Ground Zero Mosque

The Hill: "Obama wants $35 billion for teachers, first-responders first"

In what is likely a response to Rep. Peter King's relatively tame hearings on Muslim extremism and homeland security earlier this month, Senator Dick Durbin will be holding a hearing this Tuesday to investigate the supposedly growing problem of anti-Muslim bigotry in America. USA Today reports:

Another setback for the Ground Zero mosque, the New York Times reports:

The Daily Beast reports:

As reported in the New York Times earlier this week, Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, best-known for his rejected offer of a $10 million check to Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has come out against the Ground Zero mosque. Alwaleed’s Kingdom…

Perhaps the most basic measure of a country’s character is whether people, when given the chance, flood into the country or risk life and limb to escape from it. By this measure, Muslims are flourishing in America. Meanwhile, though Christianity predates Islam by centuries in the Middle East,…

Obamacare is clearly one of the most important political issues among independents this election season. But what do independent voters consider the second most important issue? According to one metric, it's the Ground Zero mosque. Pollster Doug Schoen has the results, from his latest work: 

In mid-August, as the controversy over the Ground Zero mosque began to gain international attention, a leading Saudi journalist wrote two opinion articles opposing the project. Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, then manager of the Saudi-owned, Dubai-based Al-Arabiyya satellite television network, first…

The Investigative Project discovers that Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the Ground Zero mosque, has "a longtime partner" who thinks 9/11 was "an inside job":

Debra Burlingame, a Board Member of Keep America Safe, responds to President Obama's remarks at today's press conference on Gitmo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the Ground Zero mosque:

As usual, incisive explanation and analysis from the Taiwanese media outfit, NMA World Edition. This time the subject's the Ground Zero mosque controversy: 

On the eve of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Hamas gunmen murdered four Israeli civilians, including a pregnant woman. Even for those who see nuance in terrorist attacks, this one didn’t leave a lot of room for argument. The PA condemned the attack and, reportedly, picked…

Will the scheme to locate a multi-story megamosque near Ground Zero be doomed by disaffection between Sharif El-Gamal, the head of Soho Properties, Inc., purchaser of the land for the building, and Feisal Abdul Rauf, the “spiritual guide” of the Cordoba Initiative and American Society for Muslim…

In his widely quoted memorial address for Daniel Pearl at an Upper West Side synagogue, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said, "not only today I am a Jew, I have always been one." But that's only the part that's getting all the attention. 

(Language Warning)

Supporters of the "Ground Zero mosque" have been oddly obsessed with the idea that the proposed Islamic center shouldn't be called a "mosque." As Frank Rich wrote last Sunday in the New York Times: "It’s not a mosque but an Islamic cultural center containing a prayer room."

Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, offered the following justification for not traveling with his gay partner to Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries: "We want to encourage the idea of tolerance around the world but we don't want to achieve the opposite either by acting imprudently."

Claudia Rosett discovers that Feisal Abdul Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan, will be going to the Middle East on a State Department trip to perform "public diplomacy." Of course, Rauf, the organizer behind the Ground Zero mosque, is currently on his own controversial State Department funded trip to perform…

Yesterday, Ron Paul issued a statement saying that opposition to the Ground Zero mosque "is all about hate and Islamaphobia," and is driven by "the neo-conservatives who demand continual war in the Middle East and Central Asia and are compelled to constantly justify it."

Via the Corner, Anti-war Republican Ron Paul has issued a statement saying that the opposition to the Ground Zero mosque "is all about hate and Islamaphobia."

Ground Zero, New York City

Ground Zero, New York City

Ground Zero, New York City

The AP and New York Times have decided to avoid using the term the "Ground Zero mosque." Why? Well, because the proposed 'Islamic cultural center' is not just a mosque (though it would contain a mosque) and because it's not right at Ground Zero (but a whole two blocks from Ground Zero).

When Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahhar threw his support behind the Ground Zero mosque, it became clear that what started as a political controversy is also a national security issue. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it is wrong to ask where Imam Feisal Rauf is raising money for his project,…

Ground Zero mosque backers can legally build the proposed mosque mere blocks from the worst attack from Islamist terrorists in this nation's history. That's not in dispute.

Yesterday Howard Dean came out against the Ground Zero mosque and, for his trouble, was criticized for throwing in his lot with Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Assorted Evil Monsters, et al. Today, Dean's own grassroots organization has come out against him. The group Democracy for America (which was…

Lee Smith considers the concept and implications of sharia in his latest column for Tablet:

The former DNC chairman, governor, and presidential primary contender writes at Salon.com:

Via Hot Air, here's a video of Rudy Giuliani talking about the Ground Zero mosque. He says the mosque backers have a right to build it, but they shouldn't. Watch:

The AP's Matthew Lee reports:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi yesterday said: "There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded."

News item: "COLUMBUS, Ohio-- Despite criticism from Republicans and others, President Barack Obama said Wednesday he has 'no regrets' over the comments he made about the right of Muslims to build an Islamic center near the former site of the World Trade Center in New York."

In a radio interview posted on YouTube, former Vermont governor and 2004 presidential primary contender Howard Dean says that the Ground Zero mosque is "a real affront to people who lost their lives, including Muslims" on 9/11. Dean says, "I think another site would be a better idea."

Opponents of the Ground Zero mosque have tried to use analogies to show that their opposition to the mosque is not rooted in anti-Muslim bigotry. For example, a Japanese cultural center at Pearl Harbor would be provocative and insensitive, even though many Japanese Americans fought and died in…

Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias made waves earlier this week when he announced his support for the Ground Zero Mosque. Giannoulias’s support for the mosque isn’t particularly surprising; he’s far behind his Republican opponent, Mark Kirk, in the money race and can’t afford to…

Nancy Pelosi yesterday: "There is no question there is a concerted effort to make this a political issue by some. And I join those who have called for looking into how is this opposition to the mosque being funded."

Via Daniel Foster, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tries to one-up Obama with her own Ground Zero mosque gaffe:

Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias split with Senate majority leader Harry Reid and the majority of Americans in favor of Barack Obama's position on the proposed Ground Zero mosque. Here's the AP: 

Jewish money counter Rep. Mike McMahon (NY - 13) has come out against the proposed Ground Zero mosque, according to a statement released by his campaign:

A column (h/t, MEMRI) in the August 16, 2010 London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, director of Al-Arabiya TV and the paper's former editor, “A House of Worship or a Symbol of Destruction?” should mean the end of plans for a mosque near Ground Zero. Mr. Al-Rashid supports…

The Ground Zero mosque controversy has reawakened concerns about some Islamic Centers in the United States and their funding sources. As Claudia Rosett recently noted, we really don’t know where Feisal Abdul Rauf found $100 million to fund his mega-project in lower Manhattan.  Congressman Peter…

A statement from the Emergency Committee for Israel, on Feisal Abdul Rauf, the founder of the Cordoba Initiative and the man behind the Ground Zero mosque:

Feisal Abdul Rauf is in the news primarily as the sponsor of the Ground Zero mosque. But leave aside the planned mosque. What about the fact that Rauf is now touring the Middle East on a trip sponsored and paid for by our State Department? Is he delivering the message we want foreigners to hear…

On Twitter, CNN's Ed Henry posts a statement from Majority Leader Harry Reid's spokesman:

On Friday night it seemed very clear that President Obama gave moral support to the Ground Zero mosque builders, but on Saturday he appeared to backtrack, saying: "I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very…

Last Tuesday, standing in front of the Statue of Liberty, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke on the subject of the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. His remarks will be read with curiosity by future generations of Americans, who will look back in astonishment at the self-deluding pieties and…

Sarah Palin responds to the president's comments on the Ground Zero mosque:

Former Florida House speaker and current GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio just put out the following statement on the Ground Zero mosque:

Today in Florida President Barack Obama "backed off" (as Politico’s Carol Lee put it) his defense of the Ground Zero mosque. Obama now claims that last night he was only defending the legal rights of the organizers: "I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision…

Penetrating commentary on President Obama's remarks last night on Islam, 9/11, and Ground Zero is already available.

