Showing posts with label 9/11 attacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 9/11 attacks. Show all posts
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Friday, August 6, 2010
Insult in the Name of Tolerance
I'm sure most of my readers are aware of the proposal to build a grand mosque just a few hundred feet away from Ground Zero in New York City. Although this story has been around for awhile, it is back in the news this week with the decision of a New York City panel to allow the building to go forward. Here are the reasons I virulently oppose the building of this mosque.
1. Supporters of the mosque claim this is an issue of religious liberty. Not true. There are over 100 mosques already in New York City, and no one is complaining about another one being built. All we ask is that the mosque not be built on this particular site. Five blocks over is fine. There is already a mosque six blocks away from Ground Zero that has been there since 1970, and no one is complaining about that.
2. Supporters of the mosque claim that their proposal is not illegal. I agree. As long as zoning laws are complied with, technically there is the legal right to build a mosque at Ground Zero. But that doesn't mean the decision is a good idea, or that the public doesn't have a right to loudly express their disapproval in order to try to convince the people behind this mosque to change their mind.
3. The Muslim group that proposed this mosque, the Cordoba Initiative, claims that their purpose is to promote tolerance and understanding. If that is the case, then why do they insist on this location, which is like pouring salt in an open wound for many of the families of the 9/11 victims? This proposed building is not promoting peace and harmony; it is provoking controversy and insult. At this location, just 9 short years ago, the worst attack ever on American soil occurred, resulting in the death of 3,000 Americans. This site is sacred ground for Americans. It should be used for a memorial of the attack and a celebration of our history, not to build a monument to the very religion which inspired the attacks in the first place. Remember, many families of the 9/11 victims have spoken out against this. Over 60% of liberal New York residents, including over half of left-wing New York City residents, oppose it. Shouldn't their feelings, and the feelings of Americans at large, be taken into account? If the Cordoba Initiative were really serious about building bridges between the Muslim world and the West, they would show respect for the wishes of a majority of the residents of New York City and move their project to a different location.
4. In addition to the Cordoba Initiative's indifference to the feelings of Americans on this project (including many of the 9/11 families), there are other strong indications that the real inspiration behind this mosque is far from an intention to promote harmony and understanding. This mosque is the brainchild of an imam named Feisal Abdul Rauf. Shortly after 9/11, Rauf said that he believed that the U.S. was an accessory to the 9/11 murders and that Osama bin Laden was a product of America. He has refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization, even though that organization routinely target innocent civilians, including women and children, in their attacks. He has not even been full-throated in condemning Islamic terrorism, saying calling the issue of terrorism a "very complex question." He has called for the U.S. to become more compliant with sharia law. (Sharia law governs some of the most oppressive regimes in the world and calls for the execution of homosexuals and adulterers and the elimination of many of the most basic rights of women.) He has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which published his book overseas through two satellite organizations. (The Muslim Brotherhood has provided a great deal of the funding for terrorism in many parts of the world.)
5. Given the radical statements and connections of the leading Islamic cleric behind this project, it would be nice to at least be able to confirm that this mosque will not be funded by Islamic terrorist organizations. Unfortunately, we can't even do that. The mosque is expected to cost $100 million, and Rauf has said that part of that money will come from foreign sources, but he has refused to disclose the names of any specific donors or sources of funds. This is a huge red flag, because given Rauf's connections there is a good chance that some of the money for this mosque may end up actually coming from the very same radical terrorist groups that supported the 9/11 attacks! It is a Muslim tradition to build grand mosques and religious centers on the sites of their greatest military victories. Perhaps this is the real intention of the unknown overseas organizations who are contributing money to this project -- and of the radical cleric who has masterminded it. I'm sure jihadists all around the world will be celebrating if this project succeeds.
To summarize: A radical Islamic cleric who has sympathies with and ties to overseas terrorist groups wants to build a huge mosque right on the site where radical Islamic terrorism killed 3,000 Americans less than a decade ago -- funded with millions of dollars from undisclosed foreign sources. This is an outrage, but it can be stopped if patriotic New Yorkers, as well as all Americans, make their voices heard so loudly that even the tone-deaf mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, can't ignore it. I signed the petition here, which is sponsored by Act for America, a group which exists to monitor and fight back against radical Islam.
