Follow-up on Murfreesboro Mosque

Candidate denounces Murfreesboro mosque proposal

By TRAVIS LOLLER

Jun 24, 8:21 PM (ET)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A Tennessee Republican candidate for Congress says plans to build a mosque in a Nashville suburb pose a threat to her state’s moral and political foundation.

In a Thursday evening statement, 6th District candidate Lou Ann Zelenik said she stands with those who oppose building what she calls “an Islamic training center.” She says the center is not part of a religious movement, but a political one “designed to fracture the moral and political foundation of Middle Tennessee.”

“Until the American Muslim community find it in their hearts to separate themselves from their evil, radical counterparts, to condemn those who want to destroy our civilization and will fight against them, we are not obligated to open our society to any of them,” Zelenik says in the statement.

Many residents in the suburban Nashville community only became aware of the planned mosque and community center after it had been approved. An overflow crowd packed a Rutherford County Commission meeting last week to speak against it.

Some wore Christian- or patriotic-themed clothing and a pastor told commissioners they should understand the nature, funding and intent of any group in the community “under that general banner (of Islam).”

In response to the uproar, Murfreesboro Islamic leaders announced an open house to answer questions from neighbors. It is scheduled Saturday at their current mosque, which they say they have outgrown.

Campaign manager Jay Heine said Zelenik was not available for comment on Thursday. He would not answer questions about the statement other than to say the campaign stands behind it.

Zelenik, who calls herself a leader in the Middle Tennessee tea party movement, hopes to replace U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, who is retiring after 13 terms.

A representative for the mosque did not immediately return a call and e-mail seeking comment.

A Defense for McChrystal’s Behavior

Andrew C. McCarthy III is a former Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A Republican, he is most notable for leading the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and planning a series of attacks against New York City landmarks.[1] He also contributed to the prosecutions of terrorists who bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, resigning from the Justice Department in 2003. He is currently a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, serving as the director of the FDD’s Center for Law and Counterterrorism. He has served as an attorney for Rudy Giuliani, and is also a conservative opinion columnist who writes for National Review and Commentary.

Regardless of General Stanley McChrystal’s political views, he screwed up. He disrespected the President of the United States and his major advisors. That is why he was fired!

NRO — The Corner (NRO is National Review On-Line)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

“You sit and ask yourself: What are we doing here?” [Andy McCarthy]

Why would General Stanley McChrystal give that kind of access to a lefty rock-n-roll magazine? Maybe because he’s a kindred spirit who felt the need to assure Rolling Stone‘s Michael Hastings that he voted for Obama — even against McCain, a military legend who shares McChrystal’s transnational progressive outlook.

“Now it can be told,” elaborates Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic “The story about [McChrystal] voting for Obama is not contrived. He is a political liberal. He is a social liberal. He banned Fox News from the television sets in his headquarters. Yes, really.”

Yes, really. The revealing Rolling Stone profile also tells us that the general “banned alcohol on base [and] kicked out Burger King and other symbols of American excess.” (Recall the very similar Obama edict that American forces not fly the Stars and Stripes at their base during their humanitarian mission in Haiti — a self-loathing trend that has also taken hold on college campuses.) Even McChrystal’s undoing here — ironically, by Rolling Stone, not Fox News — is, as VDH suggested yesterday, attributable to a disturbing contempt for authority and decorum that McChrystal and his top aides made little effort to conceal from Hastings. (Byron has more on that, here.)

I got in some hot water here last year for arguing that Gen. McChrystal, for all his undeniable valor, is a progressive big-thinker who has been conducting a sociology experiment in Islamic nation-building. It’s a flawed experiment that assumes Afghan Muslims will side with us — i.e., the Westerners their clerical authorities tell them are infidel invaders and occupiers — against their fellow Afghan Muslims.

Nothing in the ensuing months changes my mind. To the contrary, what I’ve seen lately indicates that, while our troops are imperiled under strait-jacketing rules of engagement imposed by Gen. McChrystal to avoid offending Afghans, Christian missionaries have been suspended for preaching (proselytism for any belief-system other than Islam is illegal in Afghanistan). I’ve seen Asia News’s report that Afghan converts to Christianity have been sentenced to death for apostasy. All this, moreover, is happening under the new constitution we helped write, which (as the State Department bragged in 2004) enshrines sharia as Afghanistan’s fundamental law. That is, the Afghan Muslim population our troops are fighting and dying to protect has institutionalized the persecution of other populations (when the said Muslims are not otherwise busy killing each other).

In the Examiner, Byron points to Rolling Stone‘s account of a frustrated American soldier, lamenting the death of a fellow soldier killed because of the rules of engagement. “You sit and ask yourself,” says the soldier, “What are we doing here?” I don’t know, but whatever it is, it is not what Americans thought they were sending our military to Afghanistan to do.

The Muslim Invasion

ABC World News provided this same information on today’s newscast. http://barenakedislam.wordpress.com provides the same information. This is copy pasted from that site. I have added nothing to this. The Red color is not mine. Add this plan for a 52,000 square foot mosque to the plans for a mosque two blocks from the World Trade Center and you get the picture.

Freedom of religion does not mean the right to dominate. I fear that the Muslim intention is to gain control of the the entire world.

—

TENNESSEE town fighting construction of new mega-mosque

For the second time in two months, in Murfreesboro, a mosque is facing opposition from local residents who don’t want the monster-sized mosque constructed in their small, farming community.

