Hamas Adds Fuel to "Ground Zero" Mosque Fire

Mahmoud al-Zahar

Just when you thought the debate over the Islamic community center planned for Lower Manhattan couldn't get any more shrill, along comes Hamas to kick it up a notch. Mahmoud al-Zahar, a co-founder of Hamas, the Palestinian organization which controls Gaza and is classified as a terrorist group by most Western governments, tells WABC host Aaron Klein, "We have to build everywhere — in every area we have muslims, we have to pray, and this mosque is the only site of prayer especially for the people when they are looking to be in the group — not individual."

Most of the politicians who've been milking the mosque mania have declined to dignify this with a response, but of course conservative blogger Pamela Geller was able to tidily wrap Hamas and Obama in the same burka. (In case you tuned the mosque hysteria out over the weekend, Obama gave a speech supporting the right of Muslims to practice their religion wherever they want.) Today Geller froths, "Once again Obama is aligned with the genocidal, the jihadist... our enemy... Once again, Obama puts himself directly at odds with the majority of the American people, as is his way and the hallmark of his presidency." Terrorist fist-bumps all around!

But not all reactions to Obama's mosque stance fell along party lines. George. W. Bush’s speech writer Mike Gerson calls it "an enormously complex and emotional issue—but ultimately the right thing to do. A president is president for every citizen, including every Muslim citizen. Obama is correct that the way to marginalize radicalism is to respect the best traditions of Islam and protect the religious liberty of Muslim Americans. It is radicals who imagine an American war on Islam. But our conflict is with the radicals alone."

On the other hand, Tom Brown, a retired firefighter who was a first responder on 9/11 and is suing to stop the Islamic center, says that the Imam behind the project, Abdul Rauf, is in bed with Hamas. "This is what we've been saying... Imam Rauf is a radical Muslim who will not call Hamas a terror group," Brown tells the Post. "How much evidence do we need that this guy is a radical Muslim? If Rauf really were a bridge builder and an interfaith guy and all the things he professes to be, he wouldn't be doing this to people."

For more mosque talk, Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler and Republican Congressman Peter King, both of New York, debated the issue on CNN. While acknowledging that the developer had the legal right to building the Islamic center on Park Place, King said, "If the imam and the Muslim leadership in that community is so intent on building bridges, then they should voluntarily move the mosque away from Ground Zero and move it whether it's uptown or somewhere else, but move it away from that area, the same as the pope directed the Carmelite nuns to move a convent away from Auschwitz. This is such a raw wound and they are just pouring salt into it. And that's my point." Nadler countered, "Frankly, Ground Zero is hallowed ground. Two blocks away, first of all, is not so hallowed ground." And that's EXACTLY what HITLER WOULD HAVE SAID! Here's Newt Gingrich with the inevitable Nazi analogy.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on August 16, 2010 1:03 PM

Comments [rss]

exnyer

Fools, it`s a bomb shelter, Al-Qaeda ain`t finished yet. You won`t see whats coming next either.....the enemy is patient. 1993-2001 they finished the job 8 years later

BDS=(Boycott.Divest.Sanction)

you're right, those terrorits are patient!

From 1492 until 1968, they were bidding their time, planning, but never attacking us.

then RFK was assasinated. The first act of Mid-East "terrorism". He was killed by a (Christian) Palestinian, Why? Did he didnt attack him cause he was catholic or because he was heathen? No, it was because of US support for the 1967 pre-emptive war by our 'ally' in the middle east.

then in the 70s you have the PLO doing hijackings...what are they asking for? world domination...no, simply end the occupation. but whatever...

then the 80s...our ally invades Lebanon and spawns Hizbolla..and what are they asking for?.sharia law for everybody? no, just end the occupation this time of Lebanon...then because the occupation still going on in the 'holy land' another group comes into being, Hamas. They've never attacked the US either, but what are they asking for? to convert all xhristians. no, they just want the colony to stop occupying their land.

and it goes on and on like this...the 93 bombing, 9/11...this is a couple of generations of people all motivated by the same idea, which is political, NOT religious. You can kill all the muslim 'terrorists' alive today, but so long as Americans pretend, 'they hate our freedom" and don't address the ROOT cause of the attacks we'll be having this same conversation 30 years from now...

