On this subject I am wearing the shoe on the other foot. I am not Muslim, I am American. In America, I believe in freedoms that came from the Enlightenment, such as freedom of religion, and right to assembly. I am an athiest and therefore I get the most flack out of anyone in the world. However, I know these people want a community center and to bring a sense of community and unity to the world. Islam is about peace, and to let 20 crazies who flew a plane into two buildings speak for the billion others is just wrong. Like I said, do you let the Westboro Baptist Church speak for all of Christianity?
You are missing my point and if your read my OP you would have read that I am not saying they can’t build and practice “freely”. I to am an atheist, more agnostic if anything. But this is about respect and not if they CAN but if they SHOULD.
I can’t tell you how many articles I have read about Catholic, Orthodox, etc etc churches being denied in an area for lesser reasons. Actually, during the attack a Greek Orthodox church at Ground Zero was destroyed by the fallout. Guess what? They were denied a permit to rebuild. So why are they being denied and the Mosque is being accepted?
They need to build it elsewhere. We arent telling them they cant practice their religion in America, we are telling them to show some respect for the people of NYC and just build it further away. If they cant at least respect that fact they deserve to have their mosque burnt to the ground after its built.
Ok but you can say the same thing for many other types of churches as well. For instance, like I just posted above, a Greek Orthodox Church that was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks was denied a building permit to rebuild…Why is it ok to deny them but not the Mosque?
the “mosque” isnt near ground zero, it’s in a dilapidated store front. it’s also a community center, so it may bring back some prosperity to the neighborhood.
where was the greek church in reference to the twin towers?
the problem i have with this issue is, if it was a church or a synagogue being built, we wouldnt be hearing about this at all.
WTF? How is it deadly? The only people who ‘die’ from religion are the extremists who blow themselves up in the name of religion. The only holy wars being initiated these days are by Muslim Extremists (NOT Muslims in general!). You don’t see the Catholic Church marching on the Holy Land as part of some crusade. Yes, perhaps in the past history of man kind it was ‘deadly’ but in 2010, I’d be hard pressed to say religion is the #1 source of death.
:facepalm
For the record, I myself am against some of the aspects of the religion/denomination I’m part of, but I’m generally a peaceful person so I just let it go. Don’t necessarily follow all the rules my local church has put in place.
Being a person of faith is more about just that, faith, than it is about being ‘religious’. A lot of religion has to do with politics, etc. It’s a relationship with the God you choose to worship more than it is anything else.
Lots of good points in this thread, regardless, I think these people should be respectful. They had every right to inquire about building a mosque, but if people are so up in arms about it, they should kindly just pick another location. It’s that simple.