« CBO: Stimulus Put Up To 2.8M People To Work In First Quarter. | Main | Keeping Politics Safe for the Rich. »

A week ago, the local Community Board 1 of Lower Manhattan held a meeting for local residents where they voice their opinions for or against the building of the Cordoba Initiative - a Muslim Community Center - two blocks from Ground Zero:

But when all was said and done, after 77 speakers approached the microphone, some unable to speak due to boos from the crowd, the board passed a resolution in support of the Cordoba Initiative's proposal to build a community center with a prayer center two blocks from Ground Zero at the site of the old Burlington Coat Factory building.

"It was democracy in action and democracy is never easy," said Julie Menin, CB 1 Chairwoman, on Wednesday. "But what was important was that we allowed everyone to speak and exercise their first amendment rights."

Indeed, this meeting was raucous and loud. In fact, the rest of the country was listening, as this list of responses can attest:

** Back in December, when word about the proposal first surfaced, WorldNetDaily posted comments from outraged right-wingers, including: "If this is true, our beloved country is already gone. We no longer have the America I know and love."

** The Washington Times editorialized today that the proposal is "at best inappropriate, and at worst an attempt to hijack the memory of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks." The piece was approvingly tweeted this morning by Keep America Safe, Liz Cheney's group.

** Investor's Business Daily judged that the plan is "a monumental sign of weakness. Right now, our enemy is laughing at us."

** Right-wing radio host Michael Berry exclaimed: "If you do build a mosque, I hope somebody blows it up... I hope the mosque isn't built, and if it is, I hope it's blown up, and I mean that."

** Pamela Geller, whose blog is devoted to raising the alarm about radical Islam, said on CNN the other day that instead of the community center, a monument should be built to "victims of hundreds of millions of years of jihadi wars, land enslavement, cultural annihilation and mass slaughter."

** Robert Spencer, who with Geller runs "Jihad Watch", wrote on Human Events: "The Twin Towers, after all, were the symbol of America's economic power. Placing a mosque by the site of their destruction (at the hands of Islamic jihadists) symbolizes the taming of that power."

** Andrew McCarthy of the Weekly Standard noted on Fox, in opposition to the plan, that while there are 2,300 mosques in the United States, there are no churches or synagogues in Mecca or Medina.

These groups have one opinion, but the folks who would be affected most - the local residents and Community Board - have an even more important voice. And they voted, 29-1 to let the mosque go forward with building their community center:

There were people holding signs with pictures of family members lost in the 9/11 attacks and that read: No Mosque at Ground Zero! There were cheers and jeers during and after nearly every speaker and Menin banged her gavel no less than 15 times to call people "out of order." But at the end of the night, what CB1 did was issue an advisory opinion on a community center in their neighborhood. The resolution passed with 29 members voting favor, 10 people abstaining and 1 person voting in opposition.

This is what Democracy is about, where some win and some lose, but for the most part, Majority Wins! If we cast aside what we stand for, then the terrorists win. In fact, the Imam thinks exactly the same thing:

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who has led services in TriBeCa since 1983, told the board the center would help "bridge and heal a divide" among Muslims and other religious groups.

"We have condemned the actions of 9/11," he said. "We have condemned terrorism in the most unequivocal terms."

The proposed center, called the Cordoba House, would rise as many as 15 stories two blocks north of where the twin towers stood. It would include a prayer space, as well as a 500-seat performing arts center, a culinary school, a swimming pool, a restaurant and other amenities.

The center is expected to create more than 150 full-time and 500 part-time jobs, and it would offer a range of cultural events, modeled on the 92nd Street Y.

Jobs and healing. Who could be against that?

Name (required)
Email
Website
Remember personal info? Yes   No
Comments

home | music | democracy | earth | money | projects | about | contact

Site design by Matthew Fries | © 2003-23 Consilience Productions. All Rights Reserved.
Consilience Productions, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
All contributions are fully tax deductible.