Now you know...

robingee

burp. fart. scratch ass. 'MERICA!

ed_Extinct

Can they just build a halal McDonalds instead?

glennQNYC

"We Muslims know the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation"

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Mischief+Manhattan/3370303/story.html

handsomedevil

Right. Don't take the organizers' own words into account, and who cares what the community board thinks. Let's defer to some people up IN CANADA who think the center is being built "at Ground Zero." They know nothing about it, and make their assertions based on zero evidence. (They just "know" it's a deliberate provocation.)

But it says what you want to hear, so that's good enough for you.

glennQNYC

(construction labor)

glennQNYC

As I posted in an earlier story... It is going to be a great show to see the union contraction labor that helped recover the dead from the WTC; asked to build the mosque!

robingee

glenn, you're not making much sense here.

Mordicai

He needs his chalkboard. Acorns! ACORNS!

handsomedevil

Right, because the exact same people will be on both jobs. (Eyeroll) And people don't pick and choose what construction jobs to take, "the union" just tells them what to do. (Eyeroll again) And nobody in construction wants to work in the down economy. And there are no muslim contractors.

(On that latter point, trust me, there are plenty.)

So, you got an argument that is NOT dumb? Preferably one that is not based on your "feelings".

BDS=(Boycott.Divest.Sanction)

imagine

gays, jews, muslims, christians, atheists, chinamen and all manner of people....all living together in one place. tolerating and respecting each other, even reconizing that despite their differences they have much in common.

at its best this already exists in nyc..and when it doesnt it should be what we strive for. this 'they have a right to build but the muslims shouldnt upset us by putting it there' is the imo the wrong attitude. This is NYC, we should be better than this.

glennQNYC

If the mosque is built, it will be a target for anti-Muslim hate, and at a minimum, lower the standard of living for those who live near the complex (especially if you are gay, jewish, etc.).

The mosque can easily be rejected AT THIS LOCATION as a public safety concern.

handsomedevil

lower the standard of living for those who live near the complex (especially if you are gay, jewish, etc.).

Riiight, because harassment from intolerant muslims is SUCH a big problem in NYC. (I know, I know, there was that one story of the cab driver who kicked out a gay couple. Once.) So many of the recent "hate crime" perpetrators have turned out to be Muslim. NOT.

The mosque can easily be rejected AT THIS LOCATION

Ain't gonna be. What person who is actually in charge of anything opposes this project? None. It's all static from wannabes who have something to gain. (Even Newt doesn't actually DO anything, he's just a partisan consultant.) And dummies like you happily go along for the ride.

glennQNYC

I'm not thinking about intolerant muslems lowering the standard of living for TriBeCa residents... I'm thinking about the untold numbers of protests that will plague the site! People still can protest the mosque correct? We aren't going to tell people they can't peacefully (yet annoyingly) protest the mosque are we?

Again I ask; why would the TriBeCa community want the headache?

robingee

It's not a Mosque, pumpkin. It's a Community Center with a prayer room. And there is an actual mosque downtown anyway, that has been there for decades.

handsomedevil

I'm thinking about the untold numbers of protests that will plague the site!

Fuck 'em. Plenty of sites attract protesters from outside. Do you know the location of your nearest abortion clinic?

But it's very considerate of you to worry about the residents of Tribeca while ignoring the vote of the community board. The locals are actually not opposed to the center. The closer you get to the site the less opposition there is - why is that?

John L

More propaganda from the media.

This is why its important to pick and choose your fights because now these politicians and the media have made this a major issue and has gotten everyone riled up but it's futile, you can't legally stop them without changing the Constitution of the United States of America so why even give it so much attention and hand them a sure victory?

If they would have left them alone to build their mosque hardly anyone would have even realized it was there. Now everyone can rant and rave but guess what? That mosque is still going up and I'm sure their getting more support and donations than ever. In the eyes of the world they will win.

So why pick a fight that legally you can't win?

Well it gives the Republicans some kind of issue besides immigration that they can use to try to get elected with, even though they know they can't stop it. And the media gets more ratings, readership, website hits which brings in more advertisement dollars. What's sad is all the poor saps that think their protesting, comments, or vote can make a difference in this case which it obviously cannot. You're being used, there's no stopping this mosque, so save your time and energies for issues where you can make a difference and fights that you can actually have a chance of winning.

And this not in defense of the mosque, this is against the logic of creating this big issue and fight out of something that can't be stopped and all the people manipulating this situation to gain some kind of personal advantage.

Like it or not, there will be a mosque there so let's stop giving it so much attention.