Protesters descend on Ground Zero for anti-mosque demonstration

[slippers 3,168]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/06/new.york.ground.zero.mosque/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Protesters gathered in lower Manhattan mid-day Sunday to demonstrate against plans to build a mosque near the site of Ground Zero, where the twin towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed by Islamist hijackers on September 11, 2001. Protest organizer Pamela Geller, a conservative blogger, and her group, "Stop the Islamicization of America," planned the event because, according to the group's website, "Building the Ground Zero mosque is not an issue of religious freedom, but of resisting an effort to insult the victims of 9/11 and to establish a beachhead for political Islam and Islamic supremacism in New York... Ground Zero is a war memorial, a burial ground. Respect it."

Geller said the NYPD and security at the rally told her about 5,000 demonstrators were there. But NYPD spokesman Sgt. Kevin Hayes said the police department's policy is to not provide crowd estimates and that he could not confirm Geller's number.

CNN iReporter Julio Ortiz-Teissonniere, who attended the rally and sent photos to CNN, said the number was closer to 200-300 while he was there for the first 45 minutes of the event. All three said the protest was peaceful.

Human rights advocates, politicians and families of 9/11 victims addressed the crowd. Both Geller and Ortiz-Teissonniere said those family members elicited a powerful, emotional response from the protesters.

Geller recently told CNN's Joy Behar that no one's telling the mosque's planners they can't build it, but "We're asking them not to."

"We feel it would be more appropriate maybe to build a center dedicated to expunging the Quranic texts of the violent ideology that inspired jihad, or perhaps a center to the victims of hundreds of millions of years of jihadi wars, land enslavements, cultural annihilations and mass slaughter," Geller said.

The project calls for a 13-story community center including a mosque, performing art center, gym, swimming pool and other public spaces.

It is a collaboration between the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative.

The Cordoba Initiative aims to improve relations between Muslims and the West..

Continue..

They (US) choose not to rebuild WTC twin towers.

They choose to invade the wrong country.

They choose to use ground zero as a grave and a tourism site.

They (B00sh) choose not to catch Osama who was responsible.

WTH? Get over it. It's been almost a decade. 9/11 was exploited for foreign oil in Iraq. It's been forgotten. You don't need this new event to bring your sour memories back.

It's not wrong for others like Muslim-AMERICANS who had nothing to do with 9/11 to decide what to build with their money. They have every rights to do so.

[Khellendross 1,260]

They seem to conveniently forget that there were Muslim-Americans that died as well.

59 of them actually

[Ladywriter 7,783]

how about NO religion no church or mosque or temple or any of that horseshit ne?

how about people get over their fucking delusions and put all of that time and money toward fixing reality instead of hiding in fantasy? Ne?

How about that shit?

Keh

[Khellendross 1,260]

I'd go with that.

[slippers 3,168]

Sadly the world will probably see 3rd Jewish temple rebuilt in Jerusalem before they'll see WTC/Freedom tower rebuilt in New York and that's saying a lot. They are pissed because no one's willing to spend their money and time to do anything about it and that Muslim-Americans are willing to do something for their community at least with other healthy modifications like gym, theater, and gift shops attached to that 13 fl mosque building (Sounds like a massive mall center to me). Anything will look better than a mental graveyard they have over a decade to be honest. Time to move on and heal.

[Eli 474]

Ehhh.... Too soon perhaps. But I agree with Lady.

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Words like toxic cesspool, respiratory disease and subterranean damage come to mind when I think about that particular money hole.

The buildings were loaded with asbestos, the fires burned and burned and then smoldered some more.

It wasn't just a human disaster or a financial disaster it was an environmental disaster.

I believe they hauled away all the nasty shit like I believe I got the fuckin stigmata.

I know I don't want to live work or shop at #1 Cancer Street NYC....

[slippers 3,168]

The Cordoba Initiative hopes to build a $100 million, 13-story community center with Islamic, interfaith and secular programming, similar to the 92nd Street Y," its website says, referring to the cultural institution on the upper East side of Manhattan.

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"Lower Manhattan should be made into a shrine for the people who died there," said Michael Valentin, a retired city detective who worked at ground zero. "It breaks my heart for the families who have to put up with this. I understand they're [building] it in a respectful way, but it just shouldn't be down there."

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"Stop the Islamicization of America," planned the event because, according to the group's website, "Building the Ground Zero mosque is not an issue of religious freedom, but of resisting an effort to insult the victims of 9/11 and to establish a beachhead for political Islam and Islamic supremacism in New York... Ground Zero is a war memorial, a burial ground. Respect it."

What's funny is 9/11 victims of family members that choose to receive their millions added up to billions in total yet did nothing. Yea, why didn't you guys build a shrine? At least protesting with their fat pockets is cheaper I guess. It's convenient for them to bring 9/11 victims families to attack Islam though when cons talkheads been known to insult 9/11 widows for taking free money and wanting some more. Those that choose to deny shutup money and question govt to fight in court died coughaccidentlycough like Beverly Eckert.

"I lost 16 friends down there. But Muslims also got killed on 9/11. It would be a good sign of faith that we're not condemning all Muslims and that the Muslims who did this happened to be extremists," he said. "As a black man, I know what it's like to be discriminated against when you haven't done anything."

abc prime - how Muslims are treated in USA

[nomedia=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqbQWxHIn4U]YouTube- abc Primetime - How Muslims Are Treated In USA[/nomedia]

Thankfully there are still tolerant people out there instead of fear and paranoia rules their lives. If it wasn't a Mosque, no one would care.

Edited June 9, 2010 by slippers