An attempt is made to share the truth regarding issues concerning Israel and her right to exist as a Jewish nation. This blog has expanded to present information about radical Islam and its potential impact upon Israel and the West. Yes, I do mix in a bit of opinion from time to time.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Arab TV chief: 9-11 mosque would be 'monument' to terror
Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed
The director of a Dubai-based, Arab television network writes that most of the world's Muslims couldn't care less about building a mosque near Ground Zero and that plans to do so would only create a "monument" to terrorists. Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, director-general of Al-Arabiya TV, wrote a column in the Aug. 16, 2010, London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat arguing that President Obama was wasting his time championing construction of the proposed mosque, which Al-Rashed says the majority of world's Muslims don't want anyway.
"I can't imagine that Muslims [actually] want a mosque at this particular location, because it will become an arena for the promoters of hatred, and a monument to those who committed the crime," writes Al-Rashed in the column, which was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. "Moreover, there are no practicing Muslims in the area who need a place to worship, because it is a commercial district. Is there anyone who is [really] eager [to build] this mosque?"
He adds, "I do not think that the majority of Muslims want to build a monument or a place of worship that tomorrow may become a source of pride for the terrorists and their Muslim followers, nor do they want a mosque that will become a shrine for the haters of Islam."
New York Islamic leader Faisal Abdul Rauf, president of the Cordoba Initiative, is leading the plan to build a proposed 13-story, $100 million Islamic cultural center and mosque near the corner of Park Place and West Broadway � about two blocks from the site of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
Al-Rashed, whose network competes with the more extremist-friendly Al Jazeera TV, condemns Rauf's plan.
"The individual who submitted the building application � I do not know whether he [really] wants [to build] a mosque that will promote reconciliation, or whether he is [just] an investor looking for quick profits. Because the idea of a mosque right next to a site of destruction is not at all an intelligent one," Al-Rashed writes. "The last thing Muslims want today is to build a religious center that provokes others, or a symbolic mosque that people will visit as a [kind of] museum next to a cemetery."
President Obama has released a pair of statements in regards to the planned mosque, qualifying support for the religious freedom of Muslims to build the mosque � even in the shadow that was once cast by the World Trade Center � with a hint that the location of the proposed construction may not be the wisest choice.
Al-Rashed's column addresses the president's comments as well:
"U.S. President Barack Obama took a difficult position when he supported the construction of a mosque on a site where 3,000 U.S. citizens were killed by Al-Qaeda terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001," Al-Rashed writes. "Though the president's position was correct in principle, that is, in terms of the principle of freedom of worship, I think he took a political stand [on an issue] that is unnecessary and unimportant, even for the Muslims. This mosque is not an issue for Muslims, and they do not care about its construction."
Al-Rashed's comments prompted commentary from William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard:
Al-Rashed's statement, Kristol writes, "should mean the end of plans for a mosque near Ground Zero. Mr. Al-Rashid supports President Obama's stand for the mosque in principle. � But his practical case against building the mosque is irrefutable. It should lead well-meaning liberals to join with us dastardly conservatives � in calling for the organizers to shelve the plans for a mosque at this site."
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1 comment:
I agree with this muslim for he speaks the truth for both sides. why put a target up so close to ground zero.It surely will bring only trouble and more hard feelings between people. The fact remains when anyone even mentions 911 many people think terrorism; osama bin laden;muslim arabs,or just muslim they don't bother to differentuate nor do they care.
Our president must understand and back of this issue
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