Now for MY first and last post on the Mosque issue...

[Taverner]

Build the mosque. This is AMERICA, right? Then build the fucking mosque.

[TheKentuckian]

1. Quite right. I don't grasp why an American of any political stripe would oppose

[Deep13]

Religious differences.

The right to religion is also the right to consider every other religion to be false.

[TheKentuckian]

6. Sure, but it would seem to be somewhat intrinsic to respect people's right to be wrong.

I'm sure that Catholics and Protestants see each other as varying degrees of false.

Just seems to me we are supposed to be past Salem and such.

[Deep13]

11. If one believes that, for example, evangelical Christianity ...

...truly represents the will of God and is the only path to salvation as they define it, it becomes a moral imperative to spread it to everyone, by force if necessary.

What you are talking about, ecumenism, is an implicite admission that one is not absolutely sure or else that all points of view are equally valid, whatever that might mean. In any case, it is a form of equivocation. Fundamentalists and etremists have no such doubts (which indicates a lack of imagination in my view) and are therefore compelled to oppose anything that presents a false revelation and to support the spread of their own theology.

Just to be clear, the promoters of this project have a legal right to build it. I don't see what realistic doubt there can be to that. With the 14th Amend., the 1st Amendment effectively reads: Government shall pass no law.... "No law" is pretty unambiguous. Nor should we allow a heckler's veto (mobs) from revoking that right.

[FiveGoodMen]

2. Hear, hear!

[Deep13]

3. First, they will. Second...

...if building it for religious reasons is legitimate, then opposing it for religious reasons is no less legitimate. Granted, it is their property and they have a right to build it. I'm not disputing that. Opponents have the exact same right to voice peaceful opposition to it. Obviously, I denounce any violence that has been committed. As a complete nonbeliever, the reasons for and against are equally groundless.

[Taverner]

5. As a non-beleiver myself, I feel it goes beyond that

This is a freedom of religion issue - and just as I would want every Theist to respect my Non-theism, I will respect their right to not practice a religion

[Deep13]

9. I don't think the legal right is really in doubt.

It's project promoter's property. They have a legal right to build it and I fully expect they will. It's just that if we are relying on the 1st Amendment here, we have to recognize that it protects everyone and not just those infavor of a specific religious expression. It also protects those who oppose a specific religion even if the reason is based on adherence to a different religion.

[Taverner]

10. Well yes, both sides have the right to voice their opinion

But those against the Mosque are showing their bigotry...

[Deep13]

14. That is definitely true.

That Black guy with the skull cap who was harassed by protestors "looked" Muslim. If it were a white guy, the mob would have said he looked Jewish.

[PDJane]

4. Quite right, thank you.

As an aside, if it is hallowed ground, then wouldn't a house of prayer be an appropriate and healing thing to put there? Just asking.

[BrklynLiberal]

7. ...and...it is not even a mosque. It is a cultural center with a prayer room.

[Karenina]

8. IT'S NOT A MUTHA-FARKIN' MOSK!!!11!1!

It's a COMMUNITY CENTER with a prayer space. It's called Park51. Happy to see you on board. :hi:

[bigwillq]

12. AGREE

K and R

[Mugweed]

13. That's not a mosque, that's not ground zero

Ground zero is the ground on which, or under which (if an air burst), a nuclear bomb has been exploded. Let's quit repeating the misappropriation of names that the right-wing started. It's like referring to that jackass propaganda puppet from 2008 as "Joe the Plumber" (his name wasn't Joe and he wasn't a plumber). It's the WTC site, not ground zero. Once again we've let the right-wing define the terms and then adopted them as the norm.

[Mugweed]

15. Oh, and it's not even AT the WTC site....

[Scurrilous]

16. K & R

:thumbsup: