enforcement agencies to be on guard during Eid al-Fitr, the end-of-Ramadan holiday which this year coincides with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, officials said Friday.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), an advocacy group, said local and federal agencies across the country were being asked to remain vigilant during the Eid celebrations.

MPAC communications director Edina Lekovic said the warning came because of what she called a "heightened climate of Islamophobia" in recent months, citing protests against plans to build an Islamic center and mosque in Manhattan, not far from the site of Ground Zero.

"We're seeing consistent cases of protests taking place in front of some mosques organized largely by Islamophobic groups," Lekovic told AFP.

"At this stage it's just a precaution because there are many mosque leaders around the country who are understandably concerned for their congregations and want to be sure that they're taking preventative measures and that law enforcement is on standby if, God forbid, there are any issues that need to be dealt with."

Lekovic emphasized that Ramadan and Eid festivals in the United States usually passed without incident.

"By and large, Ramadan and the Eid holidays are peacefully celebrated by Muslims and ignored by the public," she said.

However the furor over the Ground Zero mosque and cases including a Florida church that has announced plans to hold "International Burn a Koran Day" on September 11 have triggered concerns of possible hate crimes.

"We're asking local police and sheriff's departments to be vigilant as well as federal authorities. We're asking federal authorities to examine cases where there are violent acts against Muslims or mosques," Lekovic said.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved