# Mosque to be built two blocks from Ground Zero **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 14, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432 "2010-05-14T14:36:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 45
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/881 "2010-08-27T16:29:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > I get nothing at all, no page one, no page two, zip, zilch, nada damn thing… > > OMG! Google is in on it! They’ve gone totally darkside! {heavy breathing} Google, I am your father {heavy breathing} use Gonzo’s link. There a picture of Barack shaking hands with a man in a turban. Damming evidence for sure because we know Bush would never do that, Cheney would never do that, Rumsfeld would never shake hands with Saddam, etc etc etc. just another lame joke courtesy of CD. thanks for being a great audience and don’t forget to tip the waitress {it’s easy, she’s already leaning to one side} ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/882 "2010-08-27T17:59:46Z")
[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/](http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB82/) Rumsfield was a Saddam backer and funneled a lot of money his way when he thought he was useful. He turned on him when there was more profit on the other side of the equation. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/883 "2010-08-27T18:50:57Z")
There is a mosque 4 blocks from ground zero. It has been there for 30 years. Should it be torn down? If it is OK, should 3 blocks away be proper. Well 2 1/2 which is this new one, isn’t much closer and it is not at ground zero This entire argument is BS. It is a political argument that is designed to rally haters around the conservatives during election season. Many Muslims are here to practice a newer religion which does not hold women back. All religions undergo modernization and morph slowly into something else. We should be happy they have mosques here. They will become westernized after awhile. That is not a recommendation. We are far too war mongering and like to get interfere in politics in sovereign nations. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/884 "2010-08-27T20:04:55Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There is a mosque 4 blocks from ground zero. It has been there for 30 years. Should it be torn down? Apparently half of all Republicans think so. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/885 "2010-08-27T20:12:03Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > There is a mosque 4 blocks from ground zero. It has been there for 30 years. Should it be torn down? > If it is OK, should 3 blocks away be proper. Well 2 1/2 which is this new one, isn’t much closer and it is not at ground zero > This entire argument is BS. It is a political argument that is designed to rally haters around the conservatives during election season. Many Muslims are here to practice a newer religion which does not hold women back. All religions undergo modernization and morph slowly into something else. We should be happy they have mosques here. They will become westernized after awhile. > That is not a recommendation. We are far too war mongering and like to get interfere in politics in sovereign nations. I’ve been suggesting on another site that the opposition to Park 51 offer some practical real world help in relocating. Maybe they can take whatever is near the Mosque four blocks away and relocate it to the proposed site, and build the new Community Center next to that Mosque. That wouldn’t be too expensive or too much trouble would it? Now all the opposition needs to do is help raise the millions necessary for that to happen. After all, if you’re asking people to surrender their civil liberties and millions in investment so your sensitivities aren’t offended you ought to be able to offer some practical help. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/886 "2010-08-27T22:17:17Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Many Muslims are here to practice a newer religion which does not hold women back. All religions undergo modernization and morph slowly into something else. What are you talking about? This newer Muslim religion ? Tell us what you know and how you know it. > [@](#): > > We should be happy they have mosques here. They will become westernized after awhile. What if they don’t become westernized ? Are you okay with that ? > [@](#): > > That is not a recommendation. We are far too war mongering and like to get interfere in politics in sovereign nations. Huh? You want to be cool with Muslims? Fine. I’m cool too, but I’m not basing that on any expectation of real change. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/887 "2010-08-27T22:37:49Z")
] > [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > What are you talking about? This newer Muslim religion ? Tell us what you know and how you know it. I think newer is a poor choice of words. Muslims vary. Some are very dogmatic to the point of violence. Some are more liberal in their view of practicing Islam. Christians vary as well. Some are liberal. Some protest outside funerals with God Hates fags signs or hold a burn the Koran parties. > [@](#): > > What if they don’t become westernized ? Are you okay with that ? I think being in a very diverse culture is bound to have some effect over time, especially after several new generations and having to obey our laws. Realistically though, we still have dogmatic Christians so we’ll have dogmatic Muslims to. That’s okay with me. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/888 "2010-08-27T22:47:52Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > What if they don’t become westernized ? Are you okay with that ? I wouldn’t want a meteor to crash into my car on the 401 and kill me, but it’s not something I’m going to get worked up about. If we continue to maintain an open and free society, people will find a way to get along. It’s a pluralistic society. I don’t really care what Nasir does as long as he doesn’t get in my way. My motto is “Mind your own damned business,” and I don’t really care how “westernized” someone else is as long as they mind theirs. ---
**Author:** ![Zanthor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@Zanthor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zanthor)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/889 "2010-08-28T11:56:50Z")
[http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/03](http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/03) Published on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 by [CommonDreams.org](http://CommonDreams.org) Why Are We Still at War? by Norman Solomon basically, why are we still laying waste to the Me, Building bases in their countries we have invaded, laid waste to, practically destroyed, all to assume a position of aggression against the next ‘enemy’ we want to lay waste to?\> ?? When will the ME stop being our next playground of inflicted death and wholesale destruction? inflicted upon enemies whose worst crime was and is that they have Oil, dare to resist us? Quote. excerpt. The United States began its war in Afghanistan 88 months ago. “The war on terror” has no sunset clause. As a perpetual emotion machine, it offers to avenge what can never heal and to fix grief that is irreparable. For the crimes against humanity committed on Sept. 11, 2001, countless others are to follow, with huge conceits about technological “sophistication” and moral superiority. But if we scrape away the concrete of media truisms, we may reach substrata where some poets have dug. W.H. Auden: “Those to whom evil is done / Do evil in return.” Stanley Kunitz: “In a murderous time / the heart breaks and breaks / and lives by breaking.” And from 1965, when another faraway war got its jolt of righteous escalation from Washington’s certainty, Richard Farina wrote: “And death will be our darling and fear will be our name.” Then as now came the lessons that taught with unfathomable violence once and for all that unauthorized violence must be crushed by superior violence. The U.S. war effort in Afghanistan owes itself to the enduring “war on terrorism,” chasing a holy grail of victory that can never be. article continues… Zanthor ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/890 "2010-08-28T16:00:10Z")
