Hamas Chief: Ground Zero Mosque a Must

[bobdina]

Hamas Chief: Ground Zero Mosque a Must
August 16, 2010
Associated Press

NEW YORK - A Hamas leader says Muslims "have to build" a mosque near ground zero.

Mahmoud al-Zahar said Muslims "have to build everywhere" so that followers can pray, just like Christians and Jews build their places of worship.

Al-Zahar spoke Sunday on "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" on WABC-AM. He is a co-founder of Hamas and its chief on the Gaza Strip.

Sen. Chuck Schumer says Al-Zahar's comments don't carry any weight because Hamas is a terrorist organization. Schumer hasn't taken a stand on the mosque.

Rep. Peter King, who opposes the mosque, says he won't respond to Hamas.

The mosque is a project of the Cordoba Initiative, an advocacy group that promotes improved relations between Islam and the West. It didn't respond to Al-Zahar's comments.

[ianstone]

Why a 13 story Mosque, how many Muslims are living close by.
I think it is a monument to there victory and populating of the USA

[death2mooj]

They have their place to build mosques, and that place is the middle east. I believe I made my point very clear so that's all I have to say on it.

[Stark]

is everybody aware that there is a mosque just 2 blocks away from ground Zero that has been there for ages way before 9/11 and nobody had every a problem with it?
Also the people that go to that mosque have never been reported as being suspicious or agressive quite the opposite.

All this is only an issue becuase we make it an issue and because we make it an issue we empower the people that want this to be an issue.

[Scott]

is everybody aware that there is a mosque just 2 blocks away from ground Zero that has been there for ages way before 9/11 and nobody had every a problem with it?
Also the people that go to that mosque have never been reported as being suspicious or agressive quite the opposite.

All this is only an issue becuase we make it an issue and because we make it an issue we empower the people that want this to be an issue.


very good point, however i cannot see how 2 Mosques will be good in the same place?

why don't they just rebuild their Mosque on the site they have?

its stupid to build a bigger one and a insult i think to the families who have lost their loves ones in 9/11

[ianstone]

Maybe it is because I'm a Brit, but 13 stories high for any religion seems excessive. A mosque a couple of blocks away is fine as long as it is discrete. After all a Christian church in Mecca or close by, would be discrete ?

[windexglow]

And churches aren't any better in their placing? I live in a town of 25,000 and one section of our town has 4 very well sized churches that act much more than just a place of worship in less than 4 blocks of each other. That's excluding the 2 new mega churches being constructed as well :p

The building needs to match up with adjacent structures (10, 11, 1, 10 story buildings don't look good) and at the same time provide enough room for what communities need.

As for the insult, it's really how you view it. I don't think anyone would be insulted if a church was erected near Columbine high school, even after those shooters were called "christian martyrs" by radicals.

[death2mooj]

@windextroll - You do realize that the founders of the United States intended for this to be a christian country don't you??..... You can argue that they didn't all you want but the seperation of church and state was only to keep churches from persecuting people.

[ianstone]

The Mayflower left the UK to avoid persecution from a mainly anti sectarian church religion.
Yes it is away from GZ but close enough to offend. How many Christian churches or there in the Arab states, that are safe to go too ?