Building a mosque near the site of 911?

[Kay at Parenting.com]

I have debated this issue over and over in my head, and I think it is about time we start voicing our opinions. Here is the issue:

Some people in NYC want to build a mosque two blocks away from the site of where the twin towers once stood. It appears that everyone is up in arms over this issue, but no one has really stepped up to the plate and offered an alternative, except for Governor Patterson.

He offered another piece of land and told them that the state would GIVE it to them. Yes, I know, the state of NY giving away anything during this time in our economic situation, is a completely different issue. And I really want this to be focused on the main issue. Here is my question;

Do you think that a mosque should be built that close to ground zero? If so, why? If not, why?

[momtoaboy]

No, I think the mosque should not be build in New York City. It is saying that the muslims are proud of what the did to the world trade center on 9/11. They have or are building mosques everyone someone has done a suicide killing. It is NOT right and I don't thing ANYONE should allow any mosque to be built ANYWHERE on US soil.

[puddin_pops_mama]

momtoaboy, how is this "saying that the muslims are proud of what the (sic) did to the world trade center"? Do you think all muslims condoned this terroist act? I think that's a narrow-minded way of thinking that allows for us to hate/distrust people who may not be exactly like us.

I choose to see this as a sign of religious tolerance and healing from a horribly tragic event. I don't have any problem with a mosque being built in the US, even two blocks from the site of the twin towers.

[lismom2]

I don't see a problem with one of the worlds most practiced religions (#2 in the world....) building a mosque near the site of 9/11. I do think it would be nice if they had a special place of prayer for those that lost their lives during 9/11, since it will be so close, but that has nothing to do with a religious communities fundamental (and constitutionally guaranteed right) to practice their religion wherever they want.

[H.Starr]

From what I've read, it's not a mosque. It's a Muslim community center. A mosque would be a place of prayer only. This building will only have one room designated for prayer.
But anyway, there is no reason why there shouldn't be one there. MUSLIMS didn't cause 9/11, TERRORISTS did. It had NOTHING to do with religion, and EVERYTHING to do with government. (otherwise they would have attacked churches and such rather than a govt building, don't you think? ;)) Had it been a bunch of Catholic guys would the whole country suddenly be anti-Catholic? Probably not.
What religion those people were is irrelevant. People need to stop blanket-blaming Muslims who had nothing to do with the situation, it's asinine.

[Kay at Parenting.com]

Are we comparing apples to oranges though? The 911 was a terrorists act, they were not workshiping their religion. Knowing this why do they want to build it so close to ground zero?

[H.Starr]

I believe it's two blocks away and around the corner....not really THAT close.
There are churches that close and closer, why not a mosque/community center/whatever? Muslims died in the 9/11 attack too, what's the difference?

[NaomiK]

I agree with H.Starr 100%.

Terrorists are Muslim EXTREMISTS. It is not the whole Muslim religion. Momtoaboy - you think they are proud of this? Were you proud when Timothy McVeigh did the Oklahoma City Bombing? How about Columbine? Did that make you proud? I would assume no. It didnt. So how can you say because a few extremist did something terribly wrong that ALL of the muslim religion is proud of that? And to say that a Mosque should not be allowed on US soil at all goes against everything this country was founded for and has stood for. A completely ignorant and assinine thing to say.

Kay - you could say they were worshiping their religion, but they are extremist. They take their religion to the extreme. There are many beliefs inside the muslim religion just like there are in Christianity.

[H.Starr]

To expound upon what Naomik said, there are extremists in EVERY religion, not only Islam. While these particular religious extremists may have been Muslim, that is certainly not to say that ALL religious extremists are Muslim, nor are ALL terrorists Muslims. In fact, not even ALL terrorists are religious extremists at all.
You can't just blanket an entire religion over something a few a-holes (sorry, there isn't a better word) did. Especially when the act was about government, not even religion.

[christie121015]

I think to build a mosque so close to ground zero is disrespect. Of all places in Ny why there? I think they all will are laughing at us right now and we allow them to do it.

[NaomiK]

Something else to think about, Al-Qaeda has killed more people of the Muslim religion than any other religion. Sure sounds to me that all Muslims don't agree with them :)

[Kay at Parenting.com]

I am not proud of myself for saying this, but I cannot help but agree with christie. Columbine was not done in the name of any religion, and neither did Timothy McVeigh. Did they shout from the roof tops, "We are doing this in the name of the Catholic's in all of the US? No they did not, AND they did it on their own home land. They did not plan this attack for years and then go to another country and kill thousands of people. Please leave the "everyone has the right to practise their religion in the US" out of this for now. I am not talking about not wanting them to practise their religion. They can worship Alla all they want....but why do they have to do it so close to the area, where we lost all those lives?

