NYC refudiates Palin.

[Imran Siddiqui]

So you are trying to argue with the intention the Imam has by choosing the name Cordoba house?

Do you have a relevant point?

[DinoDoc]

Come on, this deliberate obtuseness is beyond even your usual shtick. What other grounds for opposition to it are there?

TORONTO – The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) is urging the Cordoba House Initiative to abandon its proposed Ground-Zero Mosque in New York in the face of outrage expressed by large segments of the American population calling the proposal an act of 'fitna' or mischief.

In a letter to Imam Faisal Rauf that will be delivered on Tuesday, August 10 by MCC’s board member Raheel Raza, the MCC says, “Many Muslims suspect that the idea behind the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation, to thumb our noses at the 'infidel.' We believe the proposal has been made in bad faith and, in Islamic parlance, is creating 'fitna,' meaning 'mischief-making,' an act clearly forbidden in the Qur’an.”

“The Qur'an commands us Muslims to, 'Be considerate when you debate with the People of the Book' -- i.e., Jews and Christians [chapter 29, verse 46]. Building an exclusive place of worship for Muslims at the place where Muslims killed thousands of New Yorkers, is not being considerate or sensitive, it is undoubtedly an act of “fitna,” the letter added.

The MCC challenges Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf about his claim that building the mosque will increase tolerance for Muslims when the evidence is the exact opposite. “Do you not understand that building a mosque at Ground Zero is equivalent to permitting a Serbian Orthodox Church near the killing fields of Srebrenica where 6,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered?” the letter asked.

The MCC said it is opposed to the Ground-Zero mosque because many questions have gone unanswered. Questions about where the funding is coming from? If this mosque is being funded by Saudi sources, then it is an even bigger slap in the face of Americans as nine of the jihadis in the Twin Tower calamity were Saudis.

If Imam Rauf is serious about building bridges, then he could have dedicated space in this so-called community centre to a Church and Synagogue, but he did not. He could have proposed a memorial to the 9/11 dead with a denouncement of the doctrine of armed jihad, but he chose not to.

The MCC letter said, “Even if the intention of the mosque organizers was noble, the negative reaction by the American people has ensured that if built, the mosque will remain a permanent sore point and a lightning rod for anti-Muslim feelings. For this reason alone, the project must be abandoned.

“When we try to understand the reasoning behind building a mosque at the epicentre of the worst attack on the USA, we wonder why its proponents would not build a monument to those who died in the attack? New York currently boasts at least 30 mosques so it’s not as if there is pressing need to find space for worshippers,” the letter added.

http://www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/

[Boris Godunov]

[I]
TORONTO – The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) is urging the Cordoba House Initiative to abandon its proposed Ground-Zero Mosque in New York in the face of outrage expressed by large segments of the American population calling the proposal an act of 'fitna' or mischief.

Exactly. Why are people "outraged?" Because it's Muslims, and they associate all Muslims with terrorism. Shameful bigotry, and saying "don't piss off the bigots" is a reason founded in bigotry.

There's not a shred of evidence offered to support their claim that the center was planned as "deliberate provocation." Since Rauf noted they've been planning this center and looking for space for it even before 9/11, that sounds like a specious attack.

“When we try to understand the reasoning behind building a mosque at the epicentre of the worst attack on the USA, we wonder why its proponents would not build a monument to those who died in the attack? New York currently boasts at least 30 mosques so it’s not as if there is pressing need to find space for worshippers,” the letter added.

Which just goes to show that the MCC, like almost all of the Cordoba House critics, don't have a clue what they're talking about. It's not primarily a mosque, it's an Islamic cultural center that will have a mosque to accommodate overflow from the nearby main mosque. But it will also house a lot of other things, including interfaith outreach (yeah, it will be open to non-Muslims) and a memorial to the victims of 9/11.

At least bother to quote critics who know what they're talking about first. And not an organization that's anti-freedom enough to call for a legal ban of the burqa,

[Asher]

Canadians are reasonable, nice people. Even the muslims.

[Zevico]

I see no reason why the location of a mosque is relevant to whether it should be constructed. Being 'sensitive' is not something that can or should be required by law.

