International Burn a Koran DayFollow

Building it at that site? Yes. Probably. But not for the reasons you seem to think.


The point being that had they involved more people in the decision making process, and had it truly been about building a cross-religious/cross-cultural center, the decision about where to build it could have been made with those other people's input. Their input would have been "you shouldn't build it there". And if the objective was to build bridges, this would have led to an alternative location which everyone could agree with and there would not have been a controversy in the first place.


Instead of dumping the decision on the people and creating a huge controversy and stoking the fires of anti-Islamic sentiment, the result would have been actual healing and bridge building and cross-religious interaction on a joint venture. Had this been done, we would have had a positive outcome.


But it wasn't. And it wasn't the fault of the people who are complaining about it now.



Who's oppressing a minority? You don't have a right to build any building you want anywhere you want for any purpose you want. That's why we have things like city planning boards, zoning laws, chamber of commerce oversight, and whatnot. This is purely about a decision made which did not take into account how the majority of people would feel about it.


So yeah. It's relevant to point out how the majority feels about it.

Still waiting on that cite. For something that's the "real" reason everyone is upset, I'm not sure why this is taking so long. I mean, everyone had to find out somehow so they could get upset for this "real" reason, right?

You ************* HYPOCRITE. Then why in the world do you argue for half a page that people are up in arms about the building permit speed when you know damn well that people are angry ONLY because it's a Muslim building? Good Lord, I know you love your strawmen, and that one took the cake, but there was no point to it if you're just going to throw it out the window several posts later. Stop channeling Varus!

Clearly gbaji is of the opinion that this hallowed ground should be filled with more **** shops, because we are a nation of Pornsbyterians.

You know, some of the 9/11 victims were also Muslims. Like Paulsol said, when the terrorists high-jacked those planes, they also high-jacked Islam. American Muslims, who were peaceful, law-abiding, discreet citizens, have seen their everyday lives change radically after those attacks. Probably more than any other US community group. Especially in the way they, and their religion, are perceived by their fellow Americans. Every time you conflate Islam and these terrorists, you're basically labelling a sizeable population of the US as "terrorists".

America will have to learn to live with Islam. Whether it's right next to ground zero, or in Tennessee. The only alternative is to alienate a sizeable proportion of their population, and I can't see how this would do anyone any good.

The last thing I'm curious about is who these "anti- GZM" protesters are protesting at. Surely not the government, as we wouldn't it to impede on private property. Surely not the Imam in question, as anti-Islam rhetoric and Koran-burning are not usually the most effective ways to convince a Muslim he's being insensitive. The NYC Planning Council? The media? God? So... who?

But still no evidence.

A brief look into St. Nicholas Church shows that rebuilding on its prior site requires integration with the continually delayed 9/11 memorial site (including a bomb screening center built underground directly below it) and a site nearby requires a land transfer with the New York Port Authority. The original church itself was physically crushed under the collapsing Tower Two, not just struck by debris a few blocks away from a far corner of the site. Comparing the two situations is absolutely ridiculous. Obviously it must be a deliberate attempt to slow down the awesome spread of a tiny Eastern Orthodox chapel via bureaucracy and red tape!

"Americans need to keep their meddling asses out of others' affairs"?

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So, you have no idea how the oil market works then?

You also haven't backed that up. I can't find any source about the this supposed bypassing of normal procedures for the mosque.

It's ok, I'm still waiting on a cite that a medical professional will move internationally for the sake of a pay raise. Or something like that.

"An elephant never forgets."