Fine explanation of the author's particular faith tradition, but where is his "perspective on the mosque"?

It was a group of multi government sanctioned islamic men that killed innocent lives at 911 unless you have forgotten?
Look how many Islamic countrys and Islamists celebrated over the death of innocents. I do not want to hear any crap about being unemployed as an excuse for taking innocent lives. Most of us here in America right now are unemployed becuse of the economny and we still havent blown you muslims up yet (even thou the thought is tempting)..
If that mosque is built then all the radicals will claim it as a victory much like a dog peeing on a tree is claiming it as his And for that reason alone I say take your mosque back to iran or afganastan if you want it!!
Thier is a diffrence between freedom of religon and freedom of terrorism. A thug gang by any other name is still a thug gang.

You know, I honestly don't care if they build this church or that church there. The only thing that interests me about this is that Americans are consistently accused of insensitivity to others. Yet what is this? Right or wrong, this does bother quite a few people, so why not just pick another spot? Is that the only place in the city left?

You fail to mention the Imam is a complete radical. What is your stance on that?

"They should study Turkey’s transformation to a democracy, promoted and underwritten by a previously conservative Islamic party."

Wow, that's a pretty interesting interpretation of Ataturk reforming Turkey into a secular state from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire...

"For nearly five hundred years, these rules and theories of an Arab Shaikh and the interpretations of generations of lazy and good-for-nothing priests have decided the civil and criminal law of Turkey. They have decided the form of the Constitution, the details of the lives of each Turk, his food, his hours of rising and sleeping the shape of his clothes, the routine of the midwife who produced his children, what he learned in his schools, his customs, his thoughts-even his most intimate habits. Islam – this theology of an immoral Arab – is a dead thing. Possibly it might have suited tribes in the desert. It is no good for modern, progressive state. God’s revelation! There is no God! These are only the chains by which the priests and bad rulers bound the people down. A ruler who needs religion is a weakling. No weaklings should rule!" - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Doesn't sound like he was a fan.

@ Christine: Are you literate? His perspective on Islam as a religion is extremely pertinent to the debate, since right-wing Christian America has made the debate a war against the religion itself rather than the Constitutional right to build and practice freely.

Additionally, throughout the essay he addressed the mosque directly, including his closing which states, "We must support this center and give a voice to the very large moderate majority around the world that has been silenced by terrorists. To do otherwise would be tantamount to robbing the land of the free of its freedoms."

Suggestion: read before commenting.

Yo Christine,

I think his "perspective" is pretty clear - he thinks the mosque should be built at Park51.

I agree - build the mosque!

Anyone who disagrees is UN-AMERICAN.

The NRA was wrong to hold a "gun rally" right after the shootings in Columbine, CO. The NRA wasn't responsible for the killings, but there was an in your face quality to their rally.

The mosque can be built on the upper west side, brooklyn, queens etc...

Why did the builders choose this particular site? Why is this building so "in your face" and confrontational?

Why does it have to be built right by the WTC? It's not a modest, neighborhood mosque, but a large, $100M, 13 floor, extravagant building.

In London, they have not closed down the infamous Finsbury Mosque, which has been directly linked to several terrorist acts....they are now trying to build a Mega Mosque right next to the 2012 Olympic Site....and they have demanded and now received a Sharia Court.

More recently in Virginia, 5 Pakistani's were caught trying to develop a terrorist plot...they are all linked to 1 Mosque. Has anyone in the Muslim community demanded that Mosque get shut down?

The author needs to ask, why doesn't the muslim community look inward to correct what's going wrong in their religon?

I certainly agree that Muslim-Americans aren’t responsible for 9/11, but that doesn’t mean that Islam isn’t.

While it’s nice to know that the Mr. Malik respects all religions and does not believe that Muslims are superior, for example, unfortunately this isn’t what the Quran says.

In fact the bulk of Islam’s holiest book is devoted to criticizing Jews, Christians, polytheists and unbelievers – disparaging their beliefs and describing their punishment in Hell. Victory over them is promised to Muslims both in this world and the next.

Gina R - The Jewish Scriptures and Christian Bible contain similar langauage about the victory of God and those chosen over sinners and nonbelievers as well. If I had to guess it's not the Quran, but it's rationalizing by those with bad intentions that is the problem.

