The Right-Wing's Racist Freak Out Over the "Ground Zero" Muslim Center

[Joanne98]

By , The Progress Report
Posted on August 2, 2010, Printed on August 3, 2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/147714/

In December, the New York Times reported that "for months," hundreds of Muslims had been gathering every Friday at an abandoned building two blocks north of the World Trade Center for prayer and readings from the Qur'an in Arabic. A group of Muslims purchased the building -- which had been damaged from debris resulting from the 9/11 attacks -- and now, led by the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA) and the Cordoba Initiative, plan to build a 15-story Islamic community center there that will include a mosque, an arts center, a workout facility, and other public spaces. ASMA founder Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said the project "sends the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11." "We want to push back against the extremists," he added. Other faith leaders offered support for the project. " subscribes to my credo: 'Live and let live,'" said Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a spiritual leader at a nearby synagogue. "Building so close is owning the tragedy. It's a way of saying: 'This is something done by people who call themselves Muslims. We want to be here to repair the breach, as the Bible says,'" said Joan Brown Campbell, a Christian leader in New York. Despite interfaith support for the project, the idea of having a Muslim center anywhere near Ground Zero has set off right-wing outrage based in bigotry, paranoia, bias, racism, and intolerance.

RIGHT-WING FREAK OUT: In May, news of the project grew more widespread and inflamed anti-Muslim rhetoric from the right (even though there has been a mosque in the neighborhood since the 1980s). Enraged (and now disgraced) Tea Party leader Mark Williams said the site would allow Muslims to worship their "monkey-god." From there, a right-wing freak out was born. "I hope somebody blows it up," said conservative radio talk show host Michael Berry. Rush Limbaugh said that because of the project, alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed won't "have an impossible time" getting a "sympathetic jury" if he is tried in New York. The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol writes today that in order to save his presidency, President Obama should say the Islamic center is "a bad idea." Conservative blogger and executive director of "Stop Islamization of America" (SIOA) Pamela Geller said the Islamic center is a "triumphal mosque" on "conquered lands." The National Republican Trust PAC -- which has doled out funds to various Republican candidates for Congress, including Sen. John Thune (R-SD) -- recently launched an ad urging Americans to "join the fight" against the mosque project. Not making any distinction between the 9/11 terrorists and ASMA or Muslims in general, the ad says, "On Sept. 11, they declared war against us. And to celebrate that murder of 3,000 Americans, they want to build a monstrous 13-story mosque at Ground Zero. ... That mosque is a monument to their victory and an invitation for more. A mosque at Ground Zero must not stand." Hostility to building mosques has spread across the country. In Mufreesboro, Tennessee, residents gathered to protest the construction of a mosque, while the planned construction of a mosque in Southern California is inspiring similarly fierce opposition from local conservatives.

MAINSTREAMING BIGOTRY: Republicans both in and out of Congress are attacking the project, while conservative news outlets Fox News and the Washington Times have joined the chorus. Rep. Peter King (R-NY) called the proposed Islamic center "very offensive" and "wrong." Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin called on "peaceful Muslims" to "refudiate" the Ground Zero mosque. And, criticizing the proposal, former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich argued that the U.S. should model itself after a non-democratic country. "There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia," he said, calling the ASMA and the Cordoba Initiative "hostile to our civilization." Last week, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which describes itself as "fighting anti-Semitism, bigotry and extremism" sided with the hate. The group acknowledged that the attacks on the project stem from "bigotry" and are "unfair," but nevertheless agreed with the extremists that a mosque should not be built near Ground Zero. "This is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right," an ADL statement said, adding, "In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain -- unnecessarily -- and that is not right."

http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/147714/the_right-wing%27s_racist_freak_out_over_the_%22ground_zero%22_muslim_center/

[louis-t]

1. Are there Christian churches near near Murrah Federal Bldg?

[walnutpie]

2. uh, Muslim is not a race

And as a New Yorker who had colleagues in the WTC both times it was attacked, I can tell you that a Mosque in that area is a giant slap in the face. It will be perceived both by New Yorkers and those who attached us as a monument to the fuckers who hijacked that plane.

[dmallind]

3. Ermm.., were no Muslims attacked there? Isn't there a mosque there already?

Would a church in Oklahoma City be a slap in the face to those killed by fanatical Christians, or is that "different"?

