Should we be like Saudis re Religious Freedom?

Should we be like Saudis re Religious Freedom?

Newt Gingrich argues that the US should?like the oppressive theocracy of Saudi Arabia?forbid certain religions from building places of worship in certain places. Specifically, we should reject (?refudiate??) the mosque near Ground Zero.

In essence, his argument is: they're intolerant, thus we should be intolerant.

Do you agree?

Newt Gingrich Statement on the Proposed ?Cordoba House? Mosque at Ground Zero | Newt.org

You are getting a reputation of asking some most difficult questions.
This one , in particular, is a real hard one. I really do want to show as much tolerance as possible, about all things, but I think that the people that want to push this mosque this close to ground zero have an agenda of confrontation. There are other places to build a mosque, and while I have some serious question about the general nature of Islam, I want to truly keep a tolerant attitude toward all people. I firmly believe that the true nature and aspirations of all human beings are more similar than disparate.It's dogma and misperceptions that keep us apart.

IMO if there are any other places of worship @ Ground Zero - then yes. If not, then no - keep it secular. You can not say yes to a church, temple or synagogue and no to a mosque. I'd prefer to keep Ground Zero a place where anyone of any faith can go and pray in their own minds and hearts - if that is what gives them comfort. No one needs any building to do that.

So I say again - if any other places of worship are located at Ground Zero then yes, and if not, then no.

This has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia.

A mosque at Ground Zero would be a trophy mosque. It has nothing to do with religion. How tolerant do you think these people will be if they come walking down your street strapped with explosives. Do you think you would be alllowed to live just because you are tolerant? Good luck.

Should we be like Saudis re Religious Freedom?

Newt Gingrich argues that the US should?like the oppressive theocracy of Saudi Arabia?forbid certain religions from building places of worship in certain places. Specifically, we should reject (?refudiate??) the mosque near Ground Zero.

In essence, his argument is: they're intolerant, thus we should be intolerant.

Do you agree?

Newt Gingrich Statement on the Proposed ?Cordoba House? Mosque at Ground Zero | Newt.org

IMHO, if it's private land the organization owns, and what they build fits with local building codes, they can build anything they want there. It really doesn't make any difference if it's a mosque or catholic church or a KKK meeting hall. If they own it, they can build on it, it's theirs.

The Masjid al-Haram "Grand Mosque" in Mecca, Saudia Arabia is Islams most holly site.
The current structure covers an area of 990.40 acres including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to four million Muslim worshippers.

If the Saudis will let a Catholic church be built within a half mile of the center then I say break ground in NYC. If not then built it somewhere else.

A mosque at Ground Zero would be a trophy mosque. It has nothing to do with religion. How tolerant do you think these people will be if they come walking down your street strapped with explosives. Do you think you would be alllowed to live just because you are tolerant? Good luck.

git em becky before they get all blowed up.

The Masjid al-Haram "Grand Mosque" in Mecca, Saudia Arabia is Islams most holly site.
The current structure covers an area of 990.40 acres including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to four million Muslim worshippers.

If the Saudis will let a Catholic church be built within a half mile of the center then I say break ground in NYC. If not then built it somewhere else.

how about a mormon church?

how about a mormon church?

Even better, then every one in Salt Lake can make a pilgrimage.:sarc:

IMO if there are any other places of worship @ Ground Zero - then yes. If not, then no - keep it secular. You can not say yes to a church, temple or synagogue and no to a mosque. I'd prefer to keep Ground Zero a place where anyone of any faith can go and pray in their own minds and hearts - if that is what gives them comfort. No one needs any building to do that.

So I say again - if any other places of worship are located at Ground Zero then yes, and if not, then no.

This has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia.

Ugh Gidget! 😀 :wave:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"

Free exercise thereof, includes building a church to preach in!

Should we be like Saudis re Religious Freedom?

Newt Gingrich argues that the US should?like the oppressive theocracy of Saudi Arabia?forbid certain religions from building places of worship in certain places. Specifically, we should reject (?refudiate??) the mosque near Ground Zero.

In essence, his argument is: they're intolerant, thus we should be intolerant.

Do you agree?

Newt Gingrich Statement on the Proposed ?Cordoba House? Mosque at Ground Zero | Newt.org

Newt Gingrich's reasoning is ridiculous and immature. Personally though if I lived in NYC and frequented that area around the time of the attack, I'd prefer to have a more neutral ground where I could be at piece with my own thoughts on the matter. In other words any kind of church and even a memorial would not promote good vibes with me. To me they are just grim reminders of death which I think some of us are already acutely aware of.

The Masjid al-Haram "Grand Mosque" in Mecca, Saudia Arabia is Islams most holly site.
The current structure covers an area of 990.40 acres including the outdoor and indoor praying spaces and can accommodate up to four million Muslim worshippers.

If the Saudis will let a Catholic church be built within a half mile of the center then I say break ground in NYC. If not then built it somewhere else.

So the United States should drop their standards to equal those of Saudi Arabia?

So the United States should drop their standards to equal those of Saudi Arabia?

I dont know what the Sudis would say about building a church in Mecca. I don't know what their standards are.

I dont know what the Sudis would say about building a church in Mecca. I don't know what their standards are.

Who cares? This isn't Saudi Arabia. We have different, better standards we always apply.

Who cares? This isn't Saudi Arabia. We have different, better standards we always apply.

I'm with 30ashopper on this one. All his posts on this thread reflect my feelings exactly.

I'm with 30ashopper on this one. All his posts on this thread reflect my feelings exactly.

