Thread: Imam of Proposed Mosque Near Ground Zero Receiving Death Thr

Imam of Proposed Mosque Near Ground Zero Receiving Death Threats

Published October 03, 2010
| Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The wife of an imam planning an Islamic community center and mosque near the World Trade Center site said Sunday that she and her husband have received death threats.

"For the record, my life is under threat," Daisy Khan said during a town hall debate on Islam broadcast on ABC's "This Week" news program.

Khan, who's married to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, said her husband's life also is under threat but, "We do not walk around with bodyguards because we love this country."

Chief police spokesman Paul Browne confirmed that Khan had told authorities about the telephone threats she'd received.

"There were telephone threats made," Browne said, adding the police department was investigating.

Rauf would be a spiritual leader of a 16-story Islamic center and mosque planned for lower Manhattan two blocks north of where Islamic extremists destroyed the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and killed nearly 2,800 people.

But the center's location has upset some relatives of Sept. 11 victims and stirred nationwide debate and angry demands that it be moved. Critics say the site of mass murder by Islamic extremists is no place for an Islamic institution, while supporters of the center say religious freedom should be protected.

The debate on "This Week" posed the question, "Should Americans fear Islam?"

Besides Khan, panelists included two relatives of Sept. 11 victims, former FBI agent Brad Garrett and the Rev. Franklin Graham, who heads the evangelical Christian organization founded by his father, Billy Graham.

Khan said that moderate Muslims like her must lead the fight against extremists in their religion.

"This is what we Muslims want to do, but you have tied our hands," Khan said. "You don't allow us to do this because you brand somebody like me as an extremist and throw me into the arms of Al Qaeda."

Developer Sharif El-Gamal last week released preliminary sketches of the planned Islamic center. He said groundbreaking is probably two to three years away.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/03/im ... latestnews

That's just completely unnecessary.

In a country that cherishes freedom of religion and freedom of speech, it saddens me that some people just can't allow the Muslims, who wish to worship at the mosque, to do so in peace.

I hope that at some point the US gov't withdraws our soldiers overseas to avoid intervention in other countries and, instead, seeks to secure our own darn borders.

'In a country that cherishes freedom of religion and freedom of speech, it saddens me that some people just can't allow the Muslims, who wish to worship at the mosque, to do so in peace. '


I don't condone death threats for any reason. But opposing freedom of religion/speech isn't where the rage is coming from. Not the issue..It's about the lack of compassion and respect for the deseased victims....All they ask is for their mosque to be moved to another location. If they were practitioners of 'peace and healing' as the Imam said, this request would be no biggie...

Originally Posted by DearsisterAnise

'In a country that cherishes freedom of religion and freedom of speech, it saddens me that some people just can't allow the Muslims, who wish to worship at the mosque, to do so in peace. '


I don't condone death threats for any reason. But opposing freedom of religion/speech isn't where the rage is coming from. Not the issue..It's about the lack of compassion and respect for the deseased victims....All they ask is for their mosque to be moved to another location. If they were practitioners of 'peace and healing' as the Imam said, this request would be no biggie...

Huh? Why should they move? The Muslims who worship at the mosque have neither a committed wrongdoing nor have they behaved disrespectfully from what I've seen.

What specific action(s) of theirs would you consider offensive?

Originally Posted by Coulrophobe

Originally Posted by DearsisterAnise

'In a country that cherishes freedom of religion and freedom of speech, it saddens me that some people just can't allow the Muslims, who wish to worship at the mosque, to do so in peace. '


I don't condone death threats for any reason. But opposing freedom of religion/speech isn't where the rage is coming from. Not the issue..It's about the lack of compassion and respect for the deseased victims....All they ask is for their mosque to be moved to another location. If they were practitioners of 'peace and healing' as the Imam said, this request would be no biggie...

Huh? Why should they move? The Muslims who worship at the mosque have neither a committed wrongdoing nor have they behaved disrespectfully from what I've seen.

What specific action(s) of theirs would you consider offensive?

They should move because most people want them to. That is how we do things in this country. We go with what most people want. If muslims don't understand that concept then they should not be in the country at all. Putting a mosque where most people do not want a mosque just shows that muslims do not respect or understand our culture. Furthermore, most of the people who died in the attack were not muslim.

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by Coulrophobe

Originally Posted by DearsisterAnise

'In a country that cherishes freedom of religion and freedom of speech, it saddens me that some people just can't allow the Muslims, who wish to worship at the mosque, to do so in peace. '


I don't condone death threats for any reason. But opposing freedom of religion/speech isn't where the rage is coming from. Not the issue..It's about the lack of compassion and respect for the deseased victims....All they ask is for their mosque to be moved to another location. If they were practitioners of 'peace and healing' as the Imam said, this request would be no biggie...

Huh? Why should they move? The Muslims who worship at the mosque have neither a committed wrongdoing nor have they behaved disrespectfully from what I've seen.

What specific action(s) of theirs would you consider offensive?

They should move because most people want them to. That is how we do things in this country. We go with what most people want. If muslims don't understand that concept then they should not be in the country at all. Putting a mosque where most people do not want a mosque just shows that muslims do not respect or understand our culture. Furthermore, most of the people who died in the attack were not muslim.

All of the above reasons plus in the Muslim world it would be seen as a Victory Mosque since it was Islamic extremist that took down the twin towers. Just as the huge Mosque in Spain is seen as a victory mosque. With 100 mosques in NY city it is hard to understand why they need another one at Ground Zero and will not even consider another site.