[burnsei sensei]

24. Timothy McVeigh

and his friends were not fanatical Christians.
There was no religious motivation for the Oklahoma City bombing.
Don't distort the past.

[dmallind]

26. Bullshit - McVeigh lived in a Dominionist compound and Nicholls was one too. NT

[damntexdem]

5. And the perceptions you note are examples of RACISM!

I confounds not only religion, blaming all of Islam for what some self-alleged fundies did; it also in the rhetoric of the freakouters identifies the Islamic Center with people who are the 'others' than 'true Americans' who were attacked. In fact, Muslims, and Arabs, were among those who died in the Twin Towers.

To attack an Islamic Center as being identified with the 9/11 attackers is to engage in both religious intolerance and racism.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Go away. The vast majority of New York City dwellers have no problem with this. Islam is no more the

cause of 9/11 than Christianity is the cause of McVeigh blowing up the federal building in OKC.

[burnsei sensei]

25. My point exactly.

McVeigh's motivations were political.
His hatred was political.

[Jefferson23]

12. Why would it be a slap in the face, you still buying into the bogus

scam that we were attacked because their religion is all about killing non- Muslims, and of course they hate us for our freedoms??

The building will be two blocks from Ground Zero and will only be a monument to the fuckers in the minds of people who
are blinded by their prejudice.

[PSzymeczek]

20. And the "mosque"

is a prayer room that will be available to all faiths.

[Loki]

4. Are there Christian churches near Auschwitz

are there Japanese temples near Pearl Harbor, are there Lutheran churches near Normandy or for that matter near London. Ignorance, bigotry, racism and hate, the Four Horsemen of the Republican Party or what is left of it. I'm ashamed of these bigots, and I've had enough.

[PSzymeczek]

21. Actually, there is a Shinto shrine

just a few miles from Pearl Harbor.

[SnakeEyes]

23. Actually there was a HUGE controversy over Auschwitz

The Carmelite nuns set up a convent near Auschwitz with some of the same good intentions as the mosque and it caused the same kinds of outrage and criticism from the Jewish community. Pope John Paul II eventually intervened and asked that, despite the fact their intentions were noble and godly, that they move to a convent elsewhere in the city and continue their prayers for forgiveness and for those killed because their convent location was divisive and doing more harm than good.

Just because intentions are right and legally they can do it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do... the question then becomes should they? If I were the Imams behind this I'd choose another location further away for the sake of those that are offended, for the victims families and friends, to show understanding and hopefully help with unity not divisiveness.

[old mark]

6. I don't care for religions at all, but these so-called "christians" make me want to punch them out.

I have never heard such evil, self righteous, and ignorant shit as what comes from the "christian" right.

They are hateful.

mark

[walnutpie]

10. dude, look in the mirror

There is only one person on this thread spouting hateful, evil, self righteous, and ignorant rhetoric. Actually, there are several, but really, chill.

The lack of sensitivity for the building's supporters and builders is astounding, Islam played an enormous role in the motivation and justification for the attack, this building would be perceived by both the attackers and those of us who were attached as a symbol of victory.

The false charge of racism simply denigrates its potency when properly applied. Using it lightly does the world a huge disservice, but hey, as long as you are free to dismiss the feelings of those who you disagree with, who cares if you set race relations back 40 years.

[old mark]

13. First, the building is 2 blocks away from ground zero-in NYC, that is a whole other world.

Second, it is a community center, not a "Mosque" - it is similar to a YMCA or a Jewish Community Center.

Third, right wing funamentalists "christians" suck.

Look in your own fucking mirror, "dude"...

mark

[ET Awful]

15. BS. First, it's not a Mosque, it's a community center with a mosque inside.

Second, there's been an actual mosque in that neighborhood for years.

Third, using the foolish criteria of condemning all Muslims for the acts of a few is as foolish as holding all Catholics responsible for the acts of a few priests. Do you think having a Catholic church near a school should be condemned? How about having a Catholic church near a synagogue considering the Catholic involvement in historic pogroms?

Hell, using that criteria, buildings occupied by white people ought to be outlaws everywhere that Native Americans once lived, after all it's a constant slap in the face to those killed . . . right?

[jberryhill]

18. "Victory" for an enemy of America is to destroy the First Amendment

This is America. We don't tell people what they can and cannot pray about on their own property.

