Pam Geller - who led the fight against it - reports that plans to build a mega mosque near the site of the former World Trade Center have been scrapped.
The
infamous “Ground Zero mosque” debate is officially over. A “market
maker” 70-story skyscraper will soon break ground at lower Manhattan’s
45 Park Place, ending any possibility of resurrecting plans for the
religious building.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s proposal four years ago to create a 15-story
Islamic cultural center near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks sparked a national uproar.
Developer Sharif El-Gamal of Soho
Properties, who was originally on board with the plan, rendered the
whole debate moot by opting to build a 667-foot condominium tower for
the property instead, Crain’s New York Business reported Friday.
El-Gamal told Crain’s his skyscraper will include 5 full-floor units of 3,200 to 3,700 square feet, and average prices higher than $3,000 a square foot.
“Every day that we’ve been waiting, the market has been getting stronger and showing incredible signs of resilience,” Mr. El-Gamal said, the magazine reported. “The appreciation and absorption this market is showing is unprecedented.”
El-Gamal put aside plans for the “Ground Zero Mosque” in 2011 after he had trouble finding financial backers, but until now was unsure what would take its place. Public records show he bought the lot in 2009 for $4.85 million, the magazine reported.
The developer expects to break ground on the project – just two blocks from where the former World Trade Center towers stood – in early 2016, Crain’s reported.
A group of people with a terrible record as developers who didn’t develop, businessmen who didn’t pay their bills, and slumlords put together a very badly designed project that would never otherwise have gotten zoning and other permits. In other words, the true story is how city officials gave special privileges and the media gave sweetheart coverage because people were Muslims building a mosque, not that there was discrimination against Muslims who wanted to build a mosque. Remember, in the end the mosque project got everything its advocates wanted and yet it still wasn’t built.
It is the story of how the corrupt can play a system built around special privileges for special categories of people, in which fear of being labelled some variety of “racist” overrides the proper enforcement of the law.
Someone should write the detailed story of the whole affair from that standpoint.
As America builds mosques, Islamic countries destroy churches
I don't recall whether I mentioned this on the blog, or just wrote it to someone privately, but during my last several trips to Boston a mosque has been built smack in the heart of one of the major Jewish communities. According to one of my sources there, the Jewish community attempted to buy the building - which was previously owned by Jews - but was not successful in doing so. So now there is a mosque in the middle of a heavily Jewish neighborhood (in fact, it's a couple of buildings away from one of the Jewish schools.
But while mosques continue to be built in America, Christian communities dwindle in the Middle East and elsewhere. It is almost impossible to build churches in Islamic countries (forget synagogues - there are almost no Jews left in most Islamic countries).
As Muslims prepare to erect a mega-mosque near the site of the 9/11 atrocities, it is well to reflect that the sort of tolerance, or indifference, that allows them to do so is far from reciprocated to churches in the Muslim world. I speak not of Islamist attacks against churches — such as the New Year’s Eve attack in Egypt that killed 21 Christians; or when jihadists stormed a church in Iraq, butchering over 50 Christians; or Christmas Eve attacks on churches in Nigeria and the Philippines. Nor am I referring to state-sanctioned hostility by Islamist regimes, such as Iran’s recent “round up” of Christians.
Rather, I refer to anti-church policy by Middle East governments deemed “moderate.” Consider: Kuwait just denied, without explanation, a request to build a church; so did Indonesia, forcing Christians to celebrate Christmas in a parking lot — even as a mob of 1,000 Muslims burned down two other churches. If this is the fate of churches in “moderate” Indonesia and Kuwait — the latter’s sovereignty due entirely to U.S. sacrifices in the First Gulf War — what can be expected of the rest of the Islamic world?
The best example of anti-church policy is Egypt, where the Middle East’s largest Christian minority, the Copts, lives. Even before Mubarak stepped down, “more than 1500 assaults on Copts have occurred, without any appropriate punishment given to criminals or compensation to the victims,” according to Coptic Solidarity.
Similarly, Egypt’s state security, which is now in charge, has a curious habit of disappearing right before Coptic churches are attacked — such as in the aforementioned New Year’s Eve attack. They also tend to arrive rather late after churches are attacked: it took security “hours” to appear when six Copts were murdered as they left church last year. Considering that weeks ago an Egyptian policeman identified and opened fire on Christians, killing a 71-year-old — while yelling Islam’s ancient war-cry, “Allah Akbar!” — none of this should be surprising.