But at the same time, they are building a memorial on ground zero, and that will represent all the lives that were lost. We will have that site to visit, and to remember (not like we will ever forget) that day. Will their Mosque be more than a place to worship? Is there a chance they will use that location to plan another attack on US soil? I personally do not think they will do it by air again. But that is just my opinion.

[NaomiK]

My point was that we cannot stereotype an entire population based on a few bad apples. Timothy McVeigh was American. Does that mean all Americans are planning to go bomb someplace? No, thats ridiculous. The terrorists were Muslim, does that mean every Muslim is planning a terrorists attack? No, equally ridiculous.

NOT all Muslims are terrorist. Not all terrorists are Muslim. Mosques are NOT a place to plan terrorists attacks, any more than a Christian church plans to attack people.

If the terrorists are planning another attack, they will do that whether they are 2 blocks or two states from ground zero. Its not like they are going to attack ground zero again.

For me, this isnt even so much about the everyone can practice religion aspect, its about not judging an entire population aspect.

[H.Starr]

9/11 was not done "in the name of religion." It was an attack on our GOVERNMENT. Hence why they attacked a GOVERNMENT building....NOT a RELIGIOUS building of any sort. Hence why there were Muslims killed in the buildings too, NOT just non-Muslims. If they were simply saying, "WOOOO! ISLAM, YES! GO ALLAH!" I sure think they'd have strategized a bit better for something that made sense to that 'cause.' But that wasn't the case.

And since Timothy McVeigh didn't bomb for religion ANY MORE OR LESS than the 9/11 attacks....he should be treated equally. Damn Catholics. We need to get all those filthy Catholics out of the US! You can't trust them when they get angry! And ESPECIALLY no Catholic churches allowed in or around Oklahoma City!! Blasphemy!!
Sounds stupid, doesn't it??? ;) No more stupid than being prejudice against Muslims.

[ra11en]

I think it is in extremely poor taste to build an Islamic anything that close to ground zero. I'm not against them having a community center or mosque, but I find it extremely distasteful.

The extremist group that claimed responsibility for killing so many innocent Americans did in fact CLAIM IT WAS IN SUPPORT OF THEIR RELIGION. Period. Whether that's true or not really doesn't matter IMO. I have nothing against the true Muslim faith, but the extremist used it as their platform.

I think a community center is a great idea - many Americans have ill-conceived notions about the Muslim culture, and maybe a community center would help with that while providing a center for those of that culture. However, I find it disrespectful to have it so close to ground zero. Whether warranted or not, it is causing a huge uproar and is a very sensitive issues for the majority of Americans. That should be respected IMO, whether it's a rational feeling or not; too many lives were lost on that day.

[NaomiK]

Ra11en - They did say it was to support their religion, but that is exactly my point. What one Muslim believes isnt going to be exactly the same as what the next one believes. Just like you and the next Christian wont have the same beliefs.

[H.Starr]

If I blew up the White House and said I did it because I love Jesus, is the country going to turn against Christianity?
Let's not be ridiculous.

[charliesmommy]

Hey Heather! How are you? Miss ya! ;)

I think it is in bad taste. Not because I am offended but because so many other people are.

[ra11en]

I'm not going to debate it with anyone, nor am I going to try to compare it to any other "theoretical" situation. It's distasteful and disrespectful to many people that are still grieiving the loss of so many and feel that culture is to blame, right or wrong that is how they feel. It's in bad taste.

[H.Starr]

Plenty of Muslim people are grieving the loss of relatives and friends who were killed in that same attack. Why should their loss be seen as less important than anyone else's? That seems like a silly argument to me. There wasn't any big fiasco when other churches were rebuilt in the same area.

[charliesmommy]

I didn't realize this community center is being rebuilt. I thought it was a whole new entity. Well, in that case, yea, rebuild it.

[Kay at Parenting.com]

It is not being rebuilt. They want to build it two blocks from ground zero. If it was there on 911, I don't think it would be such a big deal. But it was not. Everyone has complained and offered nothing. Until the Govenor offered up a piece of land in exchange for the one they have. No one is saying they can't worship in the US. This country was build on freedom of religion...I get that. But I have mixed feelings about the location.

