Which, believe me, I expect exactly no one who is not already possessed of these qualities with regard to Cordoba House to gain as a result of this post. I put it up here only because I think it’s important to be on the right side of this issue as publicly as possible as well as to pointedly distinguish myself from those who are not.
Here is a photograph of the New York Dolls Gentleman’s Club.
This photograph comes from Daryl Lang’s blog, History Eraser Button. This is the first of several photographs Daryl has taken of some of what exists the same distance from Ground Zero as the Islamic community, cultural, and religious center would be (the caption is my addition).
Below the photos, Daryl comments:
A month ago, I wrote about my support for a group of Muslim New Yorkers—whom I consider my neighbors—and their right to put a religious building on a piece of private property in Lower Manhattan. Since then, the debate over the Park51 community center, inaccurately nicknamed the “Ground Zero Mosque,” has jumped from talk radio to mainstream conversation, and turned nasty in the process. Sarah Palin wrote that, “it would be an intolerable and tragic mistake to allow such a project sponsored by such an individual to go forward on such hallowed ground.”
Look at the photos. This neighborhood is not hallowed. The people who live and work here are not obsessed with 9/11. The blocks around Ground Zero are like every other hard-working neighborhood in New York, where Muslims are just another thread of the city fabric.
At this point the only argument against this project is fear, specifically fear of Muslims, and that’s a bigoted, cowardly and completely indefensible position.
By the way, according to a Daily News Internet poll on its news site that asked readers to respond to the question, “Is opposition to the building of a mosque near Ground Zero intolerant?” 67% of respondents answered, “Yes, it’s pure religious bigotry against Muslims.” The other two choices were “No, you can be against because it dishonors victims of Sept. 11,” and “Maybe, but the sensitive thing to do is to move it further from the WTC site.”
I know these types of instant polls are not scientific, but this one at least bars people from voting more than once, and one would think that readers of the NY Daily News (working to middle class and fairly conservative) would not be shy about clicking one of the other two buttons if they felt that way.
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