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Where is the mosque money coming from? Rev. Bob Chase on CNN
"If you believe all the hysteria about how the mosque near Ground Zero is going to be financed, you'd think that Osama Bin Laden was writing the check." So stated CNN's Randi Kaye in her feature last night on the controversy that has exploded around the proposed Muslim Center to be built near the footprint of Ground Zero. Intersection's Director Robert Chase has known center planners Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan for nearly a decade and told CNN they stand against terrorism. Questions are being asked if money raised for the center will come from terrorist organizations. As Rev. Chase mentioned to CNN, there is nothing to worry about.
Comments
The Mosque
I am deeply grateful to Bob Chase for speaking out, along with other ecumenical leaders, on this subject. It seems to me to be a simple matter of the United States rising above the narrowness and bigotry so dominant in our culture: A Muslim center that is committed to interreligious dialogue is exactly what I'd like to see near Ground Zero, and I think they should be joined by a similar Christian center, a Jewish center, a Buddhist center, and others. Can't we reclaim that location as a sign of hope and reconciliation instead of, as one responder put it, a symbol of "the conquest of America"? Good grief, I don't think we've been conquered! When the time comes, I'll contribute to the building of this Islamic center.
The Ground Zero Mosque Imam
The Ground Zero Mosque Imam is currently on a Middle East tour on U.S. taxpayer dollars. He refuses to consider another site for the controversial mosque. And to date, he hasn't answered with any specificity details regarding the financing of the ground zero location. Robert, you seem blinded by your decade long relationship with the Imam to even consider some of the reasons why Rauf and Muslims seem hellbent on locating at Ground Zero.
Millions of others don't share your blind admiration and we're not about to go along with a blanket statement "nothing to worry about." A Ground Zero Mosque would absolutely serve as a global monument to the conquering of America on 9/11/2001 - as well as an ongoing sinister symbol for Islamic terrorists worldwide.
Not to mention the fact that it is simply a slap in the face of Americans - and especially those who lost loved ones and friends at Ground Zero. Your buddy Rauf would like to see sharia law instituted in the U.S. - and don't think for a second that's not a long-term goal.
Muslims have shown a strong intolerance for other religions around the world. The Imam's flat refusal to consider another NYC location is very telling - at least for those of us who view this disturbing development with open eyes. The money for this Ground Zero Mosque will come in large part from the Middle East. Millions don't trust Imam Rauf with good reason - millions more certainly don't believe the Ground Zero Mosque will serve solely as a center of faith or bridge between faiths. In its current location, it will serve as a global monument to Islamic terrorists and a lifelong divide.