Ground Zero Mosque Wants 9/11 Recovery Funds

Either the guys that run the Ground Zero Mosque are completely tone-deaf, or they're openly mocking New York City:

He wants your money. The developer of the so called "Ground Zero Mosque" is applying for federal taxpayer money to help him build the controversial and contentious project. The funds are designated to help lower Manhattan recover from the 9-11 terrorist attacks, which took place just around the corner from the proposed mosque and cultural center location.

Sharif El-Gamal, the head of SOHO Properties, says the money will be used for a variety of services for Park51, as the project is called.

In a statement, El-Gamal said he is, "…committed to exploring all sources of revenue and funding to build the community center," noting that the request for a reported $5 million would help provide "social service programs....such as domestic violence prevention, Arabic and other foreign language classes, programs and services for homeless veterans, two multi-cultural arts exhibits and immigration services."

El-Gamal did not specify exactly how much of the taxpayers' funds would be allocated to "build the community center."

"It's absolutely disgraceful," said an angry Congressman Peter King (R-NY) who is likely to be the new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

"It goes entirely against the spirit of the fund," King told Fox News. "It's an affront to the memory of all those who were murdered on 9-11. There are so many worthwhile projects in lower Manhattan. This shows a gross insensitivity to the most fundamental feelings of New Yorkers and to those murdered on 9-11 it is a slap in the face that is a terrible insult."

If they are granted even $1 of those funds, then an equal amount should be given to the church that was destroyed on 9/11 and hasn't been allowed to rebuild.

Guess Who Else Doesn't Like the Ground Zero Mosque? The Arab World.

I didn't see that coming:

From his recent travels to the Persian Gulf—sponsored and paid for by the State Department—Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf returned with a none-too-subtle threat. His project, the Ground Zero Mosque, would have to go on. Its cancellation would risk putting "our soldiers, our troops, our embassies and citizens under attack in the Muslim world."

Leave aside the attempt to make this project a matter of national security. The self-appointed bridge between America and the Arab-Islamic world is a false witness to the sentiments in Islamic lands.

The truth is that the trajectory of Islam in America (and Europe for that matter) is at variance with the play of things in Islam's main habitat. A survey by Elaph, the most respected electronic daily in the Arab world, gave a decided edge to those who objected to the building of this mosque—58% saw it as a project of folly.

Elaph was at it again in the aftermath of Pastor Terry Jones's threat to burn copies of the Quran: It queried its readers as to whether America was a "tolerant" or a "bigoted" society. The split was 63% to 37% in favor of those who accepted the good faith and pluralism of this country.

This is remarkable. The ground burned in the Arab-Islamic world over the last three decades. Sly preachers and their foot soldiers "weaponized" the faith and all but devoured what modernists had tried to build in the face of difficult odds. The fury has not burned out. Self-styled imams continue to issue fatwas that have made it all but impossible for Arabs and Muslims to partake of the modern world. But from this ruinous history, there has settled upon countless Muslims and Arabs the recognition that the wells are poisoned in their midst, that the faith has to be reined in or that the faith will kill, and that the economic and cultural prospects of modern Islam hang in the balance.

To this kind of sobriety, Muslim activists and preachers in the diaspora—in Patterson, N.J., and Minneapolis, in Copenhagen and Amsterdam—appear to be largely indifferent. They are forever on the look-out for the smallest slight.

And the tone-deafness of Iman Rauf runs pretty deep. In a speech to the Council of American Islamic Relations, the radical's representatives in America, Rauf used the word "hijack" twice in the same sentence as he pleaded for us not to allow the voices to disagree with him to "hijack" the discussion. Should a guy trying to build a mosque at Ground Zero really be using the word "hijack" in any context?

This guy is throwing it in our faces and way too many Americans are willing to sit back and take it.

One Squishy Supreme Court Justice Isn't Sure You Have the Right to Burn A Koran

We've been told that the Ground Zero mosque developers have the right to build the controversial site because the First Amendment protects them.  We've also been told that the nutty Florida pastor has the same First Amendment right to burn a Koran if he wants to.

Well, maybe not.  Oh, the Ground Zero mosque will still be protected, but Justice Stephen Breyer has his doubts about Koran burning.  From George Stephanopoulos:

Last week we saw a Florida Pastor – with 30 members in his church – threaten to burn Korans which lead to riots and killings in Afghanistan. We also saw Democrats and Republicans alike assume that Pastor Jones had a Constitutional right to burn those Korans. But Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer told me on “GMA” that he’s not prepared to conclude that — in the internet age — the First Amendment condones Koran burning.

