Merged Two Mosques to be built near Ground Zero

The Muslim organization's stated intentions is to "raise the flag of 'LA ILLAH ILLA ALLAH' near the World Trade Center", the site of an Islamic terrorist attack.



You're right. It's not a coincidence. According to the Fox News article, that particular Muslim congregation has been worshiping in that area for years. They now have so many people attending services that they've spilled out into the street. They're just looking to raise enough mo0ney to build a new, larger building where they already are.

My only hope for this thread is that somehow Mayday works this into one of her delusional text adventures.
 
So let's talk about the issues. Should Mosques be allowed near GZ? If not, why not? And how close is OK?

What do you mean should they be allowed? The status quo is that anything that falls within the zoning restrictions can be built, so the alarmists are the ones that need to provide a valid reason.

I know that's what you were going for, but I just wanted to make that point.

Also, for the people that object--have you ever even been to Ground Zero? The surrounding area is an intensely urban environment containing (hundreds of) thousands of people and buildings. It's not like it is barren field with just "Ground Zero" and a mosque beside it. It will be a non-factor, and you would almost surely have to go out of your way to even notice it (unless it is going to be a large, gaudy mosque--which I doubt).
 
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Don't see what the issue is in building a mosque anywhere in NYC, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. If it were a mosque the size of a football stadium, as the one proposed in London at the site of the Olympic games which even Muslims there are complaining about, then I would see a point.

But hey, its the muppets at Fox that are providing this story, so no big surprise.
 
i'll smear that in the face of every swiss anti minaret voter i meet :D
 
Shahadah most closely translates to, "There is no god but Allah..." Of course given that there is no such thing as a direct Arabic to English translation it often can be rendered into various forms. "There is no god (who is worthy of worship) other than Allah..." is what you may see often.

Nevertheless the lie, as Cleon has pointed out, isn't not so much in the argument about what the closest translation would be; but the attempt to define the meaning as something more negative than "Jesus is Lord" or "Thou shalt have no gods before me...".

Regardless I see nothing wrong with having a mosque within the vicinity of GZ primarily for the reason that we have 1st amendment rights in this country, and I find Shahadah no more offensive than the aforementioned "Jesus is Lord" or the Jesus flags evangelical protestant churches are so fond of flying.

Living in the United States is a choice, and if you would prefer a country that puts restrictions on religious structures then Switzerland may be a great place to consider emigrating to.
 
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So let's talk about the issues. Should Mosques be allowed near GZ? If not, why not? And how close is OK?

i can imagine the New York City Council passing a law setting a minimum distance new mosques must be from the borders of the WTC...

.......in a parallel universe.

this is all about bigotry, pure and simple. Innocent Muslims too....died on 9-11.
 
I would say the same distance that a Nazi HQ has to be from a synagogue, or a KKK HQ from a mostly/entirely black neighborhood.

yes, because all 1 billion Muslims are just like the KKK...and Nazis.

very nice.
 
Seems like the outrage should be dependent on whether it is:

a) an existing congregation, already in the area, who just need a bigger mosque (being built roughly where they already are)... [which seems reasonable]

or

b) a militant sect decides to build a big triumphalist 'this is where you were then, this is where we are now' to get in peoples faces... [which is pretty inflammatory]

Seems from what I've read that the reality is more like situation (a), and therefore I'm not feeling too outraged about it all.
 
lets get real...this is about bigots who think that all Muslims are terrorists, not wanting a new mosque near GZ, in NYC, or anywhere in the USA.
 
Exactly, religions are nothing but inclusive.

Why is it that every time Islam is concerned this board's militant atheism goes right out the window?

As a militant atheist I would prefer that no religious temples be built anywhere, not because law restricts it, but because people became sensible enough to toss aside childish fantasies.

But we live in a country with a 1st amendment. If any religion can build a house of worship near Ground Zero, all religions can build a house of worship there.

Supporting the First Amendment does not mean abandoning or hypocritically applying atheist principles.
 
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A terrorist attack kills 3000 people, and ten years later, moderates belonging to the same religion begin expanding a nearby building housing a mosque to also support a community centre with a swimming pool and other public facilities, and a museum to promote a more moderate and peaceful version of the religion behind the attacks.

As I said in another thread, on another forum, I certainly understand the outrage:rolleyes:.

I would say the same distance that a Nazi HQ has to be from a synagogue, or a KKK HQ from a mostly/entirely black neighborhood.
Or a church with a white congregation from the site of famous lynchings.

Get real.
 
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I don't want any Catholic Churches built near the NYC Holocaust Museum. Many Catholics in Germany and elsewhere helped the Nazis murder Jews, so I am offended when I see a Catholic Church.

:)
 
Oh no! More Muslim extremists are violently taking over buildings near Ground Zer...

... what's that you say? They're raising money to buy and build a place of worship in New York City? They're doing exactly the same thing that everyone else does when they want to own property? No violence, no terrorism, nothing that any other law-abiding religious group wouldn't do?

... and the problem is what, exactly?
 
I'm waiting for someone to explain this myself.

I'm assuming Glenn Beck will explain it eventually.

Probably something like: DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WE'RE AT WAR WITH ISLAM!!!

Remember words have power and we're fighting them over there so they don't build Mosques with swimming pools here, and he, *sob*, loves his country so much that we have to protect it from secret muslims like Obama.

It has to be one of those, I think.
 

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