All our base are belong to **Zanthor**. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/891 "2010-08-28T16:24:52Z")
Mmm, I feel ya. I mean, I really feel ya, ya know, like, deep inside my soul. My soul and your soul are homies. I’m down whitcha. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/892 "2010-08-28T16:26:26Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > > [@gonzomax](#): > > > > There is a mosque 4 blocks from ground zero. It has been there for 30 years. Should it be torn down? > > If it is OK, should 3 blocks away be proper. Well 2 1/2 which is this new one, isn’t much closer and it is not at ground zero > > This entire argument is BS. It is a political argument that is designed to rally haters around the conservatives during election season. Many Muslims are here to practice a newer religion which does not hold women back. All religions undergo modernization and morph slowly into something else. We should be happy they have mosques here. They will become westernized after awhile. > > That is not a recommendation. We are far too war mongering and like to get interfere in politics in sovereign nations. > > I’ve been suggesting on another site that the opposition to Park 51 offer some practical real world help in relocating. Maybe they can take whatever is near the Mosque four blocks away and relocate it to the proposed site, and build the new Community Center next to that Mosque. That wouldn’t be too expensive or too much trouble would it? Now all the opposition needs to do is help raise the millions necessary for that to happen. After all, if you’re asking people to surrender their civil liberties and millions in investment so your sensitivities aren’t offended you ought to be able to offer some practical help. Why should they relocate? They have done nothing wrong. They are not even building at ground zero. This is political noise. How do you justify saying a site 2 1/2 blocks from ground zero is too close? Then say 4 blocks is OK? I think you should mind your own business. The site was approved by the proper commissions in NYC a long time ago. It was in the New York Press last year. Now it is a problem? It is a problem because Fox made it one. Sometimes you people have to resist Fox. Sometimes you have to resist your baser instincts and actually back American principles. They have a right to build the mosque . The building was approved. We are supposed to be better than that. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/893 "2010-08-28T16:52:10Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I think you should mind your own business.. Help! Help I’m being repressed. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/894 "2010-08-28T16:56:07Z")
Come see the violence inherent in Islam! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/895 "2010-08-28T17:27:29Z")
Hilariously ironic text from a Tea Party email: > [@](#): > > The emerging question is: Should the first amendment protect the practice of a religion which has a hostile political agenda wrapped in cleric’s robes? Should the U.S. Constitution protect a religion whose focus is converting the United States from a Democratic Republic into a Theocracy lead by religious cleric’s who are antithetical to what made this nation great and what keeps it great? Is this the change America should have or needs? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/896 "2010-08-28T18:16:00Z")
When you play up to hatred ,you get hatred. A guy walked into the 4 v=block away mosque and urinated on the prayer rugs. He could get blamed for trespissing. But a Miami mosque was peppered with gunfire. A Jacksonville mosque was pipe bombed. Mosques were vandalized in Brownstown, Mich Nashville, Tenn Arlington, Texas, Taylor, S.C. Pittsburg, Pa Eugene ,Ore Chicago and other places. Stirring up hatred is a dangerous game to play , even if it can yield election results. Muslims have been beaten in several locations. It is pandering to the lowest of people, those who hate people who are different . ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/897 "2010-08-28T18:36:23Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Hilariously ironic text from a Tea Party email: > > > [@](#): > > > > The emerging question is: Should the first amendment protect the practice of a religion which has a hostile political agenda wrapped in cleric’s robes? Should the U.S. Constitution protect a religion whose focus is converting the United States from a Democratic Republic into a Theocracy lead by religious cleric’s who are antithetical to what made this nation great and what keeps it great? Is this the change America should have or needs? So now living by the 1st amendment is seen as a change? Or was that just a slam at Obama? On another site one guy was saying Liberals were trying to complicate the issue. It’s so simple. he said; If they really want to establish outreach then they should respect the wishes of the majority and move the mosque. They can make friends or make enemies. Their choice. Interesting how it shifts all the responsibility to American Muslims in Manhattan and leaves none for those who want to pressure them into surrendering their civil liberties. Once again , no matter how it’s phrased, its traced back to irrational fear and bigotry aimed at anything Muslim. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/898 "2010-08-31T11:43:00Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Hilariously ironic text from a Tea Party email: > > > [@](#): > > > > The emerging question is: Should the first amendment protect the practice of a religion which has a hostile political agenda wrapped in cleric’s robes? Should the U.S. Constitution protect a religion whose focus is converting the United States from a Democratic Republic into a Theocracy lead by religious cleric’s who are antithetical to what made this nation great and what keeps it great? Is this the change America should have or needs? Some of us have been asking those questions since the Reagan years. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/899 "2010-08-31T13:51:41Z")
So, we’re all agreed: we’ll ban Rick Warren from Ground Zero. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432/900 "2010-08-31T14:38:32Z")
Hey!! I just found out there are 6 Mexican restaurants within 2 blocks of the Alamo. Oh the insensitivity of it all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mosque-to-be-built-two-blocks-from-ground-zero/539432.md?page=44)