Here is an excerpt of a comment left elsewhere:
. . . A similar quick assessment of history, especially the Crusades, indicates that Western Civilization had long differences with Islam. Let us remember, however, that until recently Islam existed in isolated and closed societies that often used it to suit their needs. While countries like Saudi Arabia remain closed, others such as Lebanon, Egypt, and even Turkey (that sacked Constantinople) have endeavored to harmonize Islam with the modern world.
If it is true that religion needs to evolve in order to stay viable, then Islam is overdue on this task, as perhaps was Christianity before Martin Luther. But the Muslims of Europe, of the United States, and much of the Middle East have shown that the Qur’an can be adapted to the Twenty First Century.
What better place then, for Islam to reassess itself than in the United States where we guarantee freedom of religion. Here, Islam can harmonize itself with the times to better serve its faithful.
But why in an Islamic Center two blocks away from our most recently hallowed ground? Because being front and center, it can serve as a monument to our own free society.
The United States is a matured nation, secured in its system of government and its laws. As a people, we respect all faiths grounded in tolerance, peace and understanding.
Yet, as we should, we will remain savvy and vigilant.

I would support the effort to build the mosque if it was being led by someone like Irshad Manji or Zuhdi Jasser, who openly rejected Hamas, Iran, and Sharia, and who promoted an American Muslim identity separate from the global collective ummah.

However, if the project was to lead a REFORMED, AMERICAN version of Islam, the mosque would be a TARGET FOR EXTREMISTS, because then the mosque would truly be anti-violence, anti-jihad, anti-islamist, ANTI-SHARIA. Extremists revile people like Manji and Jasser, and would consider the mosque blasphemous. Now THAT would be a blow to extremists.

Quislings have apparently been in a coma (both before and after 9/11) since they appear to think 9/11 was the only incident of Muslims attacking non-Muslims. If they weren’t in a coma, there’s no excuse for such gross stupidity.

Muslims must take some responsibility for their global jihad when thousands of their co-religionists over the past two decades kill thousands of innocents of every religion around the world; and when they deprive non-Muslims of their human rights in 57 of 57 Muslim governed countries.

Look. American Muslims may be the very soul of moderation. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable for folks to ask for more from (allegedly) “peaceful” Muslims than disingenuous whitewashing of uncomfortable elements of Islamic sharia tradition, as practiced in Iran, Gaza, Kashmir, Malaysia, the Paris banlieue… and (pointedly) Cordoba House in NYC.

A genuine tiny minority of anti-jihadist Muslims may be found @ SecularIslam.org.

Americans remain breathless in anticipation of the vast majority of (allegedly) “peaceful” American Muslims supporting this genuinely tiny minority of their co-religionists… but don’t hold your breath.

15K deadly Islamo-supremacist attacks since 9/11 don’t lie.
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

Mayor Bloomberg is correct in supporting the Muslim Interfaith Center/Mosque.
How do you determine what is a reasonable distance from Ground Zero that will protect sensibilites of relatives of victims that includes Muslim men .

Today it is Ground Zero, Tomorrow it could be neighborhoods and Schools and concentration camps for Muslims like we had for the Japanese..

THE WRITER REMINDS US OF WHAT HALPPENED TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN GERMANY. I AM PASTING IT FOR YOU. WE MUST READ IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

"If it is not safe to have an Islamic center two blocks from Ground Zero, who will decide on the exact distance needed for safety? What about the feelings of the Muslim mothers who also lost their sons on Sept. 11? Are they not also hurting? Like their fellow Jewish and Christian mothers, they all grieve for their loss. Instead of apportioning the levels of blame, we should target the enemy that caused us the pain.

America’s celebrated ideals of separation of church and state and freedom of religion are on the line. If we give in to the location of the Islamic center what will be next?

In any democracy, we are entitled to our views. But we must be reasonable. This is how persecution of the Jewish people started in Germany. Through propaganda and caricature, the Jewish population was blamed for the recession. The firebombing of Jewish-owned shops and the looting of Jewish property led eventually to the transportation of Jews to concentration camps. Six million Jews were slaughtered as the world stood silent.

To blame Muslim Americans for 9/11 is simply a crazy idea.

We must support this center and give a voice to the very large moderate majority around the world that has been silenced by terrorists. To do otherwise would be tantamount to robbing the land of the free of its freedoms"

We must congratulate and support Mayor Bloomberg in supporting and protecting our freedom of religion.
It is wonderful that a Jewish leader has come to the rescue of Muslims.
Bravo Mr. Bloomberg, more power to you.
President Obama should take courage from Mr. Bloomberg and address the nation and make a case for defending America's freedoms and prevent America from becoming the very countries the new and hopeful immigrants come from in search of freedom.

