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Originally Posted by MissMisa
Personally, I don't agree with putting a Mosque on/near Ground Zero.
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It is not at Ground Zero, it is merely in the neighborhood. A neighborhood with an existing Islamic population. And the tragedy there was not caused by true followers of Islam, but rather a fanatical sect using it as an excuse for hatred and violence. This comparison is similar to calling the Branch Davidians representative of the Church of England .... incorrect even though both are Christian, and offensive to the core group of believers.
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According to what I heard on the radio, 70% of New Yorkers don't want the Mosque near there. Despite what everyone else thinks about it, it should be a democracy and if 70% of people don't want it, then it shouldn't be built. (If I've got the stats wrong - sorry, it was really brief on the radio.)
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As MMM said there is a question of how the survey was worded. In this case wording it as "at Ground Zero" is extremely prejudicial and misleading. Additionally, there is a question as to just who was surveyed. Did it include the Islamic community? And most importantly what percentage of those surveyed actually live in the area?
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As well as a number of other factors, the building is 13 floors high. It's not a modest place of worship, it's a huge 'culture center' which I personally think is kind of... rubbing it in the face of the victims of 9/11.
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This is more than a mosque and is indeed a community center. Admittedly 13 stories is no small structure. However, given the location, 13 stories will be quite dwarfed by the surrounding buildings. We are talking about a part of Manhattan where I would expect the majority of buildings are 40 or more stories in height. Additionally, to find any less of a structure being built by any religious community in a major metropolitan city such as NY, LA, Houston, Chicago or Dallas would be extremely rare. In Dallas, they are usually only about 4-6 stories tall, but frequently cover more than a square mile of land - which is impractical in Manhattan.
As for the opinions of the 9/11 victims families, I would hope they would appreciate an end to the emotional wrangling that politicians and some religious figures insist on using them for. It is time to finish the memorial and treat is as a memorial, not an open wound to continue prodding.