To my knowledge no American has ever gone into another country and bombed anything any where. When an American goes over there, they have to wear those things on their heads. Not because they are worshiping their religion, but because that country is demanding they do it.

Other countries do not care what religion we want to practise when we are in their country. I do not understand why they get to do just about anything they want when they are here in our country, but we can't when we go to their country.

You might be right, it might have been an attack on the government, but the twin towers was not government, it was all civilians. And not one plane but two planes attacked us...the American people. I get why they attacked the Pentagon, as that is one of our government buildings. But that does not hold true with the twin towers.

[JButler345]

"You might be right, it might have been an attack on the government, but the twin towers was not government, it was all civilians..."

By the same token, 9/11 was not caused by ALL Muslims or worshippers of Islam, it was caused by a few crazy fanatics who have been denounced by most Muslims. Unless we are claiming that the religion of Islam was responsible for 9/11, I see no reason not to put a mosque there and let the 99.99% of Muslims who were not involved pray and worship alongside of other religions. Here in New York we have more than 600,000 Muslims and the idea that we should exclude a mosque from the site is both insulting and ineffective. You cannot reach and understand those who have differing opinions than you by shunning them. The only way to reach peace is through understanding and tolerance. In my opinion...

[H.Starr]

By the same token, 9/11 was not caused by ALL Muslims or worshippers of Islam, it was caused by a few crazy fanatics who have been denounced by most Muslims. Unless we are claiming that the religion of Islam was responsible for 9/11, I see no reason not to put a mosque there and let the 99.99% of Muslims who were not involved pray and worship alongside of other religions. Here in New York we have more than 600,000 Muslims and the idea that we should exclude a mosque from the site is both insulting and ineffective. You cannot reach and understand those who have differing opinions than you by shunning them. The only way to reach peace is through understanding and tolerance. In my opinion...

Agreed 100%.



Also, "To my knowledge no American has ever gone into another country and bombed anything any where."

Really?? Let's rethink that statement a bit, shall we?
Americans barge their nosy little way into countries where they don't belong, bombing and starting wars, whenever we feel like it. Because we're the 'Super Power' that gives us the right, supposedly. I don't think so. It's quite possible that if we'd mind our own business once in a while, a lot less countries would hate us.


But on topic, the Muslims who live in the US had/have NOTHING to do with 9/11. It's no different than if the terrorists were from Italy. Should we shun all Italian Americans then? That's ridiculous. Seriously, ridiculous. The Muslims here should not be shunned or punished or hated or feared, or any other negative verb, over what a couple nutcases from elsewhere did.
In fact! The Muslims here are just as hated by those extremists as non-Muslims are! Their religion is irrelevant at that point. They live in the US, they are lumped with Christian Americans by the extremists. We are on the same side here. I think you would be awfully hard pressed to find a Muslim American who agrees with 9/11.

[allisonb]

Actually, the attacks on 9/11 were in the name of religion. Have you watched the tapes of Bin Laden? He specifically quotes his religion as one of the reasons for the attack. I personally think that it is very disrespectful to build it so close to the Twin Towers. I think it's disrespectful to all of the lives that were lost on that day, and I think that it would cause a lot of anger (justified or not) towards the people attending that center, in the end probably causing violence towards the innocent Muslims who attend the center.

[H.Starr]

The psychotic extremist terrorists are not even remotely similar to legitimate Muslims...
The Muslims in the US are not psychotic extremist terrorists. There is no need to treat them as such.

[ewoods]

Actually, the attacks on 9/11 were in the name of religion. Have you watched the tapes of Bin Laden? He specifically quotes his religion as one of the reasons for the attack. I personally think that it is very disrespectful to build it so close to the Twin Towers. I think it's disrespectful to all of the lives that were lost on that day, and I think that it would cause a lot of anger (justified or not) towards the people attending that center, in the end probably causing violence towards the innocent Muslims who attend the center.

I think it's been clearly stated that claiming to do something in the name of a religion or god does not necessarily mean that all members of that religion agree with you.

The Lambs of Christ is a Christian organization that supports the killing of abortion doctors in the name of God. The Westboro Baptist Church holds up signs outside of military funerals that say, "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and, "God Hates Fags" and they use scripture from the bible to support their message. The most active Ku Klux Klan organization in America is a protestant church called The Church of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Historians have said that many Nazis viewed the Holocaust as vengeance against the Jews for killing Jesus. The Israeli government demolishes civilian homes that are owned by Palestinians. The Pope sanctioned crusades against Muslims for centuries. Protestants have been burned at the stake by Catholics. Pagans have been burned at the stake by Protestants.

