Controversial Islamic Cultural Center Opens (near Ground Zero)

[alp227]

Source: WNYC

There was no sign of protest at the Park51 community center last night. It opened its doors to the public in lower Manhattan Wednesday, without the opposition that had surrounded the project for a year.

The center was crowded for most of the evening — with visitors who said they came to see the new photography exhibition and others who were interested in the place itself. Brooklyn's Jean Stevens said she's not surprised the event went off without a hitch.

"It seems like there's not much of huge response to this reception or to the mosque anymore, and so I wonder whether if people have forgotten it now that its not such a hot topic."

At the space, which was still raw looking, visitors mixed, while viewing the exhibit on New York’s children, and listening to tunes played by the New York Arab orchestra. But unlike most art events, they didn’t swill wine to stay in accord with Muslim practices.

Read more: http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2011/sep/22/controversial-islamic-centers-opens/

[sakabatou]

1. It's only controversial to the right wing

[UnrepentantLiberal]

3. Were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse there for the

grand opening?

[Javaman]

13. The took the day off to have tea with the koch brothers. ;) nt

[Posteritatis]

7. You must have missed the threads about it here then

Not DU's finest hour.

[Dogtown]

11. I actually did miss those threads.

My guess is that most of the controversial posts were from RW trolls, of which we have many, especially of the fundy type.

[Violet_Crumble]

12. There was a lot of them...

And some of the worst offenders can't be RW trolls, seeing as how they're still here at DU...

[Dogtown]

14. There are many trolls here

smart enough not to go so far as to get themselves banned.

Some crazy people can be smart, despite their perverse attraction to being ugly rather than expending their energies actually supporting the causes they profess to believe in.

The best course when one of these is identified is to starve them of the controversy they so spitefully crave by not engaging them.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. Yep, I tend to agree with that n/t

[Posteritatis]

20. That's kind of a "no true Scotsman" sort of attitude, isn't it?

The people opposed to the centre - and opposed for some of the most staggeringly idiotic, transparently bigoted reasons - weren't exactly a small fringe. The site was pretty thoroughly divided on the issue for awhile, to the point where people saying things like "Muslims shouldn't be allowed to build any more mosques in NYC because it's too close to the site" were coming across as moderate by comparison.

I don't think you can just dismiss people like that as "oh, they're infiltrators anyway." There's often some very ugly attitudes on display here and I don't think it does people any good to just pretend they don't count.

[Dogtown]

22. Do you really believe that anyone

posting such anti-islamic flame-bait *on this site* has pure motives?
Anyone posting such filth must needs be seriously insane if they don't realize they don't actually belong here.

[Posteritatis]

23. There are bigots here as anywhere else, even if there are fewer of them.

This is a political community with tens of thousands of members, not a small consistent Kumbaya circle. So yes, I absolutely believe that there are any number of people on this site who consider themselves to be dyed-in-the-wool liberals while also occasionally throwing around views that would get them knocked out in many forms of polite company.

[Dogtown]

24. I cannot accept the accuracy of your statement.

And they just do not belong here.

Even if they vote Democrat, they don't belong.

I think we'll have to politely disagree about the motives of any poster that rabid. I can't imagine being so thick as to believe yourself a progressive or liberal whilst being totally unaware of stewing in a broth of nationalistic fervor and racism.

Perhaps there are a few of the type you describe, but even the delusional would be so discomfortable with the response to their screed that they'd move along.


But, perhaps I'm being intolerent......

[Tunkamerica]

2. I knew I felt less safe, I just didn't know why

[A Physicist]

4. Manufactured Controversy

Like Sharia Law

[Fearless]

5. Good. The world didn't end as predicted.

It's just special how Republicans claim to want government and such out of their lives and yet I bet you anything that they'd be trying to pass laws banning something as simple as a Muslim community center.

As for the place itself, there is no better place to put it. Hopefully, it can do some good repairing the image of believers of Islam in this nation. While I am strictly an atheist, anyone should be allowed to live free of harassment regardless of their beliefs. That seems almost American as it were.

[truthisfreedom]

6. Freedom of religion at work.

God bless America, if you're a believer. I'm not, but I don't want to interfere with anyone else's right to believe.

[DinahMoeHum]

8. When the building is finally done, people will go by and wonder

what all the fuss was about.

[dipsydoodle]

9. That's alright then

.

[Hoosier Daddy]

10. About time!

Fuck you, Pam Geller!

[tcaudilllg]

16. Only reason it was made an issue was galvanize the extremist vote

[A Physicist]

17. for the 2010 Congressional elections

Bingo!

[VWolf]

18. Yep. I live just outside of NYC and

I don't know a single person who had an issue with this.

Then again, I tend to avoid idiots.

[Posteritatis]

21. I got the impression IQs on the issue dropped the further away you got from NYC

The lawsuits filed against the developers were from people closer to the west coast than anything else, if I recall.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

19. Fantastic news!

Congratulations to them and I wish the great success.