Proposed (and Approved) Mosque at Ground Zero in NYC

the sea:

There is nothing wrong with building an Islamic center a few blocks away from Ground Zero.
It is ridiculous that people are making a big deal of this.

well said

I understand that most of America was introduced to Islam by a plan crashing into a building but America needs to open a book or do a little research about Islam. I'm American but I was taught about Islam and all those other religions in high school last year. Islam is a pretty peaceful religion. America also needs to recognize that there are Islamic Extremist just like there are Christan Extremist. What's the difference? That they're foreign?

The mosque isn't a big deal to me anymore. I was outraged. Now I support it.

Farce.:

I understand that most of America was introduced to Islam by a plan crashing into a building but America needs to open a book or do a little research about Islam. I'm American but I was taught about Islam and all those other religions in high school last year. Islam is a pretty peaceful religion. America also needs to recognize that there are Islamic Extremist just like there are Christan Extremist. What's the difference? That they're foreign?

The mosque isn't a big deal to me anymore. I was outraged. Now I support it.

Why were you outraged about it?

Farce.:

I understand that most of America was introduced to Islam by a plan crashing into a building but America needs to open a book or do a little research about Islam. I'm American but I was taught about Islam and all those other religions in high school last year. Islam is a pretty peaceful religion. America also needs to recognize that there are Islamic Extremist just like there are Christan Extremist. What's the difference? That they're foreign?
.

I agree.

Aaronnn:

I agree.

...with..what?

Cronads:

Why were you outraged about it?

I'm a supporter of the effected families. Then I thought about it. It wasn't rocket science. Extremist did the damage, not "normal" Muslims. I have no problems with "normal" Muslims worshiping.

I think that people are stereotyping Muslims and Islamic people because of what some of them did. Not all of them are bad. Besides, America is known to be a freedom country to express your religions and belief, so why are we taking that away from people. It's only a touchy subject because it's close to the where the 9/11 attacks were. It was a horrible, horrible day but we should grow from it, not be scared and offended when their just wanting to build a Mosque there for religious purposes, that is for a peace and healing center for Islamic people. I say go for it, freedom of religion is down in the Amendments, we'd be hypocrites if we said otherwise.

First of all I have to tip my hat to all of you who have posted in this forum. Most of you of discussed a very touchy subject with intelligence and decorum. I am much older than most of you in the forum (my teenage daughter showed me this site) I have seen more and experienced more then most of you I have buried two of my buddies because of this the war that this mess started. Having said that I also have to say that I disagree with most of you.

I feel that building a masque in that location is in very poor taste. This is not the only location available there are many other places for the masque to be built, to me the issue is not whether they can it is whether they should. I feel that they should not build it there, some where else, fine just not there.

As for the argument of separation of church and state there is no such guarantee The Constitution guarantees the the Government shall not establish a state religion. What that means is that the government will declare that all citizens shall be a particular religion or will have to pay a tax or fee.

This is America and this country was founded on certain inalienable rights freedom of religion being one of them, but here is the rub that when a certain group of people causes major havoc for a country doesn't that group deserve a second look. In a city near where I live there was dancing in the streets, my statement top that is if you don't like it here GO HOME. The dancing in the streets of Dearborn was just as offensive to me as the actual tragedy itself.

I have so much more to say about this but I will quite here, if there is interest to pick this threat back up then I will add the rest of my two cents.

This is news to my ears, as I do not pay attention/care about American politics. But it does kind of seem like a slap in the face. I'm not prejudice toward the Islamic religion, and I know they're not all responsible for 9/11, but this was a Muslim terrorist attack. And I think that should be respected. Because there are allot more spots to put a mosque, am I right? Building it on a place like that has clearly upset people, and it was obviously inevitable.
Oh, and I heard they're rebuilding the WTC? True? False?

b.emma.:

This is news to my ears, as I do not pay attention/care about American politics. But it does kind of seem like a slap in the face. I'm not prejudice toward the Islamic religion, and I know they're not all responsible for 9/11, but this was a Muslim terrorist attack. And I think that should be respected. Because there are allot more spots to put a mosque, am I right? Building it on a place like that has clearly upset people, and it was obviously inevitable.
Oh, and I heard they're rebuilding the WTC? True? False?

They were planning to build the mosque three blocks from the site. That's not on the site. I really don't see why three blocks away is considered a horrendous offense.

b.emma.:

But it does kind of seem like a slap in the face. I'm not prejudice toward the Islamic religion, and I know they're not all responsible for 9/11, but this was a Muslim terrorist attack.