During a Friday night dinner celebrating Ramadan at the White House, President Obama weighed in on the proposal to build a 15-story Islamic center two blocks from the site where nearly 3,000 Americans were killed by Islamist terrorists on 9/11:

Charles Krauthammer writes:

Douglas Murray on how the 'Ground Zero mosque hurts Islam.'

Via Keep America Safe, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley defends the decision to spend tax dollars on a Middle East junket for Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man spearheading the Ground Zero Mosque initiative. Crowley says Rauf was first selected for the program under the Bush administration and…

The State Department is finally explaining why it decided to publish on its affiliate website, www.america.gov, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg’s speech, which endorsed the building of the Ground Zero mosque two blocks from the site of an Islamist terrorist attack that claimed the lives of…

CNN polls registered* voters on the Ground Zero mosque:

Claudia Rosett was first to report on Friday that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man spearheading the Ground Zero Mosque initiative, is about to take a month-long trip through the Middle East sponsored by the U.S. government:

It seems that New York governor David Paterson has taken Dan Senor's line on the Ground Zero mosque: "...of all possible locations in the city..." The New York Post reports on Paterson's offer:

In what appeared to be an implicit endorsement of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's own endorsement of the Ground Zero mosque, the State Department published the entire text of the New York City mayor's speech on its affiliate website, www.america.gov. I called the State Department to receive comment, and…

A failed presidency is a terrible thing to witness. A failed presidency with more than two years left to run is also dangerous for the country. So, even though it would be easy for The Weekly Standard to allow your administration to continue on its current path to perdition, thereby ensuring…

Neda Bolourchi, whose mother was murdered during the 9/11 attacks, wrote in the Washington Post over the weekend:

Christopher Caldwell writes on the Ground Zero mosque in the Financial Times:

Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center argues persuasively that the Ground Zero mosque shouldn't be built so close to the site of the worst terrorist attack in our country's history:

At the Capitol on Thursday, three United States senators weighed in on the decision to build an Islamic cultural center mere blocks from the site of worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. When questioned about the proposal by THE WEEKLY STANDARD, Senators Johnny Isakson (R., Ga.), Olympia Snowe…

A new poll from Siena finds that 61 percent of New York residents and 56 percent of New York City residents oppose the proposed Ground Zero mosque. Only 33 percent of NYC residents support it. Here's the breakdown:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to comment on the controversy surrounding the Ground Zero Mosque this morning. "I don't have any thoughts about that. I assume it will be worked out in New York," the Kentucky Republican told reporters at a breakfast meeting sponsored by the Christian…

The leader of the “Ground Zero mosque” project in New York, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, is commonly portrayed as a moderate and a sincere believer in interfaith dialogue. Typical is a profile in Time that described Rauf and his wife as "the kind of Muslim leaders right-wing commentators fantasize…

Former Democratic New York City mayor Ed Koch tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that he supports the legal right to build mosque near Ground Zero but believes the mosque is "insensitive" to 9/11 survivors and their families.

As the proposal to build a 13-story Islamic center two blocks from Ground Zero moves forward and controversy surrounding the plan grows, top New York Democrats are maintaining radio silence on the matter.

The Hill's Michael O'Brien reports:

Tomorrow's Wall Street Journal features an op-ed by Dan Senor, "An Open Letter on the Ground Zero Mosque: The location undermines the goal of interfaith understanding."

The quote from the Center for American Progress:

The Anti-Defamation League, which describes itself as "the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry," released a statment this morning opposing the building of the 13-story mosque near Ground Zero.