NY Times "Muslim Prayer Room Was Part of Life at Twin Towers"

[alp227]

Sometime in 1999, a construction electrician received a new work assignment from his union. The man, Sinclair Hejazi Abdus-Salaam, was told to report to 2 World Trade Center, the southern of the twin towers.

In the union locker room on the 51st floor, Mr. Abdus-Salaam went through a construction worker’s version of due diligence. In the case of an emergency in the building, he asked his foreman and crew, where was he supposed to reassemble? The answer was the corner of Broadway and Vesey.

Over the next few days, noticing some fellow Muslims on the job, Mr. Abdus-Salaam voiced an equally essential question: “So where do you pray at?” And so he learned about the Muslim prayer room on the 17th floor of the south tower.

He went there regularly in the months to come, first doing the ablution known as wudu in a washroom fitted for cleansing hands, face and feet, and then facing toward Mecca to intone the salat prayer.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/11/nyregion/11religion.html

[MadMaddie]

1. Well how about that!

The truth has come out and blows the naysayers arguments to pieces. Let's also not forget 80 Muslims were killed on 9/11.

[mediaman007]

2. No chance that this will raise any eyebrows on the antagonist's faces.

Why don't people gather more information before they take positions?

[DCKit]

5. Blind Hatred...

and they've already made up their minds, so let's not bother - we just need to move along without them.

[onehandle]

3. Will there be a Muslim prayer room in the new buildings.

I bet you there will.

Heads up, religion haters. See you in 2014.

[uppityperson]

4. k&r. "but NOW it's sacred ground", pshaw. k&r

[tavalon]

6. Damn it all to hell

It's just a fucking book. Not worth dying over!

How about I burn a few bibles to make up for it? They have really thin, truly combustable pages. Also not worth dying over. Even Jesus could tell you that. These are just books, just books, JUST BOOKS!!!!!


Oops, wrong topic

[jillan]

7. This should be reported on every newscast, including cable news.

[mmonk]

8. So there is a mosque at ground zero. I mean there was.

[applegrove]

9. I knew it. The twin towers were so big and housed so many workers that I knew

there would be a prayer room there.

[Douglas Carpenter]

10. kick and recommend!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!

[Karenina]

11. . .

[Vinca]

12. Do I hear Newtie's head exploding?

[47of74]

14. Yes, along with...

Sarah's, Glenn's, etc etc....

[Occulus]

13. I think I'll kick this, too

Hopefully, this little factoid will shut down the opposition for good. That needs to happen now.

...


Naaaah. It won't change things one iota. Call me cynical, but I think these people have moved way beyond anything resembling a reasonable position. They're no longer subject to reason, but wholly to emotion. And they're also religulous, and worst of all, some are armed.

I'm all for freedom of religion; when weapons are added to the mix it always seems to end up being a horrible combination. How do you remove from any religion the temptation to convert by the sword? That seems to be the common theme among all far-right religious groups, and it's a very sly and insidious thing. As we can see, it's popping up here in the US as well. Some may cluck that the photos are not the same group and that this is not Afghanistan, but I see it far differently: I fear there are groups of potentially violent people all over the US- those purple-furious about the mosque in New York among them- who have all been whipped into a frenzy by outside forces into a particular mindset.

This was done to them, creating a very complex form of victimization- they were lied to, wholly deceived first to last, and they believe it all. It has been propaganda of the highest order, poured out 24/7, everywhere. Some are bound to fall victim to it, and in a nation this size, that's actually a sizable number, capable of inflicting truly massive damage to the fabric of our society for decades to come.

I don't like the direction things are going this year at all. I have a bad feeling about very ugly things to come following these two little episode, and I don't like it one bit. I think these people will eventually become violent and I don't like to even consider the ramifications of that, but to ignore it is to allow it to continue. In this case, I'm hoping I'm just being cynical and paranoid. I hope I'm wrong about everything I've written here.

I don't want to be right about this.

[47of74]

15. Ahem....

[blaze]

16. K&R

This should be common knowledge.

I know it won't be, but still...

[blondeatlast]

17. I'nm not at all surprised--but many people will be. Great info, thanks. nt

[blaze]

18. Kicking....

'cause I want more people to see this.