Mosque near ground zero

[CDubs]

NOTE: I want this to be a civil conversation on your opinions of this topic and why or why not it should be built and support your side. If you do not know much about what is happening i have included a Google link at the end so you can read up on it before posting. Moderators, if you feel this may get out of hand please feel free to close this thread, i just want to see peoples views on this subject since it has been a big topic around here (New England) and the capital, at least

I personally think it is wrong. I believe it should not be built there. I support peoples right to religion and love our country for having that right, but personally i dont think it should be that close to ground zero. They can move it 10 blocks over, at the least, but i think more would be better. Just the fact that it is close to a site where the terrorists have killed 3,000 innocent people is wrong to me. I want them to be able to go to their home of worship and pray but i would not like to see it that cloe to ground zero. I live in CT and several of my friends parents travel via train to NY everyday to work in the city, none worked in the trade centers but a lot of people in several surrounding towns had parents work there. I feel, personally that this is an insult to the familes that have lost someone to this tragidy. I do not hate Muslims, in fact there are 2 very nice Muslim familes in my town that support the local schools and involvd in the community, i know not all muslims are liek the terrorists or course but to me this just seems wrong.


So...what is your opinion?

Need to read up on this?
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=mosque+at+ground+zero&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=mosque&gs_rfai=C5_HuQSxpTMqDIKLCzQS5w8zLCgAAAKoEBU_QByWC&fp=d9804d37b84b33a1

 

[joe7987]

^^You didn't really give a single reason why the Mosque shouldn't be put there except "it just seems wrong."

You said "it's close to the site where the terrorists have killed 3,000 people." I hope we all know by now that not all muslims are terrorists. So why punish the masses for the crimes of the few?

If a group of british christian guys went nuts and shot up a bunch of people.. would you oppose the building of a Christian church near (not on) the site where it happened? I doubt it. Hell, you might even welcome it.

Consider this.... did any innocent muslims die during the 9/11 attacks? I'd bet yes. There were a lot of people in the world trade center... and given Islam's popularity around the world, there's almost a 100% chance that there were muslims in the center when it went down. So they can't have a place of worship near a site where their own people died as well?

 

[CDubs]

very valid point, guess i also rambled there.

there were some that died, innocently i bet also i feel it disrespects the city, alot of people in my state. I feel it just shuoldnt be that close, just 2 or 3 blocks if im not mistaken. there should be a mosque for their worship but that close, personally i feel, it is disrespectful since so many familes around here lost a loved one

 

[obracer12]

Not to be rude, but please read all of the details of this construction plan before passing judgement.

You are neglecting to realize there is already a mosque 4 blocks from ground zero, it pre-dates the world trade center itself, and they are not building a mosque, it's a community center, like a banquet hall and youth center, it just happens to be a Muslim affiliate. Please don't buy into everything you heard in the media, most of it is skewed to probe reactions from the public.

and to alleviate any assumptions, I am catholic, white, and have served 2 tours in Afghanistan with the US Navy. From my experiences, Muslims are no different then any other religion, it is the radicals that set a bad president, like the klan, gehad (sp) groups, and other radical fundamentalist groups.

I will assume, as I usually do, that lack of experiences will form opinions based on what you hear, and what you know locally and this matter may be outside some people's scope of understanding, thus forming a predjudice

 

[CDubs]

i have failed to see that information on the articles i have read

 

[obracer12]

it is not in the main stream media, you have to probe a little deeper to find the real construction plan.. most of the media equates Muslim building = mosque.

This debate is just as ridiculous as saying Halal food trucks are terrorist insurgencies int eh streets of New York. I believe that the story was spun to "mosque at ground-zero" because some-one thought it would stop the spread of Islam.. the largest religion in the world...

but if you want a little levity in this situation, this is the most truth (with large amounts of satire) on public television you will get about this topic: http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/tue-august-10-2010-jason-bateman just watch from 2:38 on.

