Ground Zero Mosque Controversy

Eh. . .this one already has died as elections approach and Thanksgiving plans start to bubble. But it was a brief flash for its time and has died a justified death. . . All parties were full of shite. 1. The media - getting dumber and more transparent. . .it wasn't a mosque per se but you wouldn't have known that from the babbling should-be-porn-models with CO degrees on the TV screen. Strictly a story to sell more ad time for McDonald's. You grown ups should know better when the pretty-sexy-girl who knows little starts babbling in an attempt to be profound. . . 2. The Left - did not like the whispers that the groups and individuals in question might have (might) have had less than stellar motives. . .could an Islamic-centered building be read as a sign of victory (in a manner of speaking) to a small but tangible percentage of Muslims in the world? The answer is yes - the left hates that, but too f#cking bad. . .Yes, you have the right to do it but taste, decorum, and public o... Read more

Absolutely...please....build a mosque at Ground Zero. After that, here's hoping they erect shrines to Emperor Hirohito at Nanking and at Pearl Harbor. Perhaps a statue of Hitler just outside the gates of Auschwitz? After all, that would not be "at" Auschwitz, right? If Imam Rauf and his cronies truly want to ease tensions between Islam and the west (his words) then it is time for tolerance to be a two-way street.

Manufactured media controversy, much as the "Burn the Koran" story was. It sells advertising space, so don't expect the whores that masquerade as journalists these days to stop jabbering about it.

ALL RELIGIONS ARE EQUAL , DO GOOD and STAND ON A COMMON PLATFORM. It is the idiotic man or woman who chooses to voice indiscriminately, to stir troubles and bask in the glory of falsehood. Only if all religious preachers in praising their religions and books tell their followers to read other religious works as well and expound LOUDLY the virtues in others, would we be able to move towards global peace. Politicians must mark their words and work within confined territories of SERVICE and that is why they were placed there by people and votes.

Much ado about nothing.From what I understand,it's not ON "ground zero",or even really so close, for starters.Second,I think it's important to remember that Islam itself is not to blame for the attacks any more than the Catholic Church is responsible for the actions of Timothy McVeigh.It's just another Hot Button issue for the shit-stirrers on both sides of the political spectrum.

This is a "made for media" controversy. There are always disgruntled people about certain actions, and the media whores pick them up. Then the politicians get involved. This is a New York City matter. Let the local authorities handle it.

I think this is significant. From a constitutional standpoint, yeah, mosques can be built anywhere. But, truthfully, I'm against building one on Ground Zero. I loosely group the plan to build one there with the geniuses' idea to burn Korans down in Florida. Both are as constitutionally permissible as buying an ice cream cone. But isn't there more to it than that? Doesn't it deepen a rift? pick at a scab? To me, it's a sensibility thing. If I were a Muslim, I would be absolutely ape-shit that some asshole felt the need to stir this pot some more. I'd wonder why they couldn't build the thing just a few blocks North. Or east. Or west. Or south. Of Ground Zero. I'd be effing sick of being profiled, and effing pissed that the profiling would (inevitably) be ramped up because of something stupid like this. Please convince me that I'm wrong on this. In my opinion, you can continue to honor the Constitution and the freedom of religion that it protects without ignoring the FA... Read more

Our freedom and liberty will surely begin to erode when peoples sensibilities about whatever become the standard for what goes on in this country. Not even 911 can change what the constitution says on matters like this.

