Mayor Bloomberg: "Muslims are as much a part of our city and our country as the people of any faith"

[kpete]

Mayor Bloomberg Stands Up For Mosque »



The simple fact is, this building is private property, and the owners have a right to use the building as a house of worship, and the government has no right whatsoever to deny that right. And if it were tried, the courts would almost certainly strike it down as a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Whatever you may think of the proposed mosque and community center, lost in the heat of the debate has been a basic question: Should government attempt to deny private citizens the right to build a house of worship on private property based on their particular religion? That may happen in other countries, but we should never allow it to happen here.

...................

"Muslims are as much a part of our city and our country as the people of any faith. And they are as welcome to worship in lower Manhattan as any other group. In fact, they have been worshipping at the site for better, the better part of a year, as is their right. The local community board in lower Manhattan voted overwhelmingly to support the proposal. And if it moves forward, I expect the community center and mosque will add to the life and vitality of the neighborhood and the entire city.

"Political controversies come and go, but our values and our traditions endure, and there is no neighborhood in this city that is off-limits to God's love and mercy, as the religious leaders here with us can attest."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2010/08/bloomberg-stands-up-for-mosque.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nydnrss%2Fblogs%2Fdailypolitics+%28Blogs%2FThe+Daily+Politics%29#ixzz0vaUuhgYc

[Electric Monk]

1. What about the Discordians? When will they get the same recognition?

Oh, maybe once they stop arguing amongst themselves, at which point they stop being "True Discordians", and, um, my brain hurts...

[Just-plain-Kathy]

2. I wonder if Bloomberg profited from the sale of this property.

[Scurrilous]

3. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Nightshade01]

4. Bloomberg Just Got Points From Me

Regardless of his motivations for doing so, speaking out as he
has done shows some tremendous guts, and no small amount of
fearlessness to take the inevitable cries of
"TRAITOR" that are bound to come his way from those
who decry everything that doesn't fit their narrow-minded view
of reality. There will be the outright racists, the lunatic
fringe with their conspiracy theories, and the rest of the
nutjob whackos that think anything that doesn't fit into a
neat little box that white america can bless, is wrong.

[Fumesucker]

5. And the part that went unsaid...

"Muslims are much more a part of our city and our country than people of no faith at all".

h/t Tony Blair

[SalmonChantedEvening]

6. The Right Thing To Do.

I'm celebrating the rarity of it all. Bravo Mr. Mayor.

It can't matter who says something good, as long as it is said in earnest. I'm going to pin some hope on that.

[ljm2002]

7. Good for him!

He is 100% correct in his statement and I for one applaud him.

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: