Huffington Post political reporter Sam Stein went on Morning Joe this morning to discuss the details of the proposed Islamic cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero, particularly the background of the man leading the project, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.
On Tuesday Stein reported that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is now being called a "radical Islamist" by conservative critics like Newt Gingrich, was brought to a forum hosted by the FBI shortly after 9/11 to help ease the social tensions between Muslim Americans and federal agents.
[The FBI] needed some sort of conduit, someone who could explain how to deal with these cultural sensitivities, and they brought in this imam to help brief agents about what was the best way to go about interrogating suspected terrorists without trampling on their rights or offending them on religious or cultural grounds...[Imam Feisal] is exactly the type of moderate Muslim voice that we should be elevating, not downplaying. I think the fear that a lot of people have is this debate is gonna turn off the people like this imam, that we desperately need to actually build better relations with the Islamic-Muslim world.
WATCH:
Joseph Ward III: Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf Speaks Out (AUDIO, TRANSCRIPT)
Lisa Sharon Harper: Why Christians Should Support the 'Ground Zero Mosque'
'Ground Zero Mosque' Imam Helped FBI With Counterterrorism Efforts
Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Imam Behind the 'Ground Zero Mosque' - TIME
'Ground Zero Mosque' Imam Was A Bush-Era Partner For Mideast Peace ...
From the Washington Post - Eugene Robinson “I…would love to hear from former President Bush on this issue."
From the New York Times’ - Maureen Dowd “It’s time for W. to weigh in”
The thought would be classic... oil-bama invites Bush to provide some gravitas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6cpEAvvYB4 .
Trust that you crossed the line of Ignornce a long ways back...
You ignore it is American Citizens who have owned this property for 27 years who want to build here... What, only Christians are true Americans?
I do NOT know what the Zoning is in the area... Could they tear down the 13 story building and put an actual Mosque in its place? Mosques are dedicated to worship only... No 500 seat auditorium. No swimming pool, Gymnasium, work out center, Maybe it's the Cooking School that makes it a Mosque? Or, that Day care Center? And will be open to people of all Faiths... OMG That makes it really scarey!
As Americans we may just want to show the World, WE ARE Americans!
They chose one side (in this case emotional) and are blinded by any other argument.
Here is my op-ed piece on this debate: share & comment! Thanks...
http://www.doubledutchpolitics.com/
Altho I doubt either of them even knows what pwn means.
"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian Religion." 1797 the treaty of Tripoli, signed by President Washington, and approved by the Senate of the United States
" ... I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should `make no law respecting establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and state." Thomas Jefferson, Letter, Danbury Baptist Assn. January 1, 1802
there is not a shadow of right on the general goverment to intermeddle with religion. Its least interference with it would be a most flagrant usurpation. I can appeal to my uniform conduct on this subject tha I have warmly supported religious freedom." James Madison - father of the Constitution
This is not a mosque it is a Muslim cultural center with a culinary school among other things and.......a prayer room.
Americans who uphold the constitution, truly believe in it and are true patriots, have no problem with this.
Americans who are too willfully ignorant want to differentiate Americans of the Muslim faith and the extreme radical terrorists, bask in their hatefulness and fear by painting an entire faith with a terrorist brush.
What happened to separation of church and state? Or mosque and state?
The US military has never been without chaplins, rabbis, etc.
They are near every battle field in, every military hospital, on naval ships.
The US military supports and offers comfort to troops ALL religious faiths and does not exclude Muslims.
This imam supports sharia law and should be heavily criticized!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharia
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+21%3A18-21&version=KJV
http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/muslim/017.smt.html
He has been shown to always be on the wrong side when reality, facts, sanity, and common sense prevail.
I was listening to Stephanie Miller today and heard some pretty scathing criticism directed towards HuffPo, and Sam Stein from Hal Sparks. Hal went on a diatribe about how HuffPo has spent the last 18 mos undermining the Democrats and attacking the President. He also said he thought Arianna has left the site in the control of "interns" who aren't minding the store well. I know Hal Sparks blogged here once or twice, and I heard him once talk on the radio about how HuffPo bloggers not being paid from his perspective was problematic. To each his own on that aspect of blogging in general, but personally I can't put a price on having one's ideas shared with potentially millions of people around the world. I kind of view that as a paycheck in its own right. Hal went on to reference a couple of sites he prefers, and the ones he mentioned were fine and have something to offer but they lack the dynamic of Huffington Post, and frankly have a hard time holding my attention.
Anyway, that's my spiel on Hal Sparks, and let me reiterate, I think Sam Stein represents himself and the site well in his articles and appearances, despite not being an overt cheerleader for the President and the Democratic Party.
* How come groups and individuals on university campuses in the United States and Canada who claim to be pro-Palestinian remain silent when Jordan revokes the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians?
* Why do Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and other Arab countries impose severe travel restrictions on Palestinians?
* How come there is a debate in Lebanon about whether to grant Palestinians employment, social security, and medical care?
* How come Palestinians living in Lebanon are banned by law from working in a large number of jobs? In fact, until 2003, Lebanese law prohibited Palestinians from working in 72 professions. Now the list of prohibited jobs has been reduced to 50 professions.
* Notwithstanding, how come Palestinians are still not allowed to work as physicians, journalists, pharmacists, or lawyers in Lebanon?
* How come a wealthy Arab prefers to spend millions of dollars on a private zoo than build a hospital or a university?
* How come it is easier for Palestinians to find a job in Israel and Canada than in any Arab or Islamic country?
Perhaps the imam might want to find out why Arabs have not hesitated to murder Kurds, have obstructed Berbers from preserving their language and culture, and why, in Darfur, Arabs mass-murdered black Africans. All of those victims of Arab aggression and murder have been Muslims -- but in Islamic parlance, Muslims of an inferior level.
Are you responsible for the treatment of Christians and non-Christians at the hands of Christian leaders? Of course, not. This is about the New York City, the Muslims of New York City, our Constitution, and the local laws. Period. What others do or the mob outcry is immaterial.