From The White House, speaking at an event to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, President Obama hung out yet another straw man argument in support of the radical* Imam’s intent to build a mosque near ground zero when he said . . .
As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances.
No, there is no Constitutional right to build anything in this country. On the contrary, under the property grabbing scheme of eminent domain, they can take your property from you to give to someone else. Building a mosque has nothing whatsoever to do with religious freedom.
The president also said . . .
We must all recognize and respect the sensibilities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. The pain and experience of suffering by those who have lost loved ones is just unimaginable. Ground zero is indeed hallowed ground.
So why is it that the president is not asking this Imam to show some tolerance and respect to the victims of 9/11 and the country, instead of the other way around?
Link: The White House, Celebrating Ramadan at the White House
{transcripts of this video are available in Arabic, Persian, and Russian. Not English}
*Says 9/11 was our fault, wants Sharia law in the U.S., supporter of Hamas and a group that funded the Gaza Flotilla
Derek,
I remember something else about that imam dude. He helped fund, through one of his organizations, that Gaza Flotilla that was nothing less than a staged confrontation with the Israeli blockade. And if that is ‘as unradical as they come’ then we better start looking over our shoulder and see what is going on at our local mosque. I’d like to believe that mosques all over the country are not run by people like Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.
From Hot Air: (ignore the source, look at the content)
Founder of Ground Zero mosque part of group that helped fund Gaza flotilla
Only thing I find objectionable about him as relates to this piece, is the fact that he wants to build a mosque too close to the place where victims of radical Islam perished. Doing the will of Mohammed, so they believe. That, and the fact that his name for the place, the Cordoba House, was all the evidence I need to tell me that his intent was the building of a trophy symbol to defeating the West, infidels, christians, et.al.. The history of Cordoba was just that.
Let’s not get distracted by my characterization of him as a radical. It’s not about him, it’s about Obama’s reaction. He now seems to be squirming in his conviction, or lack thereof. It is pure Obama, saying what he needs to say based on his audience and the amount of pushback he receives.
And expecting us and the people of New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington to just lay down and be tolerant? No. This imam is the one who needs to show some tolerance. That’s the message Obama should be delivering.
Don’t drag the Middle East into the discussion. The only Muslims that are pissed at our defense and the existence of Israel are the radical Islamists like Hamas. A group that this imam refuses to see as terrorists. He sees them as freedom fighters. Same as he sees alQaeda as freedom fighters.
There’s no progress in tolerance when dealing with people whose goal is world domination, like this guy believes. Especially so when Mohammed himself, according to the Koran, says it’s just fine to lie to non-believers in the pursuit of that goal. So when this guy says he is about building bridges, he is flat-out lying in our face.
Because the Weekly Standard is a totally reputable source and all. Even that incredibly slanted piece, though, doesn’t directly quote Mr. Rauf with saying anything I find objectionable. What exactly do you find objectionable? You don’t think that our aggression in the Middle East is at least partially to blame for the way many Middle Eastern Muslims feel about America?
Mr. Rauf has routinely and publicly denounced any and all terrorism. He advocates the need for Muslims to live in peace with those of other faiths. He advocates for diversity, inclusion, women’s rights, etc. You should read his book “What’s Right With Islam Is What’s Right With America.”
He’s the one. IMHO, he is radical when he asserts that 9/11 was of our own making, our own fault. There are families of 3,000 people who would disagree. And a few hundred million of their countrymen.
His purpose of building a mosque there is the ‘trophy’ of radical Islam. If he were about healing and building bridges, like he says, they he would put it somewhere else.
Here’s the tip of the iceberg: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/rauf-radicals
You like how the president has handled this?
What radical imam is involved with the Park51 effort? I assume you’re talking about someone other than Feisal Abdul-Rauf, who is about as unradical as they come.