God bless America and our Constition.
May God bless all those who were murdered ruthlessly by fifteen Saudi Terrolrists Who have nothing in commonw with the Majority of Muslims who are NON ARABS. The largest Muslim country in the world is Indonesia and it is non-arab. Close to 900 million people are non-Arabs and do not even speak the language of the Orthodox Middle East madmen

I don't know how many times I need to repeat the message before it sinks into the thick skulls of Bloomberg's Quisling toadies here-- but my patience is spent with these lying Leftist idiotarians.

This has NOTHING to do with removing mosques and everything to do with the Islamo-supremacism of Cordoba House, in particular. Somehow, I think Greg (and his Quisling toadies) wouldn't support neo-pagans' "right" to erect eternal Crann Tara monuments next to MLK memorials.

But when patriotic Americans object to stealth jihadists-- and (yes) that accurately describes the Cordoba House cabal-- opening a 9/11 snuff porn vendor emporium (and jihadi recruitment center) on the hallowed graves of Ground Zero-- Quisling hypocrits shriek with indignation!

American Muslims may be the very soul of moderation. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable for Americans to ask for more from (allegedly) “peaceful” Cordoba House jihadists than insincere bromides and disingenuous whitewashing of uncomfortable elements of Islamic sharia law, as practiced by the Cordoba House cabal and their financial sponsors.

A genuine tiny minority of anti-jihadist Muslims may be found @
http://secularislam.org/blog/post/SI_Blog/21/The-St-Petersburg-Declaration

Americans remain breathless in anticipation of the sharia law vendors of Cordoba House supporting this genuinely tiny minority of their co-religionists-- but don’t hold your breath.

When will Quislings support Secular Islam advocates' right to live free from the sharia law intimidation of Cordoba House Islamo-supremacists?

Be advised these sharia-fascists have their eyes on your throat, too.

"Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!" [Matthew 23:24]

Bloomber should apologize to the secular Muslim NY Cabbie and his family for inciting the pro-jihad mosque vigilantee to moby violence.

It's time to take a little ownership for Bloomberg's orchestrated Islamo-supremacist advocacy campaign.

What gets lost in all Bloomberg's demogoguery is that the Muslim cabbie victim is himself a hateful hater, bigot, inauthentic, xenophobic, neanderthal-- at least, if you go by the criterion set out by Bloomberg and his Quisling toadies: Opposing the mosque is "Islamophobia"-- period. Right?

As an anti-jihadist, however, I’m inclined to observe that the Muslim cabbie’s pretty much consonant in his opinion of the Cordoba mosque with a super majority (70%) of his fellow Americans.

That Bloomberg's proteges will be disappointed to discover the opinion of this Muslim cabbie apostate tells you all you need to know about the two "sides" of this debate.

1: Stop using Islamic cultural centers to disconnect people from their connection
to governments and promote Islam worldwide

2: Muslims are fighting all cultures and religions worldwide.
Islamic mosques and cultural centers are recruiting agencies

From:-- India to Russia--Philippines to England--Thailand to New York--Uganda to Nepal--Argentina to China--France to Kenya-all 58 Muslim countries

Islamist worldwide kill attacks summary
15.929 Islamist attacks since 9/11
503 in 16 days of Ramadan
1060- Jul
556-Jun
742- May

Have you seen any Muslim demonstrating against this ideology and demanding to end this endless war?
Silent supporters of the Islam over all ideology

What's up Bigots!

Taking your HATER attitudes to Nazi-ville.

Go join the KKK or the Tea Party, you effing Racists.

America is America - not Christian town. The founding fathers explicitly state numerous times, in writing, that the USA is NOT a Christian nation - but a nation free to practice any religion or not.

If you do not like a diverse nation, then you should leave America.

Just to piss off the bigots, I am sending a donation to the Park 51 Islamic Community Center - not mosque.

FU Bigots.

You're going to send money to a group just to piss off people you don't even know?

The NRA wasn't responsible for the killings, but there was an in your face quality to their rally.

No there wasn't. In fact they canceled every single side activity they had previously scheduled and only held the main meeting. Even the quote by Moore's worthless movie was completely taken out of context. Heston pointed out that the NRA wasn't suddenly showing up on their doorstep. They were already there as productive members of the community. Really , the idea that they had to cancel anything is soccer parent logic.

No one shares a "God and prophets with the Christians and the Jews" in any productive way that will get them to heaven if they dont believe that Christ is the only Son of the living God and that He is the only way to heaven. Believing in His Father, as a Muslim or Jew, isnt enough. In addition, prophets arent important now that Christ has been here and will return. All we need to do is be obedient to Him and faithful to His word until he comes back. Thanks.