Poll: 60% Of New Yorkers Oppose Ground Zero Mosque, Half Think It Would Promote Tolerance

nydailynews.com:

A survey of New Yorkers shows six out of 10 oppose plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero.

Results of the Siena Research Institute poll were released yesterday as Mayor Bloomberg, who supports the project, said he isn't sure the mosque will ever be built.

Read the whole story: nydailynews.com

Comments

[Nooneyouknow]

07:51 PM on 08/09/2010

Let me rephrase that: The Daily News's readers are smarter than the paper.

[Nooneyouknow]

07:48 PM on 08/09/2010

Says a poll in the rightwing, none-too-bright Daily News. Meanwhile, the online poll at the article shows readers in favor of the mosque by 63%.
If it weren't for stupid, the Daily News would have no readers.

[SojournerForTruth]

11:38 AM on 08/09/2010

JessCostello, pick up a bible sometime. You'll be enlightened. It explains the history of God's love for a monotheistic man and his promises to his seed.

[VanTroi]

12:33 PM on 08/09/2010

Is he still posting his hate?

[anothervoter]

08:02 AM on 08/09/2010

Not unless they poll each and every New Yorker

[anothervoter]

09:33 AM on 08/09/2010

Would this poll have any meaning.

[Cihangir]

12:59 AM on 08/09/2010

622 New Yorkers surveyed and almost everyone in Buffalo was against the idea. :)

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

10:21 AM on 08/09/2010

We are new york too!

[Cihangir]

08:19 AM on 08/10/2010

C'mon, you're all Canadians.

[LondonTownNY]

12:58 AM on 08/09/2010

ISLAM is not a religion. This is not simply an issue of religious freedom. No where even remotely near Ground Zero is a good place, perhaps in the scrap bin of human history along side all the other discredited movements, like Nazism. As if we do not have enough Mosques in New York City already. Muslims have more freedom than in any country outside the U.S. that there exists a Muslim population. Ironic that we must be forced to tolerate a culture of intolerance that preaches a pre-historic treatment of women and gays. You don't poke me in the eye, call me a bigot and then tell me that you seek interfaith understanding and that you are building an interfaith cultural center when said center is only one faith. Sure you welcome all faiths so you can convert them and get them hooked on a pre-historic mindset that is the culture of Islam. No thanks.

[DannyEV]

01:49 PM on 08/09/2010

you're a sick one. your rant reminds me of the garbage I used to hear white bigots spout about black people ("neegruhs") when I was growing up in North Carolina. "They all want to rape white women." "They're all lazy." "They're shiftless." "They have venereal disease." "They're all drunks." "They all steal." And they were braying this cant while they were paying Black people scut wages to clean their houses, cook their meals, take care of their children and even nurse their babies.

You are EXACTLY the same stripe of bigot and hypocrite--a sanctimonious, total know-nothing. It's embarrassing to live in the same town with you.

[Nooneyouknow]

07:45 PM on 08/09/2010

You're an outstanding example of how evolution isn't happening fast enough. Also, this sentence, "Muslims have more freedom than in any country outside the U.S. that there exists a Muslim population."? It makes no sense.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

12:36 AM on 08/09/2010

***A survey of New Yorkers shows six out of 10 oppose plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero***


Good thing building places of religious worship/community support centres isn't dependent on popular vote then.

[Tulka2]

12:23 AM on 08/09/2010

Count me in as someone who know "near" is two blocks away. Two blocks from ground zero. How far is far enough, for these intolerant idiots? This is America. Love it or leave it. I have waited decades to say that.

[DannyEV]

11:30 PM on 08/08/2010

The Small-Minded Hate Brigade is out here in force tonight. Cheney would be proud of the lot of you.

[Michael Hariton]

11:15 PM on 08/08/2010

Imagine what goodwill an altruistic monument of sorrow if not of common regret to the American people and the people of New York City would be to help heal the wounds born of intolerance that have created the intolerance for a self-serving Muslim center at ground zero be. Even a monument of commemoration for the Muslim victims of the Islamist terrorists. But this?

Why build a 13-story center for your religion to promote your religion first, before making more generous gestures to the society at large. How many dances and concerts and festivals will the general public be invited to attend at this center? How will it contribute to soften the overwhelmingly violent image of Islam that Islamists and the complicit silence of the invisible, but often spoken of moderate Muslims? Why now? Why there? Why not in Wisconsin? Or Washington, D.C., by the Pentagon for that matter?

Seems willfully provocative and fecklessly insensitive, no matter how perfectly legal and legitimate from a constitutional point of view.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

12:45 AM on 08/09/2010

***Even a monument of commemoration for the Muslim victims of the Islamist terrorists. But this?***

I think it's likely that such a monument would be opposed too by the hysterical and bigoted.

***Why build a 13-story center for your religion to promote your religion first, before making more generous gestures to the society at large. How many dances and concerts and festivals will the general public be invited to attend at this center?***

They aren't building a dance hall or concert arena.

Your question is as inane as asking why a church doesn't host WWE events.

***How will it contribute to soften the overwhelmingly violent image of Islam that Islamists and the complicit silence of the invisible, but often spoken of moderate Muslims?***

There are many vocal moderate Muslims. Evidently you've somehow managed to not notice their existence.

***Why now? Why there? Why not in Wisconsin? Or Washington, D.C., by the Pentagon for that matter?***

Because NYC is a cosmopolitan city with many Muslims in it. I'm sure Muslim centres do exist in Wisconsin and Washington DC. As for the Pentagon, they already have Ramadan prayers there.

***Seems willfully provocative and fecklessly insensitive***

Only to the ignorant.

[max2]

02:45 AM on 08/09/2010

>>>There are many vocal moderate Muslims. Evidently you've somehow managed to not notice their existence.

A few, maybe; saying there are *many* vocal AND moderate Muslims is quite a stretch. They are, for the most part, a silent minority.

>>>Only to the ignorant.

http://bit.ly/8ZR9aK

[Bike Commuter]

01:40 PM on 08/09/2010

"They aren't building a dance hall or concert arena."

Actually, the plans include an auditorium, theater, and a performing arts center. I have seen it referenced several times that the center is intended for use by the general public.

[blueskybigstar]

08:55 PM on 08/08/2010

It does not matter what a poll says. Minority rights must be protected always against the whims and impulses of any majority who historically have been easily manipulated to act like lemmings jumping off a cliff.

[RRK70]

07:11 PM on 08/08/2010

Sloppy poll in many ways:
1) only 622 people surveyed (phone survey)

2) wording of the questions. Why is the distance to ground zero necessary?

3) four religious categories: Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, No Affiliation. SO ACCORDING TO THE SURVEY EITHER NO MUSLIMS WERE SURVEYED OR THEY ARE COUNTED AS ATHEISTS?

http://www.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/independent_research/Immigration0710%20Crosstabs.pdf

http://www.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/independent_research/Imm0710%20Release.pdf

4) THREE ethnic groups: White, African American/Black, Latino. WOW, WHAT HAPPENED TO ASIANS? You interview over 600 people in NY State and not one Asian?
5) 15 of 18 questions are about immigration. If the respondents were told the poll was about immigration it would bias the random nature of the pool of respondents.
6) no breakdown of demographic data.

[DannyEV]

11:00 PM on 08/08/2010

good god. then reporting by HP was a total misrepresentation.

how surprising is that?

[Bike Commuter]

02:10 PM on 08/09/2010

1) 622 is a common polling sample size. The size results in a statistical MOE of under 4%, which is perfectly acceptable.

2) The distance is necessary because there has been so much misinformation regarding the project. The wording in this case is actually a plus.

3) Muslims make up a very small percentage of the population. If the sample contained only 20 Muslims, then there would not be enough of that group to be statistically relevant.

4) Same as number 3. The numbers may not have been statistically meaningful.