I received an email this morning asking me to attend the World premier of a movie called Sacrificed Survivors on February 20. Since it's in Pinellas Park, Florida, I don't plan to attend (unless someone sends me a plane ticket), but I thought I would pass the information on to you (Hat Tip: The Israel Project).
Pinellas Patriots is proud and privileged to share a few hours on February 20th with The Christian Action Network and a panel of illustrious experts in the preview of "Sacrificed Survivors" - The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega-Mosque.
When Islamic terrorists flew two jets into the WTC on September 11, 2001, the world changed forever for those who survived the attack and the family members of the nearly 3,000 murdered victims.
Now, as plans for the mosque move forward at Ground Zero, just steps away from the twin towers, the survivors and family members are experiencing yet another type of Islamic jihad. CAN/PRB films tells their poignant and shocking stories in this new film, "Sacrificed Survivors: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega-Mosque."
You'll weep with the families as they recount their last, horrifying minutes on the phone with their loved ones. You'll hear about untold acts of heroism and escape. You'll see secret, undercover footage of the radical leader of the mosque, Imam Rauf, leading services inside the mosque building. And, you'll understand the true, radical agenda of those behind the mosque - the Imam, the developer, the financial backers and the followers who are already attending Islamic services at Ground Zero. The documentary is approximately 45 minutes in length and there will be plenty of time allotted to the panel for your questions and their answers. When we get a definite response from CAN (Christian Action Network) on the exact names of the panelists, we will update this information.
We are hoping for a surprise or two!
For more details, read the whole thing, and sign up in advance - 24 out of 160 spaces are already taken and there's a strict limit on the number of people who can attend.
I did manage to find a trailer for the film on YouTube, so let's go to the videotape.
The Ground Zero Victory mosque and the Middle East 'peace process'
Arnold Soloway explains that the ideology of those who insist on building the Ground Zero Victory mosque at the location of the 9/11 terror attacks is one and the same as the ideology of those who wish a one-state (not Jewish and Democratic) 'solution' to the Middle East.
Unfortunately U.S. and Western attention has focused almost exclusively on issues of “territory” and “settlements” as keys to the conflict. But the Arab-Israel conflict really is not about “territory” or “settlements”. Its root cause is in that Jihadist religious political mindset that will not allow Israel to exist and is resolved to restore Arab Muslim influence, prestige, control and power to their glory of ages past. That is the Jihadists’ proclaimed ultimate goal, and they will not willingly accept compromise.
Those who deny that extremist Ground Zero mindset do a disservice to the Muslim community that truly seeks reciprocal mutual respect, accommodation and accord with others, in the American tradition. Nor can we, who are committed to freedom, the civil, political and religious rights of all people, succumb to the immorality of not facing the reality of a great divide
1 A multi-storied mosque at Ground Zero would be seen in the Middle East and beyond as a triumphal testament to the terrorists success on 9/11. The name “Cordoba House” recalls the Arab triumph in Cordoba, Spain, and the quick conversion of its church to a mosque, just as the two mosques built on the Jews’ Holy Temple Mount signaled their conquest of Jerusalem.
Read the whole thing. The footnote relates to an earlier point in the article, but I think it stands alone as well, and I think it's important even for those of you who don't have time to click through.
Congregation Beth Elohim, at 274 Garfield Place in Park Slope, Brooklyn, will host two events next weekend exploring and responding to Islamophobia in America and in Israel.
On Friday evening, January 14, from 7-9 PM, there will be a panel discussion exploring a response to Islamophobia led by Lisa Miller, Religion Editor at Newsweek Magazine, with Daisy Khan of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, Iain Levine from Human Rights Watch, and Beth Elohim's Rabbi Bachman.
On Saturday afternoon, January 15, from 12:30-2 PM, there will be a Shabbat luncheon and an accompanying discussion with Anat Hoffman, Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center and Director of Women at the Wall, on the topic of religious pluralism in modern Israel.
Who is representing Israel and the Jewish people at either of these events?
If anyone doesn't recognize the name, Daisy Khan is the wife of the Imam of the Ground Zero Victory Mosque.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