1. Supporters of the mosque claim this is an issue of religious liberty. Not true. There are over 100 mosques already in New York City, and no one is complaining about another one being built. All we ask is that the mosque not be built on this particular site. Five blocks over is fine. There is already a mosque six blocks away from Ground Zero that has been there since 1970, and no one is complaining about that.
2. Supporters of the mosque claim that their proposal is not illegal. I agree. As long as zoning laws are complied with, technically there is the legal right to build a mosque at Ground Zero. But that doesn't mean the decision is a good idea, or that the public doesn't have a right to loudly express their disapproval in order to try to convince the people behind this mosque to change their mind.
3. The Muslim group that proposed this mosque, the Cordoba Initiative, claims that their purpose is to promote tolerance and understanding. If that is the case, then why do they insist on this location, which is like pouring salt in an open wound for many of the families of the 9/11 victims? This proposed building is not promoting peace and harmony; it is provoking controversy and insult. At this location, just 9 short years ago, the worst attack ever on American soil occurred, resulting in the death of 3,000 Americans. This site is sacred ground for Americans. It should be used for a memorial of the attack and a celebration of our history, not to build a monument to the very religion which inspired the attacks in the first place. Remember, many families of the 9/11 victims have spoken out against this. Over 60% of liberal New York residents, including over half of left-wing New York City residents, oppose it. Shouldn't their feelings, and the feelings of Americans at large, be taken into account? If the Cordoba Initiative were really serious about building bridges between the Muslim world and the West, they would show respect for the wishes of a majority of the residents of New York City and move their project to a different location.
4. In addition to the Cordoba Initiative's indifference to the feelings of Americans on this project (including many of the 9/11 families), there are other strong indications that the real inspiration behind this mosque is far from an intention to promote harmony and understanding. This mosque is the brainchild of an imam named Feisal Abdul Rauf. Shortly after 9/11, Rauf said that he believed that the U.S. was an accessory to the 9/11 murders and that Osama bin Laden was a product of America. He has refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization, even though that organization routinely target innocent civilians, including women and children, in their attacks. He has not even been full-throated in condemning Islamic terrorism, saying calling the issue of terrorism a "very complex question." He has called for the U.S. to become more compliant with sharia law. (Sharia law governs some of the most oppressive regimes in the world and calls for the execution of homosexuals and adulterers and the elimination of many of the most basic rights of women.) He has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which published his book overseas through two satellite organizations. (The Muslim Brotherhood has provided a great deal of the funding for terrorism in many parts of the world.)
5. Given the radical statements and connections of the leading Islamic cleric behind this project, it would be nice to at least be able to confirm that this mosque will not be funded by Islamic terrorist organizations. Unfortunately, we can't even do that. The mosque is expected to cost $100 million, and Rauf has said that part of that money will come from foreign sources, but he has refused to disclose the names of any specific donors or sources of funds. This is a huge red flag, because given Rauf's connections there is a good chance that some of the money for this mosque may end up actually coming from the very same radical terrorist groups that supported the 9/11 attacks! It is a Muslim tradition to build grand mosques and religious centers on the sites of their greatest military victories. Perhaps this is the real intention of the unknown overseas organizations who are contributing money to this project -- and of the radical cleric who has masterminded it. I'm sure jihadists all around the world will be celebrating if this project succeeds.
To summarize: A radical Islamic cleric who has sympathies with and ties to overseas terrorist groups wants to build a huge mosque right on the site where radical Islamic terrorism killed 3,000 Americans less than a decade ago -- funded with millions of dollars from undisclosed foreign sources. This is an outrage, but it can be stopped if patriotic New Yorkers, as well as all Americans, make their voices heard so loudly that even the tone-deaf mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, can't ignore it. I signed the petition here, which is sponsored by Act for America, a group which exists to monitor and fight back against radical Islam.
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