“Holmes said it doesn’t mean you can shout ‘fire’ in a crowded theater,” Breyer told me. “Well, what is it? Why? Because people will be trampled to death. And what is the crowded theater today? What is the being trampled to death?”

If the new standard for First Amendment protection is that nobody will riot or kill people if you do some particular act, then that opens the door to stop any activity you don't like by simply threatening to riot or kill somebody.

This is why squishy Supreme Court judges are so dangerous. Rights become subject to veto by angry mobs.

Remains Were Found Within One Block of the Ground Zero Mosque

The NY Post has a map showing where human remains were located around the World Trade Center site, and how close they were to the proposed Ground Zero Mosque.  A larger version is available at this link:

Crazy Florida Church Calls Off Koran Burning. Crazy Kansas Church Says "We'll Do It!"

From Breaking News:

Florida church pastor says he's calling off burning of Qurans - Reuters

This also moved on Breaking News, but I'm having a hard time believing these stories are connected:

**URGENT** Florida pastor says that the developers of the "Ground Zero Mosque have agreed to move the location of the mosque.

If that true (and I doubt it) then this crazy Florida pastor just pulled off a diplomatic coup of the first order.  Let's make this guy Secretary of State.

UPDATE: As I expected:

Update: Imam denies deal to move mosque away from ground zero, contradicting Fla. pastor - Reuters

I wrote this earlier today:

Someone on Twitter suggested that Fred Phelps, the pastor of the crazy Kansas church that protests at funerals, must be awfully jealous of this Jones guy because of all the attention he gets. At least Phelps is smart enough to protest against targets that are unlikely to cut his head off.

Well, I gave him way too much credit for intelligence:

Westboro Baptist Church, the small Topeka, Kan., church that pickets funerals of American soldiers to spread its message that God is punishing the country for being tolerant of homosexuals, has vowed to hold a Quran burning if Gainesville's Dove World Outreach Center calls its off.

"WBC burned the Koran once – and if you sissy brats of Doomed america bully Terry Jones and the Dove World Outreach Center until they change their plans to burn that blasphemous tripe called the Koran, then WBC will burn it (again), to clearly show you some things," the church announced in a news release this week.

This is getting funnier by the minute.

New Standards of Behavior for the Civilized World

Brought to you courtesy of radical Islam:

• If you do this (insert event or activity considered offensive to radical Islamists such as "Burn the Koran Day") we will attack you.
• If you don't do this (insert event or activity desired by radical Islam such as building the Ground Zero Mosque) we will attack you.

Looks like we're screwed either way.

Obama Administration May Intervene in Koran Burning

Hello Mr. Crazy Pastor, the White House is calling:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday that administration officials are discussing whether to reach out to a Florida pastor to urge him not to go forward with plans to burn the Koran this weekend.

I think my feelings toward that could be summed up by this Doug TenNapel Twitter post:

Burn a Quran and you're a hater. Burn a Bible and you're called an Art Major.

Perhaps somebody should threaten to burn some Bibles and let's see how fast the administration gets involved.

And maybe somebody can help me with this:

• Group wants to build mosque near Ground Zero and Obama supports the plan because of religious freedom even though it upsets millions of people.
• Pastor wants to burn Korans and Obama opposes the plan because of religious freedom even though it upsets millions of people.

I'm so confused.

A Pastor Responds to the Planned Koran Burning

Jonah Goldberg received a letter from a pastor friend that pretty much sums up my feelings about the Florida church that plans to burn Korans on 9/11:

Stipulated: Koran burning is moronic and, in my humble opinion, unChristian.

My question is: why is the act of a preacher with a 50 member congregation in Florida getting so much play? If you poke about a bit, I’m betting you can find a storefront church with a Facebook page (it’s free and has a simple user interface, you know; Twitter is harder to use) of that size and sort doing something mildly appalling almost every weekend. All over the south, and even in Youngstown, Ohio some Sundays.

They burn Barbies one weekend, pour out thirty year old whiskey the next (sniff), and cast demons out of mp3 players on another — burning Beatles albums is much harder than it used to be, and pushing a delete button on an iPod in the pulpit just doesn’t have the same visceral impact.