The majority of Ku Klux Klan members were Baptists. They even recruited out of Baptist churches. So should we prevent Baptist churches from being built near places that have sites of racial tension?

shakespeare99:

I'm just jumping back into this thread here (I've been watching it since it started), but I wanted to debate a few problems I have with this post. First of all, I wanted to give my condolences for the two friends that you lost in the war, and I wanted to give you kudos for jumping into a debate with all of us.

But I also wanted to point out that they aren't building a mosque at this location; the building has been there for years and has been used as an Islamic community center for a long time. The proposition is actually for a new building. The people making this proposition want to create a larger building for what they're doing. They want to have a center for the prayer sessions, and they want to have a YMCA-like center for the rest of the community to use. They aren't going to close their doors to everyone outside the community, and they're not trying to deliver a slap in the face to New York.

The Muslim community that uses this center simply wants a better building where they can gather to practice their religion (as the current building is small and becoming out-of-date).

I also wanted to point out that the Islamic community center has been a target of anti-Islam extremists since the minute 9/11 happened. And I have had the pleasure of speaking with an Imam from that Islamic center, and I can say that from what he told me (and the audience that he spoke to in a lecture that day), I can infer that the Muslim community does not deserve this at all. Recently, the same pastor that burned a copy of the Qur'an announced that they would be protesting outside of the Dearborn Islamic center.

His reason? Because he and the people of his congregation believe that the center does not belong there. He doesn't believe that the Muslims of that community deserve a place to practice their religion or to gather with others of their faith or to get away from the people that have been hating on them for years. I think that protests like that are more offensive than the idea of giving members of the community (Americans who are simply followers of Islam) a newer, better building to practice their faith. It's offensive to me that because of a group of extremists (who follow a sect of Islam that makes up less than 2% of the entire religion), an entire nation has turned its back on a group of very peaceful people.

While I recognize that some of the population of New York believes that granting these people a new community center to be salt in the wound of their loss, I also believe that the people being denied their basic freedom of religion is a terrible, terrible thing. This community center had been theirs for at least three years before the request for a new center was made, and all they want to do is revamp it so that they can welcome more people into their community.

I don't see how that's so wrong at all.

shakespeare99:

my statement top that is if you don't like it here GO HOME.

You make it sound like all Muslims are just visiting here from the Middle East. If they live here, they are home. Hate to break it to you, but America is home to Muslims, too.

why do you have problems with building mosques there?
there are lots of Muslim people on the US, so ya they will need mosques to pray in it

acorna; killer queen:

"

I cannot stand your posts in the first few pages of this thread.

Just... NO.

First, you canNOT claim that Islam promotes the violating and killing of one just because they won't turn Muslim unless you have ACTUALLY learned that and heard it from a learned Muslim. As a learned Muslim, I will tell you that it is FORBIDDEN in our religion to do such a thing.

Second, Saudi Arabia is an extremist country. If you are going to compare a Muslim country, then use U.A.E. or Turkey because they are modern and are not extremists. If the US ever became predominately Muslim, like you suggest (which I laugh at the seriousness you take it because even if that does happen in the States, there is still the separation of Church [religion] and State so laws cannot be made on the basis of a religion), the chances of it becoming Saudi Arabic 2.0 is laughable. It would at most be like U.A.E or Turkey because they are modern and Muslim (I am still laughing at the fact that you genuinely thought that the U.S. can even become like SA if it becomes largely Muslim... just wow).

Because only those two really bugged me about what you said, I'm only commenting on those. But really... I'm going to be unprofessional here and just el oh el.

Not going to lie, I made a lot of uneducated statements.

On a sort of side note, has anyone seen this?
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8335843

^ I wouldn't be able to make an accurate judgement unless I read the book for myself. So I'll just skip on that. Though it has piqued my interest.

acorna; killer queen:

Not going to lie, I made a lot of uneducated statements.

On a sort of side note, has anyone seen this?
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8335843

I haven't heard about that yet but I wouldn't buy it. On a second thought I don't know much about this topic (just like the other thread I'm not interested in going through ever page) but I think if the Mosque was to honor the fallen then I don't see the big deal. They deserve to be honored.

^ The community center isn't functioning as a memorial to the victims, though. It's functioning as a Muslim community center, where the Muslim community can congregate and conduct prayer services and where the rest of the New York community will be welcomed in to observe. I don't think that it should have to have a memorial to the fallen, though I do agree that they deserve every honor (which they will be receiving in the memorial planned for WTC 1, but that's a discussion for another thread.)

So it's perfectly fine to put a church a few blocks away from ground zero? But not a mosque? This is outrageous. Muslims are, shock horror, NOT TERRORISTS. TERRORISTS are terrorists. This forum is terrible. The word Islam means peace. The word itself. Am I a muslim? YES. Am I terrorist? NO. The terrorists are the extremists. I think it's fine to build a mosque near ground zero.