Plan to Build Mosque Near Ground Zero
aerial
Posts: 2,319
By Lauren Green
Outraged family members and community groups are accusing a Muslim group of trying to rewrite history with its plans to build a 13-story mosque and cultural center just two blocks from Ground Zero, where Islamic extremists flew two planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Outraged family members and community groups are accusing a Muslim group of trying to rewrite history with its plans to build a 13-story mosque and cultural center just two blocks from Ground Zero, where Islamic extremists flew two planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
"This is a place which is 600 feet from where almost 3,000 people were torn to pieces by Islamic extremists," said Debra Burlingame, whose brother died in the attack on the Pentagon that day.
"I think that it is incredibly insensitive and audacious really for them to build a mosque, not only on that site, but to do it specifically so that they could be in proximity to where that atrocity happened," said Burlingame, who is co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America.
The 13-story mosque and cultural center will be built on the site of a four-story building that was a Burlington Coat Factory retail store until 9/11, when part of a plane's landing gear crashed through the roof. The building, which will be razed, currently houses a mosque.
The New York City Mayor's office says "It's private property, and the area is zoned for uses that include this one."
Pamela Gellar, executive director of Stop Islamization of America, blasted the organization behind the plans, Cordoba Initiative, and its leader, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, saying the project is "an insulting flag of conquest of Islamic supremacism."
"How can you build a shrine to the very ideology that brought down the World Trade Center?" asked Geller, whose group is planning a June 6 rally to protest the project.
"We have to do everything we can to stop this ... a huge Muslim monument, a stone's throw from Ground Zero, with a mosque pointing toward Mecca."
She called it an act of deception that the group has been able to get the green light from the Lower Manhattan Community Board, whose finance committee gave it a thumbs-up last week.
Though the Cordoba Initiative's website calls part of the $100 million-plus project a mosque, its founder, Imam Rauf, says the project is not a mosque but a community center for all faiths that will include recreational facilities, a prayer space and a 500-seat theater that can be a part of the neighborhood's trendy Tribeca Film Festival.
Rauf insists the effort is meant to help heal the wounds of 9/11, "We've approached the community because we want this to be an example of how we are cooperating with the members of the community, not only to provide services but also to build a new discourse on how Muslims and non-Muslims can cooperate together to push back against the voices of extremism."
But Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, says there are more productive ways to fight Islamic extremism.
"Even when they have the resources, they are using it for a place of worship, a cultural center for organizations," he said. They are not using it for a counterterrorism research center.
"They are not using it to lead the war like Americans need to see us do and they are wasting our resources, not to mention that being close to the hallowed ground that is so sensitive in the souls of the families of 9/11. I think it is extremely poor judgment."
Jasser also has questions about the financing.
According to reports, the building that occupies the site was purchased last year for $4.85 million in cash by Soho Properties, a real estate company run by Muslims. Imam Rauf, who's also the founder of American Society for Muslim Advancement, ASMA, was an investor in that transaction.
The balance of the $100-150 million total cost still needs to be raised, but Rauf says he's confident it will be.
Jasser says that with such a financial commitment, there needs to be full disclosure about where the money is coming from.
"There should be transparency about who those investors are," he said, "whether that money is coming from domestic interest or not, and if it's coming from foreign interests we need to know, because I think that's a liability, and it shows that there is another agenda rather than domestic security and tranquility."
Madeline Brooks, a member of the New York chapter of Act! for America, a non-profit organization that "is opposed to the authoritarian values of Islam fascism," believes the Cordoba Initiative's agenda is to co-opt the 9/11 narrative and transform it into a Muslim conquest.
"Is it a victory for Islam over non-Muslims?" she asks. "Is this a feather in his (Rauf's) cap?"
Brooks says she's received hundreds of angry e-mails from people who say they can't believe the audacity of this project. "Why here?" she asks. "Why are you offending and outraging people... stirring up a huge hornet's nest?"
Rauf says the intent is to do exactly the opposite. "[T]his is where we can amplify the voice of the moderates," he says. "We have been condemning terrorism since 9/11; our voices have not been heard."