So as with every time Fred Phelps is called a “pastor,” I’m more than a little peeved that this clown is getting as much attention as he is. When he burns a stack of Danielle Steele novels next weekend, will we all be there? But since he figured out the locker combination of the media’s assumptions about evangelical Christians, he can steal their lunch now. If he burns a Book of Mormon to score points off the infidel Glenn Beck next week, are we going to see that across media platforms, too?

If the radical Muslim population of the world amounted to a handful of people this event wouldn't mean anything. But there are literally millions of Muslims who believe it's fully appropriate to lop off the head of anyone who does something they think is desecration of the Koran, or even for simply depicting their prophet in a drawing or picture as happened in the Danish cartoon situation.

And the threat is not isolated to one small part of the world.  The radical Islamists exist in nations all over the planet, including ours, and that's what makes this Florida stunt unnecessarily provocative.  It invites attacks on American interests worldwide.

While we should not allow radicals to inhibit our free speech, this is being done in the name of Christianity and will be used to tarnish and demean Christianity throughout the Islamic world.  This is another example, like the Ground Zero mosque, that just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

Ground Zero Mosque May Get Taxpayer Money

From Don Surber:

From Reuters: “The Muslim center planned near the site of the World Trade Center attack could qualify for tax-free financing, a spokesman for City Comptroller John Liu said on Friday, and Liu is willing to consider approving the public subsidy.”

Separation of church and state?

Nyah.

That only applies to Christian denominations.

This story would be the answer to the question "What could be done to tick off the people about this mosque even more?"

Take a Pig to Church Day

Or perhaps to the site of a controversial new mosque in NYC.  Read S.E. Cupp's piece in the Daily Caller on how some enterprising Italians dealt with proposed mosques in their towns.

Political Cartoon of the Day

Seen on Facebook:

Protest Slogans of the Day

There were protests for and against the Ground Zero Mosque in NYC today and a couple of anti-mosque protest slogans caught my eye:

"Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all the terrorists were Muslim."

And:

"Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Islam I Learned on 9/11."

Some of those supporting the mosque wonder why opponents complain about the mosque but don't complain about the strip club that's already nearby.

 Easy.

 As I recall no strippers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center.

Franklin Graham and the Muslims

Franklin Graham, son of the great evangelist Billy Graham, has come under fire lately for his statements about the Ground Zero Mosque, Obama's Muslim heritage, and the double standard that exists in the State Department today when it comes to dealing with Christians and Muslims.  Erick Erickson at Red State has written a good piece on the issue praising Graham for his principled stands.  Rather than excerpt a small part, I'm going to encourage you to read it all at this link.

Political Quote of the Day

From Charles Krauthammer, talking about Nancy Pelosi's comments that she'd like to see an investigation of those who oppose the Ground Zero Mosque:

“I’m trying to decide if her comments were out of malice or pure lunacy. Being the generous spirit that I am, I am going with lunacy.”

And he's a shrink.

Political Video of the Day

Rudy Giuliani, former NYC mayor, is asked about the Ground Zero Mosque:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I'm beginning to smell a rat in this whole thing. Activists in other areas of political life have often raised a ruckus about something, be it racism or whatever, to gain public attention in the hopes that some weak-kneed politician would make them a sweetheart deal to go away. Perhaps the real plan is to build an Islamic center, but not in that location. Instead, build it with your tax money somewhere less controversial a few blocks away. It wouldn't be the first time something like that was tried.

What George Bush Should Say

Yesterday I had the story of the various lefties who suddenly have a new-found love for George Bush and want him to bail Obama out with a statement supporting the Ground Zero Mosque.  Jim Treacher offered the words Bush should use to reply to those requests:

I’d love for somebody to ask Bush about it, and for him to say something to this effect: “Thanks for asking, but according to President Obama, I’ve caused enough problems already. I’m sure you folks can figure it out without me.” And then smile, and wish the questioner a nice day, and walk away.

Exactly. However, Bush is a class act and probably will just abstain from any comment, even one like this which is richly deserved.

The Other Ground Zero Mosques

The Corner found an article from 2006 that describes the other two mosques in the Ground Zero area:

Recently, the SLA [State Liquor Authority] notified three businesses on West Broadway that it is moving to revoke their liquor licenses. All four establishments are in the vicinity of Masjid al-Farah, a Sufi mosque in a nondescript two-story building at 245 West Broadway. According to the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) law, liquor licenses are prohibited for establishments that are on the same street and within 200 feet of a building ‘occupied exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship …’ …

Tribeca Tavern owner Greg Kosovoi said that for 10 years he was unaware that a mosque was next door. Eric Benn, co-owner of the 11-year-old Bubble Lounge, said the same.

