Islamic community center developer seeks federal funding

[Jetboogieman]

New York (CNN) -- The developer behind the controversial Islamic community center and mosque planned for Lower Manhattan has requested federal funding through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to support the project known as Park51.

The funding would come from money the Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated to help rebuild the neighborhood after the 9/11 attacks.

"Park51 has applied for a Lower Manhattan Development Corporation grant," said Sharif El-Gamal, CEO of SOHO Properties, the developer behind the Islamic center. In a statement, El-Gamal said the money would "in part fund social service programs such as domestic violence programs, Arabic and other foreign language classes, programs and services for homeless veterans, two multi-cultural art exhibits and immigration services."

The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation received more than 265 applications seeking more than $175 million for community and cultural programs, though the LMDC has only $17 million of federal funding to allocate.

"We are now turning to the challenging but important task of sorting through the applications to identify those that address long-standing community and cultural needs," said Avi Schick, chairman of LMDC.

The grants will range from $100,000 to $1 million, according to Julie Menin, chair of Community Board 1 and a member of the LMDC board. Among the criteria used to judge applications, Menin said, are financial viability, job creation, revitalizing the community and a track record of service in Lower Manhattan.

"We have funded museums, public schools, programs to help small businesses hurt after 9/11," said Menin.

Islamic community center developer seeks federal funding - CNN.com

:doh

Are these guys insane?

I and many here support their right to build the Islamic Cultural Centre there, and I do think at the end of the day, why are they not entitled to even apply for this funding if it's available for United States citizens wishing to rebuild the neighbourhood BUT!

Did they not think, they got enough bad attention by wanting to build it there even though they should be able to... but this will send people through the roof in rage. I mean it's highly doubtful that they will be granted any of this money, but the fact they'd even try and draw this negative press will be devestating for them and end up being highly counter productive, and they should have known that.

 

[Whovian]

adding insult to insult.

 

[The Prof]

Islamic community center developer seeks federal funding - CNN.com

:doh

Are these guys insane?

I and many here support their right to build the Islamic Cultural Centre there, and I do think at the end of the day, why are they not entitled to even apply for this funding if it's available for United States citizens wishing to rebuild the neighbourhood BUT!

Did they not think, they got enough bad attention by wanting to build it there even though they should be able to... but this will send people through the roof in rage. I mean it's highly doubtful that they will be granted any of this money, but the fact they'd even try and draw this negative press will be devestating for them and end up being highly counter productive, and they should have known that.

very few around here can see a move ahead

good post

 

[Jetboogieman]

adding insult to insult.

Only if you believe them building there is an insult. It isn't.

 

[Whovian]

I mean it's highly doubtful that they will be granted any of this money, but the fact they'd even try and draw this negative press will be devestating for them and end up being highly counter productive, and they should have known that.

The same way they should have known that even trying to build a 'cultural center' with a mosque, in the immediate area of Ground Zero (debris from one plane crashed through this buildings roof, so let's not go with the 'It's not part of Ground Zero' rhetoric), would be devestating for them and end up being highly counter-productive.

 

[Jetboogieman]

The same way they should have known that even trying to build a 'cultural center' with a mosque, in the immediate area of Ground Zero (debris from one plane crashed through this buildings roof, so let's not go with the 'It's not part of Ground Zero' rhetoric), would be devestating for them and end up being highly counter-productive.

This thread is not about them building there. They have the full right to do so. The only reason some oppose them as it turned out was because they don't like Islam and there were many ugly things said.

We're not going to do down this path again.

This thread is about them seeking federal funding.

 

[Laila]

That is taking the piss. No way, tell them to shove off

 

[Whovian]

This thread is not about them building there. They have the full right to do so. The only reason some oppose them as it turned out was because they don't like Islam and there were many ugly things said.

We're not going to do down this path again.

This thread is about them seeking federal funding.

Excuse my drawing a parallel from your own words. I'll know better next time.

Of course they had the legal right to do so... just as I or anyone else opposed to it had the legal right to oppose it. Sorry you have a problem with freedom of expression.

 

[Councilman]

The location of Islamic community center was picked as a slap in the and the request for Federal Funding is another slap in the face.

Obama will most likely get involved to make sure they get it too. He gave the Palestinian terrorists $400 million dollars.

Hell if you give them $100 you could be arrested, for contributing to terrorists.

And don't give me any crap about how all Palestinians aren't terrorists their Government is and they are who Obama gave the cash to.

I don't think Federal money should go to any Cult.

With $400,000,000 Obama could have created up words of 10 or 11 jobs right here at home that way he does things.

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

Obama is an islamophile. The Muzzie grant application has an excellent chance of being approved.

America has much to learn from Islam, e.g., the proper role of women in society, and the proper method for disposing of the cadavers of lgbt people. And yes, the prior sentence is meant to be provocative.