Denial of permission must be for a more important reason than that.

[DinoDoc]

Legal arguments ended after the Landmark Board ruled as they did. Now we're reduced to making arguments about emotion vague and insubstantial notions that this constitutes respect for religion vs sensitivity and propriety claims. Right now I'm just amused they they don't have clear title to the land they want to build on.

[MOBIUS]

What did Giuliani accomplish besides leaving the city with a $4.8 billion deficit (to be fair, $2.8 billion pre-9/11) and taking credit for a drop in crime that was largely mirrored in other urban areas across the country?

Ah yes, the sudden drop in crime across the entire country as the effects of the abortion laws in the US started to kick in...

Abortion.

[Wezil]

But it will also house a lot of other things,including interfaith outreach...

They are off to a fine start with that aren't they?

[Snotty]

[I]
TORONTO – The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) is urging the Cordoba House Initiative to abandon its proposed Ground-Zero Mosque in New York in the face of outrage expressed by large segments of the American population calling the proposal an act of 'fitna' or mischief.

Thats quite the Epic Troll if the MMC is to be believed. To get 'large segments of the American population' up in arms, while highlighting the hypocrisy of the self same champions of freedom.

[Boris Godunov]

But it will also house a lot of other things,including interfaith outreach...

They are off to a fine start with that aren't they?

Christian and Jewish organizations came to the defense of Cordoba House, so in a sense, yes. I find it baffling to blame them for the hysterical responses from people who don't seem to understand what freedom means.

[rah]

But it's all about perception.
One of the main purposes is to advance how outside people view their faith.
Regardless of how stupid some peoples reactions are, the fact that they are negatively reacting works against the goals of the project and may make it not that good of an idea.

Everything I've read leads me to believe that the over-reaction is irrational but the fact that it's happening has to be taken into account.

[Wezil]

I think they should have every legal right to build there.

That said, if their intention is truly to make bridges with the local community it would appear they failed. The continued insistence to put it there despite the now known reaction of the community speaks to something beside interfaith outreach.

[Boris Godunov]

I think they should have every legal right to build there.

That said, if their intention is truly to make bridges with the local community it would appear they failed. The continued insistence to put it there despite the now known reaction of the community speaks to something beside interfaith outreach.

I don't think the "local" community has much problem with it, the most vociferous protesting is coming from people outside the neighborhood. Most Manhattan residents polled supported the center being built or didn't care one way or the other. How selective do we have to be in opinion-gauging before we determine whether or not it's a "good idea" for a group to build something in the face of intolerant outrage? If it were someone trying to build a gay bar in, I don't know, Mississippi and they were encountering protests from religious nuts, would you suggest that the opposition they faced means they should tuck their tails and run? Or that if they persevered in building the bar, it meant they had some sort of underhanded intent beyond building a bar to service a community?

It is completely chicken**** to suggest they should cower before bigots who are either too stupid to distinguish between the perps of 9/11 and everyday Muslims, or who are using this for political purposes to gin up controversy and headlines to promote themselves (Palin, Lazio).

[Wezil]

I don't think the "local" community has much problem with it, the most vociferous protesting is coming from people outside the neighborhood. Most Manhattan residents polled supported the center being built or didn't care one way or the other.

My impression is the opposition is both local and national.

It is completely chicken**** to suggest they should cower before bigots who are either too stupid to distinguish between the perps of 9/11 and everyday Muslims, or who are using this for political purposes to gin up controversy and headlines to promote themselves (Palin, Lazio).

I'm not suggesting they cower before bigots. If the locals are bigots you don't/won't win them over by making your first step the building of something they see as provocative. That isn't outreach, it is something else.

[giblets]

But it's all about perception.
One of the main purposes is to advance how outside people view their faith.
Regardless of how stupid some peoples reactions are, the fact that they are negatively reacting works against the goals of the project and may make it not that good of an idea.

Everything I've read leads me to believe that the over-reaction is irrational but the fact that it's happening has to be taken into account.

What would they accomplish by trying to appease bigots who are diametrically opposed to their religious freedom? The controversy is a good opportunity for them to defend their beliefs and explain that not all muslims are terrorists.