5) That is slightly possible, but doubful. All the more reason to ask the questions with enough detail to descibe the situation. Most important, these results agree with the results of other polls that have been taken on the subject.


Face it, most New Yorkers express opposition to the project. Multiple polls have found this to be true. Some that opposition is due to misinformation about the project, but that doesn't make the poll faulty. It makes the opinions faulty. In the end it means nothing. It is not an issue of opinion. It is one of religious freedom.

A couple of good pieces of information came out of this poll. The first is that despite the opposition, a strong majority still sees merit in the project as shown in question 17. The second is that opposition appears to come from a perspective of religion since non-affiliated persons support the project by a significant margin.

[RRK70]

03:06 PM on 08/09/2010

"Data was statistically adjusted by age, gender, and self-identified race to ensure representativeness." I would be less skeptical if the survey data was available. The crosstab data was pretty weak.

1) I often wonder if people taking calls on weekday nights on a landline telephone doesn't affect the sample population.

2) yes I can see your point. While mention of the distance might help dispel misconceptions, it also accentuates or polarizes. It would be quite interesting to see how results changes as the wording changes, for example removing the mention of ground zero. Face it, anything built in mid or downtown Manhattan is going to be within a few miles of ground zero. Is there some "radius of appropriateness"? It's very difficult to get accurate results on divisive topics because wording & semantics become so critical.

3) Odd how the survey included Judaism but not Islam. If small populations aren't included as you suggest, why is Judaism included as 1.5% of the population is Jewish. It just seems quite odd to breakdown Christian denominations while entirely excluding Islam & other faiths.

5) I'm facing it. It's rather disappointing. But again, I think results & more importantly interpretation of results can be skewed. Lies, damn lies, & statistics.

I would guess that if asked if they believe in separation between church & state & freedom of religion the overwhelming majority of respondents would be in favor of these principes which only goes to show that 87% of people surveyed are either

[omobob]

05:26 PM on 08/08/2010

The opposition to the Mosque is un christian and un American. If we can not rise above intolerance and bigotry by vilifying an entire religion for the actions of a tiny fraction of criminal fanatics is to surrender what is best in us to the criminal element. Punitive measures to block the mosque only prove the Americans are no friends of the Islamic World, which is to leave out a vibrant and quickly growing religion and culture. Big mistake.

[Squeezer55]

03:48 PM on 08/08/2010

I agree with Christian Schultz

Muslims feel they have have the right to kill anyone who draws a cartoon but can't understand the feelings of those people whose family members died in the shadow of where this building is going.

The kicker for me that has convinced me that this is a middle finger salute, a slap in the face, a sign of pure disrespect is to set the sod turning date for the mosque on Sept. 11. What pure unadulterated kick in the nuts gall. Totally insensitive ,totally without any feelings for anyone but themselves.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Mischief+Manhattan/3370303/story.html

[Bike Commuter]

04:07 PM on 08/08/2010

I would like to see VERIFIABLE proof of this supposed "sod turning date".

I ask because I have seen this claim over and over. I originally assumed it was true, but that people were misconstruing the meaning. Now I highly doubt it is true at all. Originally the claim was that it was going to be opened or dedicated on 9/11/2011. Now it has changed to "sod turning" because it is clearly impossible to build the center in a year.

I tried researching it and I can find no real proof that any 9/11 date was ever to be used. It looks to me to be a false claim intended to garner negative opinion.

[omobob]

05:30 PM on 08/08/2010

And what are we teaching our children today? The forgiveness, mercy and love of Christ? Hard to take the high moral ground with intolerance and bigotry as your standard bearers.

[SojournerForTruth]

12:55 PM on 08/08/2010

Abraham had two sons you know?? Ishmael was also given a promise by God of many nations.
Is America so ignorant they have become afraid of their own shadows. You can't call yourself to be a Christian and have this much fear. Faith and Fear can not reside in the same space!

[DannyEV]

11:06 PM on 08/08/2010

thanks to cheney and his ilk many americans HAVE been stampeded into ignorance and fear.