In my opinion there isn't a single religion in existence which is free of murderous extremists, and yet we keep building churches of all kinds all over the world. Why? Because MOST people who practice Christianity or Judaism or Islam are non-violent and it's unfair to judge them based on the actions of extremists simply because those extremists CLAIM to belong to the same religion.

[MrsBurke]

Building that mosque near the site of 911 is really a very bad idea..there are many places where they can build that where they won't hurt anybody's feelings.

[H.Starr]

I know why, because it shows that the Muslims can do what they want, when they want!

Of course they can. Just like you or I. ;)
This is the US, a free country. What does being Muslim have to do with it?

[ewoods]

My point is that America lets people do and say as they please because of lawsuits. Used to you could tell people No, but you cant anymore.

You used to be able to lock up Japanese-Americans in internment camps simply for being Japanese, but you can't do that anymore either. I like to think we, as a society, have evolved a bit. People do and say as they please because our constitution and bill of rights protect our freedom of speech and religion. It has nothing to do with discrimination lawsuits. Such lawsuits wouldn't be effective if they weren't backed up by the documents upon which this country was founded.

I'm a bit disturbed by your use of the phrase "get away with things." What exactly are they "getting away with?" They own the land and it's well within their rights to build on that land as they see fit. Those rights are protected by the first and fourteenth amendments:


Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;...


No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

The owner of the land was born in New York and is a citizen of the United States. Why would you have any reason to believe that the government could simply deny him the right to build a mosque on his own property without any legal justification?

[Kay at Parenting.com]

If in fact he was born in the US, wouldn't you think he would be a little more sensitive to the situation and not build it so close to ground zero? The govenor did offer another piece of land free of charge so the mosque could be built.

I understand the constitution, but back when it was written, I do not think they could conceive the idea of what happened on 911.

[andbabymakes4]

It would be in the best of the muslim center owner NOT to build by ground zero, I have a feeling some crazy anti-muslim fanatic is going to blow-up or do some serious damage to that center and hurt alot of innocent ppl. Whatever the owner is thinking he has to think about the safety of his ppl and his property and build elsewhere just to be on the safe side! I know it sux but it is going to make alot of ppl mad whether we like it or not.

[SweetOne710]

I debated even entering this thread because of the ignorance i've encountered surrounding this topic. But was quite surprised to read a lot of the comments. The religion did not attack us on 9/11, plain nd simple.

[SweetOne710]

To my knowledge no American has ever gone into another country and bombed anything any where. When an American goes over there, they have to wear those things on their heads. Not because they are worshiping their religion, but because that country is demanding they do it.

Other countries do not care what religion we want to practise when we are in their country. I do not understand why they get to do just about anything they want when they are here in our country, but we can't when we go to their country.

Wow...for starters, americans have bombed, raped, killed, terrorized, threatened, etc...PLENTY of ppl. Lets be honest for a second, our country was founded on lies, violence, and corruption, nd still very much exists until this day. Dont get me wrong, i'm a proud American nd wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but i'm also honest about our faults as well, because our country is in no way perfect.

And as far as us having to put on burqa's (yes, they're not called "things", they're called burqa"s). They do not seperate government and religion there unlike we do and most other countries do. Does that mean they are wrong for doing that, no. It just means they're DIFFERENT. I hate to be so judgemental, but you seem to have the attitude i think a lot of Americans and Western countries can tend to have, and that's that if it's different than our customs or beliefs, that automatically makes them wrong for doing it or believing in it.

And you don't understand why they get to "do what they want"...You do realize you're in America right. Yeah, because we have to wear burqa's in their country they can't do what they want to here even though we live in a free country...how childish. That's something a 5th grader would say.

And by the way, just in case u might not know. Your religion was formed from Islam, whatever that religion may be. Islam is the 1st and oldest religion, and all others derived from Islam in one way or another.

[ajbrownies]

Wow. I cannot believe the justification for reverse discrimination. How is it OK to lump all Muslims into a group of terrorists? How is it disrespectful. While I think the site should be used for a memorial I think that even the government offering them free land elsewhere shows how narrow-minded our country is. By making such blanket opinions about a religion you aren't acting any better than the extremists who think all Americans are infidels.