 

[CDubs]

thanks for that, sadly i cant watch that here at work but from what you have posted gave me more insite on the situation, i wasnt tryin to be prejiduce or anything just my personal opinion which has now changed thanks thanks to your insight

 

[obracer12]

no problem, everyone is entitled to their own opinion granted they know the whole story. when you get a chance give it a view

 

[CDubs]

yeah i plan to take a look when i get home tonight, now that you have put some more light on the subject, i still want to hear other peoples opinion......ill admit i was being the dumb teenager jumping to conclusions on what i have already heard on the news and articles

 

[hooked_on4]

I was picking up some wheels from a friends house here in Chicago when a neighbor came up w/a petition to stop a mosque being built near them, pretty f**kin sad since this is a "free country." Media has WAY too much power.......

 

[CDubs]

im going to agree there since my whole family is against this and didnt know anythign that obracer stated, they jumped to conclusions also, never really relalized how much power the media has

 

[253eg]

I say we build it right on ground zero.

 

[joe7987]

im going to agree there since my whole family is against this and didnt know anythign that obracer stated, they jumped to conclusions also, never really relalized how much power the media has

The media has infinite power. One of my favorite song lyrics says "When [the media] owns the information, they can bend it all they want."

You want to see how drastic this can be? Watch Fox news... then watch a more liberal news channel. You will receive two totally different reports on the same story. One will be Republican skewed, the other will be Democrat skewed.

 

[Akiahara96]

^^
trufax. liberal vs. conservative news media. the best thing, imo, if you want to form your own opinion, is to do your own research, not just listen to the news. gotta realize that they all put their own spin on it.

and on the original topic... i don't care if it's a community center or a mosque... or anything else. i have no problem with it.

 

[obracer12]

true. it even goes as simple as sports announcer bias, everything is relative to 2 things. the broadcaster and the viewer on what message is being transmitted. The "best" thing is to not listen to the media, but rather take the context of the story and validate it on your own.
i agree whether it is a mosque or community center its ok with me.

 

[CDubs]

thats what im thinkin now, i have definatly watched the news and seen the bias just never put 2 and 2 together

 

[Wolfy]

One does have to ask the question though, that if the Muslim financial backers of this "community center" (which is really a euphimism for a mosque, since mosques are not "churches" in the modern Christian sense but are indeed information, education and health centers as well as the place of worship for an Islamic community) were truly empathetic to the majority of the people of New York City, wouldn't they forsee the possible social tension created by their choice of location and choose a more appropriate one?

 

[obracer12]

but really a community center is in the "christian" sense, it is used for religious affiliated events as well as rented out for a banquet hall, which if you think about it is more or less exactly what a christian community center is. There wasn't an social tension when the mosque 4 blocks from ground zero continued to function after 9/11.

I will agree that it would cause a little social tension if brought to the forefront as Muslim community center to replace Burlington Coat Factory in lower Manhattan, but the tension really explodes when phrased as "mosque to be built ON ground zero". This is where the tension is coming from, not the building or the location but rather the notion of a Muslim place of worship on hallowed ground of an American tragedy. If the story came out tomorrow " Buddhist temple to be build on runway at Pearl Harbor" it would strike the same cord in American's minds.

Bottom line is they not only have the constitutional right to do so, but a religion that has the financial backing to expand is their prerogative, and would help the city in these tough times.

If they said "Al'Qaeda training facility to be built ground-zero adjacent" I would be the first in line to resist. Again, the tension comes from the story, not the action.

EDIT: Wolfy, the Burlington Coat Factory they want to build in is currently an empty abandoned building that would be renovated to be a center.. win/win for no new buildings and revamping a "public eye-sore"

 

[got traction]

I am against it. Not because i dont like Muslums, but because Barak Obama had to publicly say that he approves of it. Call me a douche bag, or racist or whatever you want, people keep pushing the envelope and then cry the freedom card. f**k that, im sure New York dosent want to hear the call to pray over a loud speaker. I know i sure as hell dont.

 

[obracer12]

lol, I am with you on the fact that Obama had to publicly say he approved. I don't think they can call to pray in the states can they?