 

[Red Crow]

This thread is about them seeking federal funding.

Seeking federal funding???? We are broke!!! We don't have a pot to piss in.

 

[ptif219]

If it is up to Obama he will give them funding

 

[mike2810]

May be a stretch, but I thought we were to have a seperation of church and State. IMO, no federal funding should go towards the center. I would have the same opinion if it was a Christian center.

 

[TacticalEvilDan]

With respect to the constitutionality of government funding, a center like this very easily passes the Lemon Test:

Lemon v. Kurtzman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As far as it goes with actually seeking Federal funding, they should feel free. Any other development project in a troubled area would do the same. The fact that a lot of people are going throw a temper tantrum isn't a legitimate reason to tell them to take a hike.

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

With respect to the constitutionality of government funding, a center like this very easily passes the Lemon Test:

Lemon v. Kurtzman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As far as it goes with actually seeking Federal funding, they should feel free. Any other development project in a troubled area would do the same. The fact that a lot of people are going throw a temper tantrum isn't a legitimate reason to tell them to take a hike.

By all means build the mosque. It will become a focal point in the internecine struggle and strife in which the country is now engaged. The mosque will be characterized as a symbol of American defeat and subjugation. No one can stop it from being so characterized. The mosque will become a millstone around the neck of the American Left. Works for me.

 

[mike2810]

With respect to the constitutionality of government funding, a center like this very easily passes the Lemon Test:

Lemon v. Kurtzman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As far as it goes with actually seeking Federal funding, they should feel free. Any other development project in a troubled area would do the same. The fact that a lot of people are going throw a temper tantrum isn't a legitimate reason to tell them to take a hike.

IMO, not a good example. However your link also states , "Lemon's future is somewhat uncertain. Sustained criticism by conservative Justices such as Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas,[2] lack of a clear reaffirmation of the central tenets of Lemon over the years since the 1980s, and inconsistent application in major Establishment Clause cases has led some legal commentators and lower court judges to believe that Lemon's days are numbered, and that the Court has implicitly left the decision of whether to apply the test in a specific case up to lower courts.". It also linked to other cases such as it was not legal to have prayers recited at school football games.

IMO, the center does not pass all three of the lemon test.

 

[TacticalEvilDan]

By all means build the mosque. It will become a focal point in the internecine struggle and strife in which the country is now engaged. The mosque will be characterized as a symbol of American defeat and subjugation. No one can stop it from being so characterized. The mosque will become a millstone around the neck of the American Left. Works for me.

It.

Isn't.

A mosque.

This is exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

It.

Isn't.

A mosque.

This is exactly what I'm talking about.

Perspective is a funny thing isn't it? Only those who suffer from the malady of eurocentrism would fail to realize how the MOSQUE/COMMUNITY CENTRE will be interpreted by those bearded fanatics who are not eurocentric in their mindset.

 

[Whovian]

Developers of Mosque Near Ground Zero Seek Federal Funds for Post-9/11 Rebuilding - FoxNews.com

"If Imam Feisal and his retinue want to know why they're not trusted, here's yet another reason,” Irshad Manji, author of "The Trouble with Islam" and director of the Moral Courage Project at NYU, told the Daily Beast. “The New Yorkers I speak with have questions about Park51. Requesting money from public coffers without engaging the public shows a staggering lack of empathy -- especially from a man who says he's all about dialogue."

Irshad is Director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University’s School of Public Service. The project teaches young leaders to challenge intellectual conformity and self-censorship. She is also a senior fellow with the European Foundation for Democracy, which promotes universal human rights and freedom of conscience.

 

[Redress]

I just don't understand the big deal here. If they qualify for the money, they should get it same as any one. If they don't, they won't. Why is it a big deal they apply for it?

 

[Whovian]

I'll have to find the link, but I saw there was only $17 million available, and they are asking for almost 30% of it. That bugs me too.

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

There is no longer a shared identity or consciousness in America. That's why we can't understand each other.

It's like existentialism on a national scale. I never thought it would come to the point where I would believe that America's survival was a secondary consideration.

 

[Redress]

There is no longer a shared identity or consciousness in America. That's why we can't understand each other.

It's like existentialism on a national scale. I never thought it would come to the point where I would believe that America's survival was a secondary consideration.

Pardon me, but what are you trying to say? We are talking about a building, what does this have to do with America's survival or "shared identity"?

 

[Jucon]

America has much to learn from Islam, e.g., the proper role of women in society, and the proper method for disposing of the cadavers of lgbt people. And yes, the prior sentence is meant to be provocative.

You cannot be serious...

 

[Albert Di Salvo]

You cannot be serious...

No, I'm not serious. That's why my post said that it constituted a provocation.

But that doesn't mean America will not be fertile soil for the spread of Islam. Google the name Molly Norris if you want a glimpse of the future.