[Bitwit1234]

7. Excuse me -- but don't the republicans have hissy fits about the

Ten Commandments and the fact that they should be displayed every where. Doesn't that mean they should also practice them. You know they should do unto others as they would want others to do unto them...I don't get it. Are obeying the Ten Commandments only supposed to be practiced by every one else.

[driver8]

14. The Ten Commandments should only be followed when it is convenient...

Other than that, they are just words on stone tablets.

[madmax]

9. The tragedy is the failure of Congress

to pass the bill for more aid to the first responders of 9/11 who are still suffering for their unselfish heroism.


Where's the outrage! :mad:

[Old Vet]

11. Personally, I have no use at all for organized religion,

But there a good people of the opinion this mosque is just not appropriate.

[jberryhill]

16. And their opinion counts for what?

This is America.

You want to build whatever you want on your property, you go right ahead.

When the fuck did it become your business what people want to pray about on their own damned property?

[ET Awful]

17. We call those people UNINFORMED or BIGOTED.

Either they are uninformed (such as yourself) and believe that a community center with a small mosque inside equals a 15 story behemoth mosque.

Or they are bigoted against Muslims because of the acts of a few who claim to be Muslims but are a minor percentage of the whole of the worlds billion or more Muslims.

Which are you? Uninformed or bigoted?

[Enthusiast]

19. K&R "MAINSTREAMING BIGOTRY"

This is how it started in Nazi Germany. The Nazis didn't start out gassing Jews. It started with name calling (political incorrectness) and gradually escalated into physical violence.

And we must remember what else has been mainstreamed in this society: extreme rudeness, ignorance, greed, cruelty and torture. Bigotry, Greed, Ignorance, Rudeness, Cruelty and Torture - this is a bad combination

[Douglas Carpenter]

22. kick and recommend

Oz Sultan, the programming director for the center, said the complex was based on Jewish community centers and Y.M.C.A.'s in Manhattan. It is to have a board composed of Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders and is intended to create a national model of moderate Islam.

“We are looking to build bridges between faiths,” Mr. Sultan said in an interview.

City officials, particularly Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, have forcefully defended the project on the grounds of religious freedom, saying that government has no place dictating where a house of worship is located. The local community board has given overwhelming backing to the project, and the city's landmarks commission is expected to do the same on Tuesday.

“What is great about America, and particularly New York, is we welcome everybody, and if we are so afraid of something like this, what does that say about us?” Mr. Bloomberg asked recently.

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/07/31/the-defamation-league/?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0vIfS1g3b

[Moostache]

27. 1000 times NO!

Not "no, you can't build that HERE"....but "NO, you can't tell ANYONE what they can build on their land, PERIOD!"

The irony of this that is totally lost on these morons is that the intrusive, Big Brother evil "Gummint" they profess to see and fear in the Obama administration is actually their secret wet dream. They are not mad because Obama is a totalitarian or socialist or evil or anything really...they are mad that he is not seeking to impose their American Taliban line of thought.

You know the tenets:
- women and minorities are NOT equal
(and thus may be denied rights with impunity)

- religion is not free
(and you must worship Jeebus the way I SAY you must worship Jeebus)

- government MUST enforce the will of the people in the bedroom
(no non-opposite sex outside of the missionary position or marriage...unless of course, you mean MY marriage, which is none of YOUR business...)

- government must NEVER interfere with education or indoctrinate the youth of the nation
(unless of course we need to deny scientific consensus on matters like end of life care or terminal conditions, energy policy, climate change, evolution, efficacy of condoms for prevention of HIV transmission, etc....)

- teachers must not provide bias when teaching things like science or history
(unless we are talking about perverting science to meet our own nefarious ends or genuflecting at the altar of the blessed memory of Saint Ronnie the Great...then of course, no amount of superlatives is ever enough...)

- government will not hinder, tax or regulate any businesses
(unless of course, said business is a direct competition for MY business, in which case my bought and paid for legislator will take care of me and get laws passed to eliminate them and allow my continued monopoly so that I may continue buying his worthless ass for pennies on the dollar I benefit!)

The hypocrisy and sheer chutzpah of these bastards is amazing. I actually wonder how they go through life without a constant and severe case of whiplash!