I honestly can't believe Newt published that. If it were some republican house member or pundit, I'd understand. But Newt should have known better.

I dont know what the Sudis would say about building a church in Mecca. I don't know what their standards are.

They have to be built to code.

IMO if there are any other places of worship @ Ground Zero - then yes. If not, then no - keep it secular. You can not say yes to a church, temple or synagogue and no to a mosque. I'd prefer to keep Ground Zero a place where anyone of any faith can go and pray in their own minds and hearts - if that is what gives them comfort. No one needs any building to do that.

So I say again - if any other places of worship are located at Ground Zero then yes, and if not, then no.

This has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia.

What I meant by that 30Ashopper, is that are other places of worship allowed? If any are allowed then of course a mosque should be. If the others aren't then of course nothing should be built. I would imagine they are all allowed - so in that case, yes. (I think I said it in reverse above, but meant the same thing)

I still don't understand WHAT this has to do w/Saudi Arabia :idontno: which is a point we agree on right?

I honestly can't believe Newt published that. If it were some republican house member or pundit, I'd understand. But Newt should have known better.

It seems very Newtish to me! I wasn't surprised at all.

It seems Newtish to me too. To clarify, I think the proposed mosque is within a few blocks of ground zero, and not part of the re-build. I'm not aware that any other churches are involved in the rebuild. I agree with LS that the rebuild of ground zero should have as little memorial as possible. Why be reminded of death and destruction every day? Just move on and try to make things better.

The big issue, IMHO, with the proposed mosque at ground zero is that the guy who wants to build it has repeatedly spoken out against the US and wants the US Government to implement Sharia Law as a separate set of laws within US laws.

Sorry, Momar or whatever your name is. If you came to the USA, play by our rules or get the heck out...

The big issue, IMHO, with the proposed mosque at ground zero is that the guy who wants to build it has repeatedly spoken out against the US and wants the US Government to implement Sharia Law as a separate set of laws within US laws.

Oh wow - I missed that. So there's an agenda to this. Not just a neighborhood mosque going up among churches and other places of worship.

So wrong then.

Thanks for pointing that out.

G

Should we be like Saudis re Religious Freedom?

Newt Gingrich argues that the US should?like the oppressive theocracy of Saudi Arabia?forbid certain religions from building places of worship in certain places. Specifically, we should reject (?refudiate??) the mosque near Ground Zero.

In essence, his argument is: they're intolerant, thus we should be intolerant.

Do you agree?

Newt Gingrich Statement on the Proposed ?Cordoba House? Mosque at Ground Zero | Newt.org

.
Interesting take from a New Yorker on the site being a secular site, a site without religious significance and questioning why some, such as Palin, are weighing in on the urban planning of the NY area and what constituency she represents. 😉

@ Sarah Palin, pls understand, this is America

"... In demographic terms, ?Ground Zero? is actually ?Ground Infinity? if calibrated in terms of gods worshipped, languages spoken, cuisines eaten, tones of skin seen there on a daily basis. .....

What Palin and her compatriots who don?t live in diverse megacities are asking us to do is deny who we are in the service of some untrue idea that Muslims aren?t as natively American as Christians. Palin is essentially asking that Muslims hide and stay out of the way until people who hate Muslims get over their hatred.
Nothing in New York City could ever advance the pursuit of monoculture. In fact, New Yorkers of every religious persuasion in every degree of religiosity ? often religiously anti-religious ? live and work together in blocks immediately adjacent to the former twin towers. We are not by any means a tolerant society. Many of us are openly intolerant of others, but still we live and work together.
If Palin did her homework, she?d know that there are dozens of mosques already located within a one-mile radius of those craters, ..."

.

Google "Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf" and start reading. Admittedly, there are a few nut job sites that you will run across.

Here's a quote to get you going. This is from his 60 Minutes appearance...
"Fanaticism and terrorism have no place in Islam... I wouldn't say that the United States deserved what happened, but the United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened."

Should we be like Saudis re Religious Freedom?

Newt Gingrich argues that the US should?like the oppressive theocracy of Saudi Arabia?forbid certain religions from building places of worship in certain places. Specifically, we should reject (?refudiate??) the mosque near Ground Zero.

In essence, his argument is: they're intolerant, thus we should be intolerant.

Do you agree?

Newt Gingrich Statement on the Proposed ?Cordoba House? Mosque at Ground Zero | Newt.org

First off, Newt is misinformed. The Cordoba House will be a diverse cultural center which will not be a mosque and have nothing to do with religion whatsoever. It will be a place for community gatherings in promotion of tolerance of all, mainly utilizing arts and culture as a catalyst. As far as the name is concerned, Cordoba was a thriving city a thousand years ago that housed the largest library in the world and it was a global center of trade and culture where Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in prosperous harmony.

The World Trade Center reflected that tolerance, hence it's name. What would be a better site than the Cordoba house to teach acceptance and tolerance, especially in New York where millions of immigrants entered this Country. When we reject projects based on the faith of the builder it is a danger to our economic and cultural future and is not what this Country stands for.

Google "Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf" and start reading. Admittedly, there are a few nut job sites that you will run across.

Here's a quote to get you going. This is from his 60 Minutes appearance...
"Fanaticism and terrorism have no place in Islam... I wouldn't say that the United States deserved what happened, but the United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened."

I would hope that Mayor Bloomberg, a Jew nonetheless, would have done his homework before endorsing the Center. Further, you can't build anything in New York without knowing who is financially supporting a project.