"If they wanted peace and harmony," counters Brooks, "do you really think they'll get that?"
Burlingame says, "The idea that you would establish a religious institution that embraces the very Shariah Law that terrorists point to as their justification for what they did ... to build that where almost 3,000 people died, that is an obscenity to me."
Outraged family members and community groups are accusing a Muslim group of trying to rewrite history with its plans to build a 13-story mosque and cultural center just two blocks from Ground Zero, where Islamic extremists flew two planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Outraged family members and community groups are accusing a Muslim group of trying to rewrite history with its plans to build a 13-story mosque and cultural center just two blocks from Ground Zero, where Islamic extremists flew two planes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
"This is a place which is 600 feet from where almost 3,000 people were torn to pieces by Islamic extremists," said Debra Burlingame, whose brother died in the attack on the Pentagon that day.
"I think that it is incredibly insensitive and audacious really for them to build a mosque, not only on that site, but to do it specifically so that they could be in proximity to where that atrocity happened," said Burlingame, who is co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America.
The 13-story mosque and cultural center will be built on the site of a four-story building that was a Burlington Coat Factory retail store until 9/11, when part of a plane's landing gear crashed through the roof. The building, which will be razed, currently houses a mosque.
The New York City Mayor's office says "It's private property, and the area is zoned for uses that include this one."
Pamela Gellar, executive director of Stop Islamization of America, blasted the organization behind the plans, Cordoba Initiative, and its leader, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, saying the project is "an insulting flag of conquest of Islamic supremacism."
"How can you build a shrine to the very ideology that brought down the World Trade Center?" asked Geller, whose group is planning a June 6 rally to protest the project.
"We have to do everything we can to stop this ... a huge Muslim monument, a stone's throw from Ground Zero, with a mosque pointing toward Mecca."
She called it an act of deception that the group has been able to get the green light from the Lower Manhattan Community Board, whose finance committee gave it a thumbs-up last week.
Though the Cordoba Initiative's website calls part of the $100 million-plus project a mosque, its founder, Imam Rauf, says the project is not a mosque but a community center for all faiths that will include recreational facilities, a prayer space and a 500-seat theater that can be a part of the neighborhood's trendy Tribeca Film Festival.
Rauf insists the effort is meant to help heal the wounds of 9/11, "We've approached the community because we want this to be an example of how we are cooperating with the members of the community, not only to provide services but also to build a new discourse on how Muslims and non-Muslims can cooperate together to push back against the voices of extremism."
But Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, says there are more productive ways to fight Islamic extremism.
"Even when they have the resources, they are using it for a place of worship, a cultural center for organizations," he said. They are not using it for a counterterrorism research center.
"They are not using it to lead the war like Americans need to see us do and they are wasting our resources, not to mention that being close to the hallowed ground that is so sensitive in the souls of the families of 9/11. I think it is extremely poor judgment."
Jasser also has questions about the financing.
According to reports, the building that occupies the site was purchased last year for $4.85 million in cash by Soho Properties, a real estate company run by Muslims. Imam Rauf, who's also the founder of American Society for Muslim Advancement, ASMA, was an investor in that transaction.
The balance of the $100-150 million total cost still needs to be raised, but Rauf says he's confident it will be.
Jasser says that with such a financial commitment, there needs to be full disclosure about where the money is coming from.
"There should be transparency about who those investors are," he said, "whether that money is coming from domestic interest or not, and if it's coming from foreign interests we need to know, because I think that's a liability, and it shows that there is another agenda rather than domestic security and tranquility."
Madeline Brooks, a member of the New York chapter of Act! for America, a non-profit organization that "is opposed to the authoritarian values of Islam fascism," believes the Cordoba Initiative's agenda is to co-opt the 9/11 narrative and transform it into a Muslim conquest.
"Is it a victory for Islam over non-Muslims?" she asks. "Is this a feather in his (Rauf's) cap?"
Brooks says she's received hundreds of angry e-mails from people who say they can't believe the audacity of this project. "Why here?" she asks. "Why are you offending and outraging people... stirring up a huge hornet's nest?"
