New York – Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) is calling on Mayor Bloomberg to withdraw his support of the Ground Zero mosque in the wake of the revelation of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s anti-American and anti-Western rhetoric. Rauf has been quoted as saying, “We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands that al Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims. . .the West has not been cognizant and has not addressed the issue of its own contribution to much injustice in the Arab and Muslim world.”
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Hikind, who has been an outspoken critic of the proposed project, recently demanded that the Mayor apologize to all New Yorkers for his sanctimonious remarks chastising those who oppose the building of the mosque.
“The Mayor needs to publicly denounce this contemptuous Imam and withdraw his support for the project,” Hikind said. “It is unconscionable for this plan to move forward.”
Hikind also noted, “How can this mosque possibly promote tolerance and understanding when the very foundation will be built with blood money from our enemies in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other Muslim countries which despise us?
Hikind’s sentiments were echoed by the Rabbinical Alliance of America, an Orthodox rabbinic organization which boasts more than 800 members.
“Opposition to the building of the mosque is not an issue of religious intolerance or a matter of us versus them,” said Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum, director of the Rabbinical Alliance of America. “People of all faiths should be appalled by the Imam’s remarks and very frightened at the possibility of terrorist monies funding this endeavor.”
Hikind added, “63% of New Yorkers oppose the building of this mosque. That’s a statistic that simply cannot be ignored.”
Bravo!
Straight Forward! Welcome Back Dov! from Auschwitz. You are 100 Percent right! it has nothing to do about religious freedom its about Who is the person behind this mask!
To The people supporting this mask I have a question. would they support this mask if he would of announced it on 9/12/2001 ??? I guess not!!. So why is it ok now 10 years latter? What has changed?
Thats right! Islam is out for world domination and conversion at the point of a sword. They did it before, thats why Turkey, Yemen, Morocco, etc are Muslim. Submit or die. They disseminated and manufactured the Protocols but they themselves are guilty of desiring to rule the world. The USA is in danger of being felled by the very freedoms it espouses. Freedom of religion- sure- but not if that religion espuses your destruction. Freedom of speech- sure- but not if it is hate filled and incendiary. We need to buckle down on these freedoms just a bit and define what hateful speech and religion is and ban it.
please don’t make into a Jewish vs. Islam issue!
I’m really curious were are this kinds of denouncements being made, in front of the media or in privet ?? Does Bloomy know about this ?
“We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands that al Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims. . .”
Why can’t you make statement like that??
The fact is he comes from a different worldview and culture than you do and his views reflect Arab frustrations with America. There’s nothing wrong with criticizing the US.
This reminds me of when R Ovadia Yosef called chilonim snakes and the whole country wanted to cut his head off.
The fact is..he is a pragmatic person..if you read through the whole interview and many other speeches he’s given.
He’s someone we should be embracing and having dialogue with in the Muslim world.
Imagine if it were 1933 and there was a battle between the Nazis and some other more moderate German nationalist group..and we had an opportunity to bolster their support and we wouldnt because of some nationalistic views that they have that rubs us the wrong way.
We’re in a war with Al Qaida..and we should be aligning ourselves with moderate Muslims even if sometimes they things that might seem a little outlandish to us..
Where is Chuck Schumer? He can’t find a microphone?
I have a question for you all..
If he’s such a vile evil person as you say he is..why is this a question about “ground zero”?
Why do you say…let him build it somewhere else?
#2 ,
It is a historical fact that the Turks accepted Islam peacefully. The same is true for the majority of residents of the Middle East (who were fed up with the lousy treatment they had received from their fellow Byzantine Christians).
Askupeh Says:
Reply to #5 Show Quote
#5 , it looks like you fell for this “moderate” farce; hook line and sinker. There are no moderates in Islam. It is the religion that reqires it; read the Koran please. Yes, we had it relatively good under the Muslims (not the Arab Muslims) – because we agreed to be stepped on and adjust to their whims. Talk yourself into believing this farce at your own peril. It’s not common sense but nonsense.
Are you telling me that the Muslims that Rabbeinu Bachya and the Rambam and his R’ Avraham..Ibn Rashid and others were not moderates?
First learn some history before spewing ignorance.
Have you even heard of Sufism (the type of Islam this imam is part of)?
If there are no moderates..then why does Al Qaida attack other Muslims as well?
Every religions texts can be read in an extreme way (including ours).
What you are talking is about the “Golden age in Spain” where the Moslems were very good to the Jews. That was an exception, not the rule, and if you read history it wasn’t that good either, Jews were second or third class citizens but didn’t get their heads chopped off left and right and for that they considered it a golden age.
Also the Moslems in Spain as later in Turkey (Don Yosef Nosi, Duke of Naxis) needed the Jews badly and true they were relatively good to the Jews, but that is because they put more focus on the parts of the Koran where it speaks well of the Jews and says to convert them, then the present time where they put more emphasis on the parts of the Koran where it says to kill all infidels. The Moslems you think of are vanishing fast and the most extreme fanatics have taken over. Also since the establishment of the State of Israel the age of friendly Moslem States is totally over. You cannot measure Moslem attitudes by the ones that are here. They will behave until…
You might be reading the New York Times (a paper I have boycotted for the past 20 years) but please listen to the sermons the Muslims give in their Mosques and you will be shocked.
If you would read the NY Times you might see that there are in fact more moderate Moslems, especially in the United States..and there is dialogue..
There is a whole movement in Islam called Sufism which is a lot like chassidus in which emphasis is placed on joy and the soul..and their far from extremism.
But if you rely on the Post or the jewish press for your information of course..you will never know any of this.
You’re taking the exception and making it the rule.
No..I’m taking the possible exception and encouraging them not to be discouraged by bigots like you..who would stereotype them and perhaps radicalize them…
And commenter #18 said..How goyim might perceive our Torah…not how we know the truth to be..