The Multicultural Center near Ground Zero?

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Many people have drawn lines to the Multicultural/Islamic Center near Ground Zero to the "just because you can do something doesn't mean you should" logic. And while I agree you shouldn't yell "fire!" in a crowded theater; this Center is something different.

To understand the resistance to this I think it is important to look at the prevailing grievances with the building itself. The ones I can remember include: 1) It is too close to GZ, 2) Where does the money/Imam come from, 3) It is a victory mosque, 4) Muslim's attacked America

1) It is too close to GZ: At the present proposed location it is actually quite unlikely that the Mosque's activities would affect or interact with people who may feel 'sensitive' due to their beliefs, however wrong, about Muslims or Islam. The reason I am confident in saying this is because at present there is already a Mosque 4 blocks away from GZ which, according to google maps, is 0.4 miles away while the proposed Mosque/Cultural center is 0.3 - now unless 0.1 miles makes a Mosque offensive I am missing something here. It also brings up the point of how far is far enough?

2) Where does the money/Imam come from: The money/Imam chain is quite an ironic one seeing that Fox News is a active opponent to the Mosque. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the primary contributor to the center however he is also part owner of Fox News - yes that's right according to Fox News this building is funded by someone who holds, what they believe, is extremist ties/relationships but is also part owner of their company. What is even more incredible is that after Fox News did all their fact finding and checking they were unable to make the link between the extremist funding and their own company - or more likely they simply just didn't want to. As for the Imam he is an outspoken proponent of Western Islam and should be encouraged as much as possible (he is the author of: What's Right with Islam Is What's Right with America) and was actually appointed by the Bush Administration as a Muslim ambassador for America - but now he is evil.

3) It is a victory mosque. When this argument emerged I sighed more than usual when reading right wing stories. You know why they are building a mosque in New York. Because there are Muslims who need a place to worship. In America we talk about Muslims as if they are some minority, and in America they are, but there are 1.3+ billion Muslims in the world - to think that a place of worship is actually a victory mosque is quite a retarded reading on reality.

4) Muslims attacked America - this actually makes me quite sick because those who believe this are really using it as an excuse to openly voice their hate, prejudice and racism. We know that the actions of a few do not represent the whole - we know that murders are murders, rapists are rapists - whether they are white, black, brown, or yellow. But for some reason fundamentalists and terrorists are terms which are specifically reserved for Muslims. It defies logic that all Muslims are terrorists, the fact that there are more than a billion peacefully living in America, the UK, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, India, Africa etc should say that the actions of a few are despicable but not representative. Some how this has been lost in the message. And personally I think that is the main reason why the Mosque/Cultural Center is necessary. The narrative needs to be changed in America, the fact that Muslims didn't attack this country needs to be more fiercely reinforced and brought to the forefront of our knowledge because those Muslim who did attack America wanted one thing from their actions and that was to divide the West and Islam - and America has done exactly that....Show more

of course you know there IS a Shinto shrine at Pearl Harbor -
there is-and HAS been a mosque IN the Pentagon -

Bill O'Reilly incorrectly said "Muslims" attacted us on 911 - but the fact is a handful ARAB extremists did it - NOT the Muslim "religion"

Another - shame for me as a Christian to admit - but Christianity has WAY more blood on it's collective hands than do the Muslims.

So, in answer to your question - the center near ground zero?
go for it!...Show more

We have enough resources pedaling multiculturalism . Put in a manufacturing facility ; green or otherwise....Show more

it has already been open for months. it was even on 60 Minutes in September....Show more

I don't like it but I don't like violating the Constitution even more....Show more