‘None of us knew there was a mosque there,’ he said. ‘What kind of research are we supposed to do? Do we knock on every single door?’

The building at 245 West Broadway, open for services twice a week, has no signage other than the following four lines, in small print, on the door:

Dergah/Nur Ashki Jurahai/Sufi Order/Masjid al-Farah

A report written by an SLA investigator and obtained by the Trib concludes that the building is indeed a mosque, but states: ‘There are no signs or any indication that there is a Mosque located in the building.’

Given the small and almost invisible nature of the previous mosques does it sound like there's a demand for a $100 million dollar 15-story building with a 500 seat auditorium and a swimming pool? And the area where this would be built is a commercial banking district with very few residents. Given Islam's prohibition on collecting interest on loans I can't imagine there are a bunch of Muslim bankers in that area that need a mosque to run to in the middle of the day.

This is a victory mosque, celebrating the deaths of 19 "martyrs" who hijacked the 9/11 planes. Nothing more, nothing less.

24% Think Obama is a Muslim

Time Mag has a survey on how Americans are feeling these days toward their Muslim neighbors:

Opponents of the planned Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan have public opinion firmly in their corner. According to a new TIME poll, 61% of respondents oppose the construction of the Park51/Cordoba House project, compared to 26% who support it. More than 70% concur with the premise that proceeding with the plan would be an insult to the victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Opposition to the project appears to derive largely from the conviction that the proposed site of the project — just two blocks from Ground Zero, in a building that formerly housed a Burlington Coat Factory outlet — is so close to "hallowed ground," as President Obama put it.

Yet the survey also revealed that many Americans harbor lingering animosity toward Muslims. Twenty-eight percent of voters do not believe Muslims should be eligible to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. Nearly one third of the country thinks adherents of Islam should be barred from running for President — slightly higher than the 24% who mistakenly believe that the current occupant of the Oval Office is himself a Muslim. In all, just 47% of respondents believe Obama is a Christian; 24% declined to respond to the question or said they were unsure, and 5% believe he is neither Christian nor Muslim.

Muslims aren't doing themselves any public relations favors these days. The Ground Zero Mosque is angering a great number of Americans, and local stories like the Muslim Disney employee that thinks the Constitution gives her the right to wear a hijab to work are doing significant damage to their standing in the eyes of non-Muslim America. If you had seen this woman's self-righteous news conference you could quickly understand why public sentiment is turning against Muslims.

As far as those who think Obama is a Muslim, I'll just refer to an Egyptian Coptic Christian doctor that I know.  He grew up in Egypt surrounded by Muslims and has said that without a doubt Obama is at heart a Muslim.  Barry may have attended the nutty Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Christian church for 22 years, but as the old saying goes:

Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to your garage makes you a car.

Deeds say more than words:

Least Surprising Headline of the Day

From Drudge:

UPDATE: Mosque Developer Rejects Meeting With NY Gov...

Imagine my surprise.

Lefties Want Bush to Save Obama on Ground Zero Mosque

How weird is this?

There's a new argument emerging among supporters of the Ground Zero mosque. Distressed by President Obama's waffling on the issue, they're calling on former President George W. Bush to announce his support for the project, because in this case Bush understands better than Obama the connection between the war on terror and the larger question of America's relationship with Islam. It's an extraordinary change of position for commentators who long argued that Bush had done grievous harm to America's image in the Muslim world and that Obama represented a fresh start for the United States. Nevertheless, they are now seeing a different side of the former president.

"It's time for W. to weigh in," writes the New York Times' Maureen Dowd. Bush, Dowd explains, understands that "you can't have an effective war against the terrorists if it is a war on Islam." Dowd finds it "odd" that Obama seems less sure on that matter. But to set things back on the right course, she says, "W. needs to get his bullhorn back out" -- a reference to Bush's famous "the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!" speech at Ground Zero on September 14, 2001.

George W. Bush has been the anti-Clinton and anti-Carter since he left office. While those two Democrats have never missed an opportunity to inject themselves into the political debates, Bush has stayed silent and I imagine he'll stay silent on this issue as well.

I find it hilarious that people who had no use for Bush when he was president suddenly see him as the wise man whose words can save their man-child president.