Imam Rauf: The Tour

[bonnie]

Imam Rauf: The Tour

Jack Kemp

The Associated Press reports on Christmas Day that Imam Rauf is going on a nationwide speaking tour, starting in Detroit, with stops in Washington, Chicago, Harvard, Georgetown and the U. of North Carolina.

While this is not yet confirmed publicly by the University during their Chris...er..."Winter Holiday," one doesn't expect that Harvard wants to invite a slumlord who took federal money and effected little, if any, repairs to fire and other building code violations to his properties, forcing poor people to live with vermin as well. The "honor" most befitting Imam Rauf would be his listing in New York's Village Voice famous annual "Ten Worst Landlords" issue this coming March, in an edition expanded to included New Jersey abusers of tenants as well.

Imam Rauf's tenants don't have the funds to follow this slumlord around the United States, but perhaps other people can take up the call to protest this "moderate" Imam who refused to condemn Hamas on national television, and who said that "The United States has more blood on its hands than Al Qaeda" deserves a real Tea Party welcome in both the shadow of Boston Harbor and in the entire United States

[fccool]

The opponents of the proposed Cordoba Initiative Islamic center planned for Lower Manhattan are fond of suggesting, by way of lengthy and often confusing chains of causation and association, that its principal planner, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, is connected to terrorism. "The imam has been tied to some shady characters," Fox Business Channel's Eric Bolling recently said, "so should we worry that terror dollars could be funding the project?" Blogger Pamela Geller, who has become a regular talking head on cable-news channels to denounce the mosque, has noted Rauf's involvement with a Malaysian peace group that funded the group that organized the Gaza flotilla under the headline, "Ground Zero Imam Rauf's 'Charity' Funded Genocide Mission."

On last night's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart skewered these antics as a "dangerous game of guilt by association you can play with almost anybody," and proceeded to tie Fox News to al-Qaida by connecting Fox News parent News Corp's second-largest shareholder, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, to the Carlyle Group, which has done business with the bin Laden family, "one of whose sons — obviously I'm not going to say which one — may be anti-American." But Stewart didn't need to take all those steps to make the connection: Al-Waleed has directly funded Rauf's projects to the tune of more than $300,000. If Fox newscasters can darkly suggest "terror dollars" are sluicing into the Islamic center's coffers via "shady characters," then are Al-Waleed, and News Corp. leader Rupert Murdoch, by the same logic, also terror stooges.

[bonnie]

The opponents of the proposed Cordoba Initiative Islamic center planned for Lower Manhattan are fond of suggesting, by way of lengthy and often confusing chains of causation and association, that its principal planner, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, is connected to terrorism. "The imam has been tied to some shady characters," Fox Business Channel's Eric Bolling recently said, "so should we worry that terror dollars could be funding the project?" Blogger Pamela Geller, who has become a regular talking head on cable-news channels to denounce the mosque, has noted Rauf's involvement with a Malaysian peace group that funded the group that organized the Gaza flotilla under the headline, "Ground Zero Imam Rauf's 'Charity' Funded Genocide Mission."

On last night's "Daily Show," Jon Stewart skewered these antics as a "dangerous game of guilt by association you can play with almost anybody," and proceeded to tie Fox News to al-Qaida by connecting Fox News parent News Corp's second-largest shareholder, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, to the Carlyle Group, which has done business with the bin Laden family, "one of whose sons — obviously I'm not going to say which one — may be anti-American." But Stewart didn't need to take all those steps to make the connection: Al-Waleed has directly funded Rauf's projects to the tune of more than $300,000. If Fox newscasters can darkly suggest "terror dollars" are sluicing into the Islamic center's coffers via "shady characters," then are Al-Waleed, and News Corp. leader Rupert Murdoch, by the same logic, also terror stooges.

Why the rant about Fox News? This came from the associated press and concerns What does Iman Rauf and his lousy and uncaring track record of a slum lord have to do with terror stooges?

"Both The Record and the the New York Post report a litany of complaints at Rauf’s buildings dating back decades and continuing to this day: heaps of garbage, overgrown grass, lack of heat and hot water; rat, cockroach, and bedbug infestations; and general filth".

Personally I would believe a spiritual leader of any denomination would show a little more concern.I would like to see him live in what he provides for a week

[Gary K]

I'm against this mosque, but only because it's an "in your face" project. There's no other reason for this mosque to be built where it's being built. If respect for the US really behind all this why wouldn't this have not been the last place Muslims would have built a mosque? This mosque could have been built on any other site in the US or New York City and nobody, or at least, very, very, few people, would have opposed it.

If a group of supposed Christians had gone to the middle east and killed a few, let alone a few thousand, people there I would consider it in extremely bad taste for any Christian organization to propose building a church on that site. It would be an insult and a slap in the face to every resident of that region.

This has nothing to do with church and state, nor the Constitution. It's everything to do with appropriate and respectful behvior. That Muslims claim not to understand that tells me there is a lot of dishonesty going on.

[bonnie]

I'm against this mosque, but only because it's an "in your face" project. There's no other reason for this mosque to be built where it's being built. If respect for the US really behind all this why wouldn't this have not been the last place Muslims would have built a mosque? This mosque could have been built on any other site in the US or New York City and nobody, or at least, very, very, few people, would have opposed it.

If a group of supposed Christians had gone to the middle east and killed a few, let alone a few thousand, people there I would consider it in extremely bad taste for any Christian organization to propose building a church on that site. It would be an insult and a slap in the face to every resident of that region.

This has nothing to do with church and state, nor the Constitution. It's everything to do with appropriate and respectful behvior. That Muslims claim not to understand that tells me there is a lot of dishonesty going on.

Anyone claiming to be christian or the Msulim equivalent is not being truthful if he can make other human beings live like he does. He is a slum lord,period. With that I don't think there is much room in the heart for anything else