Ever notice how insignificant stuff like this becomes a big news issue when it's an election year? And yet we all fall for it, hook, line & sinker, every single time. If this WERE really an issue, then I'd imagine there'd be more people up in arms over the several established mosques already in the area (Google "Manhattan Mosque". There's some hits there). It's easy to confuse the crazies who cite religion as their purpose for murder and other crimes with the religion itself. Most religious people (be it Christian, Muslim, whatever have you) are decent folk. The handful of nutjobs out there aren't representative of those groups; they just tend to be the loudest. If we're talking about sensitivity here, then there's going to be a lot of religious buildings (of all sorts) that will have to go: Japanese Shinto Shrines in Pearl Harbor, Catholic Churches in Oklahoma City and the Olympic Park in Atlanta, as well as the existing Mosques in Manhattan . . . the list can go on. But,... Read more

No problems here, just as long as they build a Hot Lap Dance club on one side and a NOW convention center on the other, for community relations purposes of course. FWIW, even the Catholics had the good sense not to build a convent near Auschwitz, without much fanfare or resistance, after complaints by the Jewish community about the proximity to the site and that was tame by comparison. Didn't see Olberdope get pissed about that. And the First Amendment argument cuts both ways. They have the right to build the mosque, others have the right to protest the idiotic idea.

This isn't an issue regarding their right to build a mosque;if you google Iman Rauf,you will run into other stuff,like...financial connections to terrorists,that he's on a State Department financed tour to 'his neck of the woods' to raise gelt for the financing,that he made comments after 911 that America was partly to blame for it.The Japanese obviously had the right to build a Shinto shrine next to Pearl Harbor..the Pope cancelled a planned project for nuns next to Auschwitz...I got weird shit in my religion,,,but the goal isn't to be deliberately inconsiderate-and building a 15 story Mosque(and there will be a mosque in it) a few hundred feet from the WTC is. The Muslims behind this inconsiderate project(particularly since it's "religious" based) must be losing business threatening cartoonists.Obviously,if common sense weren't an issue,there wouldn't be zoning laws.Hopefully,'NO PASARAN' to the 911 Mosque.

It's really a matter of sensitivity - nothing more. Sure they have the right. Should they? I suppose if the goal is to appear as glaringly clueless as the mental midgets sponsoring the Koran roast then hey...

I have absolutely nothing against Muslims or where they worship. Heaven knows I'm incredibly open-minded about many topics, but this has to be one of the most insensitive proposals I have ever heard in a while. Of all the places to build a Mosque in New York, why the area near ground zero? 9/11 is one of the most devastating tradgedies to hit America and something that still hasn't settled after nine years. It will be remembered many years, even centuries from now. Those relatives of those who perished in that attack have every right to be angry about a Mosque of all things being built near where their loved ones died. They are not being Xenophobic, they are merely asking that those who are no longer in their lives be shown some diginity and respect after something that is still raw and hurtful.

Hee hee, fun thing about it all is that the guy is a terrorist sympathizer and an extremist to some, and yet he's a soft, American-backed stooge to others. Ain't it a bitch being a moderate?

A minor local zoning issue becomes international news?? Domestic news agencies provide round the clock coverage of this, fueling debate and discontent in the process, while forcing Muslims to defend themselves against attack by those claiming insensitivity towards the 9/11 victims. Never mind that a Mosque (not simply a cultural center as is being proposed here) is located just a block away from the former World Trade Center. It's been there for several years now, yet no one protests that. This facility indeed will be several blocks away from the WTC. The story gets even better: turns out that the Imam proposing this cultural center is actually a significant shareholder in News Corp. (parent company of Fox News), which was the news outlet that starting pumping this story last month. http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100820/bs_yb log_upshot/news-corps-number-two-shareholder-funded-terror-mosque-planner There is absolutely no real controversy here. This is simply an... Read more

Apparently, it's six blocks away from Ground Zero and not a mosque, but that isn't stopping some people from over reacting. Any significance lies in whether or not Islamists decide to retaliate with violence.

Personally, I don't care either way what happens. It doesn't bother me in the slightest if or where they build the mosque. If things check out and are legal, people have a right to build things where they want. For one to be sensitive to a matter is another topic. To me, we can pigeonhole and over-analyze pretty much anything, and it's not worth it. What is pretty scary is the hate on both sides of this topic. But whatever....to each his own.

This is from the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This one seems pretty uncomplicated to me - I don't see any asterisks here.