With a growing Muslim community in Rutherford County, the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro wants to build on Veals Road. The project done in phases could take years to finish: a 52,000-square-foot mosque, with a community center and athletic fields.

Terrorist Front Group CAIR says this “NOT WELCOME” vandalism is a hate crime

“I believe this has been approved and run through without public notice,” resident Kevin Fisher said. ”Why have a mosque nine times the size of Nashville’s in the middle of a farming, residential community?”

Last month, plans for a separate mosque in Brentwood were soundly defeated when residents who were against rezoning the land mounted a campaign that raised suspicions about the mosque and its leaders. Opponents encouraged residents to write letters to the city commission, and stirred more controversy by questioning links to terrorist groups.

The Muslim community is confused over the opposition. They have been good neighbors and residents in Rutherford County, they said. ”No one really comes out to speak against people, using traffic, which is malleable, to manipulate to the detriment of those applying for the property,” he said.

Delbert Ketner, a retired resident who opposes the mosque, questions the goals of those who practice Islam.
“If their goal is to advance Islam, advance their culture, then there is no real affection for our Constitution and the precepts we were founded on,” Ketner said.

Local Muslims have no idea why people don’t want a giant mosque in their town.

Imam Ossama Bahloul wants to dispel any worries, and said any disagreements should be worked out. He had to answer tough questions from his own as well. A child asked, “Why do they hate us?” (Oh, please, don’t get me started)

When they announced their plans to build their dream facility, they also invited residents. They didn’t expect a backlash. Now they are answering to rumors of polygamy, Islamic doctrine and whether they will adhere to the U.S. Constitution, said Essam Fathy, a physical therapist who has lived in Murfreesboro since the 1980s.

“We have nothing to hide,” Fathy said. “We do not have a hidden agenda. We’re not affiliated with anyone. Where is the tolerance?” (TOLERANCE? When you let us build churches or synagogues in your Muslim countries, we’ll consider your request)

Muslims need room (Saudi Arabia has lots of room) Fathy said the Muslim community, with 250 families, has outgrown its digs at 862 Middle Tennessee Blvd. (Who cares?) TENNESSEAN.

See how Ridiculous This is? Only in America!

A lady wrote the best letter in the Editorials
In ages!!! It explains things better than all
The baloney you hear on TV.

Her point:

Recently large demonstrations have taken place
Across the country protesting the fact that Arizona
Is addressing the issue of illegal immigration.

Certain people are angry that
The US might protect its own
Borders, might make it harder
To sneak into this country and,
Once here, to stay indefinitely.

Let me see if I correctly understand
The thinking behind these protests.
Let’s say I break into your house.
Let’s say that when you discover
Me in your house, you insist that I leave.

But I say, ‘No! I like it here.

It’s better than my house. I’ve made all
The beds and washed the
Dishes and did the laundry
And swept the floors. I’ve
Done all the things you don’t
Like to do. I’m hard-working
And honest
(except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters:

You are Required to let me stay in your house

You are Required to feed me
You are Required to add me to your family’s insurance plan
You are Required to Educate my kids
You are Required to Provide other benefits to me & to my family
(my husband will do all of your yard work because
He is also hard-working and honest, except for that
Breaking in part).

If you try to call the police or force me out,
I will call my friends who will picket your
House carrying signs that proclaim my
RIGHT to be there.

It’s only fair, after all, because you have
A nicer house than I do, and I’m just
Trying to better myself. I’m a hard-working
And honest, person, except for well,
You know, I did break into your house
And what a deal it is for me!!!

I live in your house, contributing only a
Fraction of the cost of my keep, and
There is nothing you can do about it
Without being accused of cold,

Uncaring, selfish, prejudiced, and
Bigoted behavior.

Oh yeah, I DEMAND that you learn
MY LANGUAGE!!! So you can
Communicate with me.

Why can’t people see how ridiculous
This is? Only in America .
If you agree, pass it on
Share it if you see the value of it.

Ethnic Studies Promote Division

The purpose of ethnic studies is murky. I read and hear words like “understanding a person’s family history”, “learning about your family’s ethnic background”, “learning about you ethnic history”, “learning about someone else’s ethnic history”, and similar words. Carried to extreme are the degree programs at my own alma mater, California State University Northridge (CSUN).

At CSUN there are the Chicana and Chicano Studies that is part of the College of Humanities. I admit that I do not appreciate liberal arts degrees. They lead no where. There are no jobs or careers other than teaching that are interested in hiring liberal arts majors. I see even less value in ethnic studies. Here is the stated objective of this program.

1. Demonstrate an ability to think critically, analytically, and creatively about the Chicana/o experience in the local and global society.

2. Demonstrate competency in oral, written, and research skills.

3. Demonstrate an understanding of creative and performance arts.

4. Acquire a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of Chicana/o Studies history, culture, arts, language, and socio-political issues.

5. Acquire the leadership skills that will promote social change in Chicana/o communities and the broader society.

These kinds of studies are all about emphasizing differences between people rather than similarities. Arizona has banned these studies in Tucson because the classes are emphasizing racial separation and the return of the western United States to Mexico. Most Black Americans have ancestry that dates back hundreds of years in the United States. They are African by ancestral birth. We do not identify people with ancestry from Europe as European Americans.

We need more attitude encouraging integration. America’s objective has always been immigration and assimilation. Martin Luther King’s words: I look forward confidently to the day when all who work for a living will be one with no thought to their separateness as Negroes, Jews, Italians or any other distinctions.