Far From Ground Zero, New Mosques Face Hostile, Aggressive Opposition Across U.S.

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

TRAVIS LOLLER, Associated Press Writer

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee -- Proximity to ground zero doesn't explain the opposition. Muslims trying to build houses of worship in the nation's heartland, far from the heated fight in New York over plans for a mosque near ground zero, are running into opponents even more hostile and aggressive.

Foes of proposed mosques have deployed dogs to intimidate Muslims holding prayer services and spray painted "Not Welcome" on a construction sign, then later ripped it apart.

The 13-story, $100 million Islamic center that could soon rise two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11 attacks would dwarf the proposals elsewhere, yet the smaller projects in local communities are stoking a sharper kind of fear and anger than has showed up in New York.

In the Nashville suburb of Murfreesboro, opponents of a new Islamic center say they believe the mosque will be more than a place of prayer. They are afraid the 15-acre site that was once farmland will be turned into a terrorist training ground for Muslim militants bent on overthrowing the U.S. government.

"They are not a religion. They are a political, militaristic group," said Bob Shelton, a 76-year-old retiree who lives in the area.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2010/08/far_from_ground_zero_new_mosqu.html

[NC_Nurse]

1. Thank you Fox News and your ilk. Spreading lies and stupidity throughout

the land once again. Ugh.

[western mass]

14. ...with the help of groups like the ADL

[izquierdista]

2. Bob could be right...

After all, "farmland turned into a terrorist training ground for ________ militants bent on overthrowing the U.S. government" has been a tradition in the hills of eastern Tenn. for over 200 years, hasn't it?

[MidwestTransplant]

10. Good point. Must be something in the water.

[mmonk]

3. Propaganda has worked wonders in this country.

I wonder if other countries have studied this experiment.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. Fox News will be asking Muslims to wear stars soon

has loony Beck has proposed that?

[atreides1]

6. Wrong group

It would be a crescent, not a star!

[RATM435]

5. the city of New York used pulverized 9/11 remains to fill potholes.

What exactly sparks the rage in a right winger.
when Obama is elected the economy is all the sudden a priority
and if some Muslims want to renovate a vacant building where anyone will be welcome it's an affront to the victims of 9/11.

the city of New York used pulverized 9/11 remains to fill potholes.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/03/24/2007-03-24_911_remains_fill_potholes_worker_claims.html

[orbitalman]

7. See!... the ground zero mosquewas a red herring. n/t

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Psephos]

9. I'm guessing that the irony of that statement slipped past you. n/t

[cheapdate]

11. A non-bigoted white southerner thanks you. n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

18. No, wait, let me guess.

The deleted post was almost one liter in volume, right?

[WCGreen]

12. And so the unraveling continues....

this country is spinning out of control.

Does Fox and Beck and Rush think they will be able to contain it all when it starts....

No, there will be someone far more dangerous waiting to surprise all of us...

[Doctor_J]

13. No improvement will be seen until we do something

substantial to hate radio.

[Salander]

15. Where are the Dems on this issue?

It takes an R mayor to lead the fight for social justice.

[starroute]

16. That's because it's tangled up in New York City politics

New York City Republicans have always been outliers with respect to the national Republican Party -- like Mayors LaGuardia and Lindsay -- which gives them the space to govern essentially as independents. New York Democrats, in contrast, are far more closely tied to their constituencies and financial backers.

This is why Bloomberg can be far more vocal than someone like Anthony Weiner, who's hoping to succeed him as mayor. It's not a comfortable situation if you're looking for liberal leadership, but it's unfortunately the way things are.

[leftynyc]

22. Bloomberg is not a republican (n/t)

[Douglas Carpenter]

17. kick and recommend!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!

[JCMach1]

19. I am all for building mosques that aren't supported through the Saudis and preach

their brand of Islam.

[pinboy3niner]

21. I have no interest in whether mosques are built or not

Except that I DO have an interest in the Constitution and its protections, and in opposing bigotry.

And their "brand of Islam" is of no concern to me. Nor is whether they are "supported by the Saudis." If your implication is that their brand of Islam involves criminality, we have laws that address that.

One doesn't have to be a champion of mosque-building to support the right of people to build mosques--or churches, or synagogues for that matter.

[JCMach1]

23. There are serious implications if we allow the Kingdom's form of radical Islam

to take hold in this country by default.


SPEAKING AT the State Department in 1999, Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, a Sufi sheik and leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, sounded an alarm about Muslim houses of worship in the United States.

"The most dangerous thing that is going on now in these mosques . . . is the extremists' ideology," he said. "Because they are very active, they took over the mosques; . . . they took over more than 80 percent of the mosques that have been established in the US." He warned ominously that "a danger might suddenly come that you are not looking for . . . we don't know where it is going to hit."

When Kabbani was condemned by other Muslim organizations, he stood his ground. His assessment of the leadership of US mosques, he said, was based on having visited scores of them, and in a subsequent interview he explained the extremists' pattern of infiltration... http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/01/10/the_boston_mosques_saudi_connection/

I just posted one example, however there are numerous examples from around the world... This story just happens to be related to a mosque built in Boston.

I am definitely not anti-muslim, but the Wahabbi (and I do mean the radicalized KSA version) is a dangerous and present threat to peace and democracy around the globe.

It is hatred in the dressings of religion... similar to the right-wing hate churches and cults that seemed to blossom in the 80's and 90's and they deserve the same sort of scrutiny...

[Turborama]

20. K&R NYT article on this

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8901467