Ground Zero Mosque

[Lifeguards For Life]

How tolerant do you think the developers of park 51 would be to the opening of a muslim gay bar next door to it? (I know next door and 2 blocks are hardly the same but...)

 

[akflightmedic]

I have no idea. It is a sensitive issue and I have no solution for it.

Me either, but when examined from the foundations this country was built upon and when referencing the Constitution, the answer is pretty clear. We can not pick and choose when to follow that document.

The proposed building conforms to all local zoning regulations and all proper channels have been followed. So if we say no, then what are we saying to the rest of the world? What are we saying to our youth, our children?

 

[akflightmedic]

How tolerant do you think the developers of park 51 would be to the opening of a muslim gay bar next door to it? (I know next door and 2 blocks are hardly the same but...)

Again, nice tangent but not relevant to the discussion.

 

[JPINFV]

Neither?

So how can the Young Men's Christian Association not be a church, but a Muslim community center with a prayer room is a mosque and should be about multiculturalism?

 

[Lifeguards For Life]

Again, nice tangent but not relevant to the discussion.

From Greg Gutfield’s blog The Daily Gut August 9, 2010

So, the Muslim investors championing the construction of the new mosque near Ground Zero claim it’s all about strengthening the relationship between the Muslim and non-Muslim world.

As an American, I believe they have every right to build the mosque – after all, if they buy the land and they follow the law – who can stop them?

Which is, why, in the spirit of outreach, I’ve decided to do the same thing.

I’m announcing tonight, that I am planning to build and open the first gay bar that caters not only to the west, but also Islamic gay men. To best express my sincere desire for dialogue, the bar will be situated next to the mosque Park51, in an available commercial space.

This is not a joke. I’ve already spoken to a number of investors, who have pledged their support in this bipartisan bid for understanding and tolerance.

As you know, the Muslim faith doesn’t look kindly upon homosexuality, which is why I’m building this bar. It is an effort to break down barriers and reduce deadly homophobia in the Islamic world.

The goal, however, is not simply to open a typical gay bar, but one friendly to men of Islamic faith. An entire floor, for example, will feature non-alcoholic drinks, since booze is forbidden by the faith. The bar will be open all day and night, to accommodate men who would rather keep their sexuality under wraps – but still want to dance.

Bottom line: I hope that the mosque owners will be as open to the bar, as I am to the new mosque. After all, the belief driving them to open up their center near Ground Zero, is no different than mine.

I thought it was an interesting question. I don't understand how the developers claim it will build rapport between the Muslim and non Muslim word when they know people are deeply offended by the idea.

 

[Aidey]

The way it was explained to me is that this is not technically a Mosque, as a Mosque can only be used for prayer. By having the building be multi-use the religion doesn't consider it a true Mosque, but a prayer space. Kind of like how the Mormons have different rules for their churches vs their temples.

I agree with the "how far is far enough?" comment, especially because you will never get a consensus. There are people in WI, TN and CA protesting Mosques, so apparently a couple thousand miles isn't enough for some people.

There is also the fact that not all of the 9/11 families and survivors agree on what should happen with the Cultural center. Because of that it seems a little strange to me that people are outraged on their behalf. Recent polls also indicate that the building has more support in Manhattan than anywhere else in the US.

I believe it is wrong to base political policy on what is offensive and what isn't. There are a number of things that offend me that wouldn't make very good laws. This means that my personal views are different than my political ones. In my personal opinion I think Fred Phelps and every member of the Westboro Baptist Church should be slow roasted over a mound of fire ants. Politically they have as much of a right to free speech as anyone else.

Edit: I'm sure there are plenty of odd neighbors in NYC and any other big cities. Heck, I'm pretty sure you could find a church and strip club on the same street in a number of places. Outside of what zoning laws allow, there isn't much people can do about their neighbors. However, I do have an issue with people intentionally being malicious towards their neighbors because they don't like them. Same goes for anything really. People are going to be incidentally offended by the actions of others all of the time. Being intentionally offensive though does not sit well with me, no matter who is being offended and who is being offensive.

Christians burning Qur'ans, Atheists going into a church and "preaching", People parading pigs across the lawn of a Synagogue...etc.


Edit again: As for the location, the building had been vacant since 2001, and the seller had dropped the price from $18 million to $4.8 million, I think cost played a big part in what building they bought.

 

[Sassafras]

I want to know where the outrage was over building churches in Waco since David Koresh, or churches near the Oklahoma City bombing site. These men did their terror in the name of the Christian god, how dare people spit on the memory of the innocent lives there by building places of worship to the christian god.

It goes both ways and if we are going to blame all of Islam for what this handful of men did, then each member of each faith must be willing to accept responsibility for the evils committed in the name of their deity. I'm pretty sure Christians are not going to stand up and accept responsibility for the crusades, or will readily jump up and shout "David Koresh was not a REAL christian".

It's xenophobic at its best, predjudism and biggotry at its worst. Thankfully our constitution is as it is, and no one can interfere with that.