Political & Elections

zoosermom · Senior Member

RE: Ground zero mosque Federal funding

Cardinal Fang · Senior Member

They don't need grant money because it's money. They want grant money because it's money.

I'm no defender of these particular Muslims because I don't know anything about them. But the outcry against the mosque is mostly from people who don't think any Muslim building should be built there, and those people ought to take a look at the First Amendment again. (Not you, zoose; I'm talking about people like those folks in Tennessee who don't want a Muslim group to replace a smaller mosque with a bigger mosque because-- I'm not making this up-- Islam is not a religion.)

-- Edited by Cardinal Fang on Monday 22nd of November 2010 01:18:19 PM

zoosermom · Senior Member

Why would anyone need grant money? Hmm. Because it's, you know, money.

Mr. el Gamal and Imam Rauf have a nice history of making big profits off public money by not doing what they promised to do with it.

Cardinal Fang · Senior Member

I don't know why anyone would need grant money either, but that applies equally to all applicants and doesn't single out the people wanting to build the Muslim community center.

busdriver11 · Guru

Why would anyone need grant money? Isn't that still prime property? And if they bought it for a song, they should be able to profit on it, without government assistance. Do people really need to get a bundle of cash in order to build there?

Woodwork · Senior Member

This is certainly a complicated affair.

There can be no question that if you want a bunch of progressive/liberal Muslims to have a high profile in America, these guys qualify (as opposed to my favorite kind of American-Muslim: secular/agnostic–of whom, I have a great many friends). Of course, if you want a crew of self aggrandizing martyrs in Muslim garb out to cash in on the PC flavor-of-the-month, these guys also qualify. Most orthodox Muslims consider these clowns charlatans –as do most secular Muslims.

As Muslims, they amount to a lot of smoke and no fire; hat and no cattle; a side show taken seriously only by the ill-informed.

-- Edited by Woodwork on Monday 22nd of November 2010 12:39:38 PM

zoosermom · Senior Member

The developers are a pack of criminal thugs with a truly ****ty attitude. But even such people have rights and if the money is available, they are no less entitled to it than any group of non-Muslim criminal thugs with a truly ****ty attitude.

pmrlcomm · Senior Member

I have to agree with Fang. If any religious organization can apply then so be it. Harry's House of Devil Worship, if recognized as a religion could apply as well. Better the mosque than something scientology related (can't bring myself to capitalize the 's').

Cardinal Fang · Senior Member

Why would it disturb you that a community center and house of worship applied for a grant for redevelopment of lower Manhattan? Would you be equally upset if a Catholic community center, a Jewish community center or a Sikh community center asked for the funds?

pima · Guru

[http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-11-22/ground-zero-mosque-applied-for-federal-911-grant-reports-daily-beasts-john-avlon/?cid=hp:mainpromo2]

This is what was disturbing to me

Developers of the controversial Park51 Islamic community center and mosque located two blocks from Ground Zero earlier this month applied for roughly $5 million in federal grant money set aside for the redevelopment of lower Manhattan after the attacks of September 11th, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter....The application was submitted under a “community and cultural enhancement” grant program administered by the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation (LMDC), which oversaw the $20 billion in federal aid allocated in the wake of 9/11 and is currently doling out millions in remaining taxpayer funds for community development. The redevelopment board declined to comment on the application

I thought this was a done deal, but it appears that it isn't, anyone from NY who could shed light on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

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