[WAR] so let's talk about this mosque in New York

[Fifthfiend]

Link for general reference

To recap:

- Moderate muslims decide to build community center in New York, named for era of peace and tolerance among people of many faiths, hoping to promote such peace and tolerance

- Bigots decide that this building is too close to Ground Zero, because all muslims everywhere bear collective responsibility for the actions of terrorists, and also the World Trade Center was actually a consecrated church of Christianity. And also the community center is a mosque, and also they hate the name, because who even knows.

- Various cowardly and/or closeted-bigot politicians say that yes America totally does have religious freedom or whatever they guess, but muslims shouldn't build their community center anyway, because the important thing about religious freedom is that we should throw ours away in order to appease bigots.

- I headdesk over and over again

Actually there's one good thing about this story which is that it lays bare the stark anti-Muslim bigotry that's simmered beneath the surface of society for a long time underneath a condescending veneer of how we're bombing Muslim countries out of sincere concern for their freedom that previously only came out in weird, inexplicable ways like the whole "OBAMA IS A SECRET MUSLIM" thing.

[Ryanderman]

Something also of interest that's been brought to the surface, just how difficult it is to get a mosque built anywhere in the USA.

It's not about Ground Zero. That fronted reason for protest just happens to be more politically acceptable. If it was just about Ground Zero, it wouldn't be happeneing all over the country. It's

...the stark anti-Muslim bigotry that's simmered beneath the surface of society for a long time...

I've been guilty of it in the past. And it bothers me that I have.

[Kim]

IIRC you can't even see the community center from Ground Zero, nor Ground Zero from the community center. There's buildings in the way or some shit. But yeah, this is pretty bogus what-the-fuckery.

Glenn Beck compared it to building a Timothy McVeigh memorial across from where he bombed, or if Rihanna payed for karate lessons for her abusive ex. I tried to strangle Beck with my mind, but it didn't work. I am still trying.

EDIT: It might have been one of the other two Fox douchebags, actually. Angry Fox News jackasses all sound the same to me.

[Viridis]

The building is neither a mosque nor at Ground Zero. End of story.

Also, this is a good take on it.

Also.

- Bigots decide that this building is too close to Ground Zero, because all muslims everywhere bear collective responsibility for the actions of terrorists, and also the World Trade Center was actually a consecrated church of Christianity. And also the community center is a mosque, and also they hate the name, because who even knows.

Also also.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

It's 2 blocks awayfrom Ground Zero. Someone should totally take a map and ask them to draw acceptable places for mosques on the map.

[krogothwolf]

That's because the dude, Feisal Abdul Rauf, that is backing/building it is totally being portrayed as an American hating jerk cause ya know, he won't call Hamas Terrorists because he didn't want to become their enemy so he pretty much said he wasn't gonna answer the question and then he pointed out that American Policies in the Middle East is why the terrorists attacked them. The saying the best way to prevent more terrorist actions against the US is to change their policy in the Middle East to one that doesn't help full the Anti-American hatred there isn't right! Wanting Peace is A BAD THING YO!

I mean, look at how bad this guy is he is totally such an evil man because of this. He's so evil he condemned 9/11 and called it Un-Islamic! What a bad person!!! He clearly has ulterior motives for building this Mosque! Like, probably creating some American grown Muslim extremists! Why, that's what one columnist said like 4 days ago in a paper so it must be true!!!

Seriously though, I really think people need to get over this Muslim hating thing because only a small portion of em are the crazy extremists. I for one support Park51 and hope it helps with peace and tolerance to all! It also looks pretty cool from the outside.

You know, the more I read over the crazy part of my post, the more I come to realize how insane people are to actually think that way.

[Nique]

1) There is a Shinto temple near Pearl Harbor
2) There is a Mosque inside the Pentagon (also a target of the 9/11 attacks is I remember correctly)
3) Freak out about those too
4) ???
5) Profit

[Liquid Snake]

Man, you know what I actually want to happen right now?

I want the Muslims to build a Mosque on Ground Zero.

Two Mosques actually. Shi'ite and Sunni.

And I want a Catholic church, Protestant church, an Orthodox church, a Jewish temple, a Buddhist temple, a Hindu temple, and some Darwinian atheist monument showing the evolution of man up there, too. Toss in a behemoth statue of the spaghetti monster. I want Ground Zero itself to be transformed into one gigantic clusterfuck of every imaginable faith and no faith at all, with the exception of Scientologists who I want to stay the fuck away.

Because what would be more quintessentially American than us giving Osama bin Laden the middle finger by showing him what America's really all about? Complete religious freedom, absolute freedom of speech, people from all different faiths and ethnicities and worldviews coming together for one awesome party. It's too bad it won't happen.

[McTahr]

Notice that this is an election year (Not a major one, but the House and one third of the Senate), and the Republicans are the ones who possibly stand to gain anything from a campaign based on fear and bigotry, especially given their history.

2 + 2 = Godawful bid for Republican majority congress.

Effectively, this is taking attention away from any major events that could serve to increase faith in the left, such as the general in charge of Afghanistan's military troops stating that we are actually vaguely achieving things, the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq, etc.

(Also, it's really throwing a wrench in General Petraeus' plan for Afghanistan considering they were trying to, you know, not severely piss everyone off and here we went and showed how we're still all moronic bigots.)

[Kim]

Originally Posted by McTahr

Notice that this is an election year (Not a major one, but the House and one third of the Senate), and the Republicans are the ones who possibly stand to gain anything from a campaign based on fear and bigotry, especially given their history.

2 + 2 = Godawful bid for Republican majority congress.

Exactly.