Rauf says the intent is to do exactly the opposite. "[T]his is where we can amplify the voice of the moderates," he says. "We have been condemning terrorism since 9/11; our voices have not been heard."
"If they wanted peace and harmony," counters Brooks, "do you really think they'll get that?"
Burlingame says, "The idea that you would establish a religious institution that embraces the very Shariah Law that terrorists point to as their justification for what they did ... to build that where almost 3,000 people died, that is an obscenity to me."
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Abraham Lincoln
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Comments
would you be outraged if the japanese built a shaolin temple and cultural center at pearl harbor?
would you be outraged if the brits built an anglican temple and cultural center at valley forge?
would you be outraged if the confederate states of america built a southern baptist center at fort sumter?
my point is that those associated with 9/11 are most likely not affiliated with these muslims building this center, so i don't really care and i do not have a problem with it.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
that about sums up my thoughts on this issue too...
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
I'm so fucking sick of all the hatred I see coming from some groups these days. If it were up to them, we'd never have peace in this world.
Godfather.
seriously, why is it bullshit?
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
the problem is that everyone is getting their information from their own sources ... and in many cases - these "sources" are used by people to promote an agenda ... and unfortunately, it works ...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
for sure ... it depends on what biases or perspective you share ... for people who are constantly being told that muslims are bad - this feeds into their prejudice and it's easy to swallow ...
i would say that despite the differences we have on this board - we'd mostly have a consensus on the project if we knew exactly what it was about ...
if it is being built as a shrine to the deaths from 9/11 - i'm sure we would all be opposed to it
if it is being built to oppose extremism and is trying to connect with people of all faiths - we'd all support it ...
but these days every issue is politicized with partisan bs and the truth is secondary
It reminds me of when the Klan put up their cross here on our city square at christmas time.
they have the right to do it in the name of their christian beliefs, but it's also bad form.
I don't know.
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
oh, i agree. I'm just saying, they had to know that some people would feel this way. Me myself, it dont bother me really. I guess I can just see where some might be a bit put off by it.
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
it wouldn't matter what I say to you and others on here about why so we'll just leave it at that and call it good.
just my opinion.
Godfather.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
but then it would be "a mere 10 blocks from ground zero" ... :shock:
Nonetheless, it is Friday. The Penguins and Crosby have been eliminated. I have beer on ice. And it is supposed to be in the 70's this weekend. Peace and love to everybody
i'm guessing real estate is hard to come by in manhattan ... in any case - i second your other point! ... a great weekend to everyone ...
Hail, Hail!!!
This coming from another muslim....I think I would trust this guys opinion...I think it's wrong and bad taste but everything wrong is right in todays world....so to be safe at least follow the money on this one....people need to take the blinders off and pay attention to this one....
See the world as you see it... because you, of course, aren't wearing blinders... is that what you are saying?
Hail, Hail!!!
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Who exactly should we send packing and how far should we send them? Should we ban all mosques within a certain radius of ground zero? Should we send all Muslims out of the United States? Should we refuse to allow a community center to be built in a neighborhood that desperately needs one if it's built by a Muslim? Could you be more specific, please?
Of course we don't even know what aerial's source is for this one.
I'm curious what agenda you think my source (NPR) is trying to promote, if any?
I don't really think comparing a Muslim peace group to the KKK is a good analogy. I don't think you meant to imply a similarity between the groups, but I think the implication is there nonetheless.
I also don't think this was meant to be an in-your-face-with-our-religion type of thing. My understanding is that there has been much talk about how best to rebuild this neighborhood and how to turn it into a site for peace and healing instead of war and suffering. Then this group stepped up and suggested that they could build a community center, which the community needs, and it could be a place where all kinds of people could come together as a neighborhood and learn to love one another across their differences. I believe the mosque part is their way of reclaiming Islam from the extremists, and showing the community that it is a peaceful religion, that they don't hate anyone, and that everyone is welcome.
I don't see this as being in any way similar to the KKK claiming your city square for their religion. I understand that some people may see it that way, but I think those would be the people who are ignorant about and bigoted against Muslims. I don't think the community should be denied their opportunity to heal in the way they see fit just to placate some hate groups.