World Trade Center Mosque: Perspective from the Neighborhood

Finally, someone from the neighborhood responds.

Yes, the actual World Trade Center site (can we stop calling it Ground Zero, a misused term from douchebag news anchors, please???) is hallowed ground, but the surrounding area? Those surrounding blocks are no different than the rest of this Lower Manhattan neighborhood. It’s a place constantly changing, lots of run down buildings waiting for redevelopment beside gleaming corporate towers, Wall Street titans, tons of office space, churches, mosques, old stores, tacky souvenirs, “adult entertainment,” and more, as market forces (self-interest, competition and supply and demand: AKA the invisible hand of the market) continually puts businesses and other facilities in the city, and because it’s NYC, everything is right next to everything (placed to serve the concentrated demand in such a tight, concentrated space of real estate). That’s right, the blocks surrounding the WTC have STRIP CLUBS, Burger Kings, everything–NOT “hallowed ground.”

Thanks, Nick. It needed to be said.

Lars Vilks: Certified Badass

We all remember Lars Vilks, the infamous "Swedish cartoonist" who drew the Muhammad cartoon that outraged Muslims everywhere.

Well, he's back, with a movie this time. As you can see from the video, the local Muslims came to the show for no other reason than to shut it down, which they succeeded in doing.

But they didn't stop there. Over the weekend, someone set fire to his house. Police have arrested two brothers, age 19 and 21, suspected of the fire.

Something Wrong with Islam

After the bombings in Baghdad on Tuesday, I placed the blame at the feet of Islam. Many find this distasteful, as there are many Muslims who are good, peace loving people. However, I believe there is something distinctly different about the Muslim religion that is creating a very violent sub-culture.

I can't put it any better than Dr. Wafa Sultan, a Syrian-American ex-Muslim:

"We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people."

She concluded, "Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them."

After her interview on Al Jazeera, Dr. Sultan was excoriated by Syrian clerics, who called her a "heretic and infidel who deserves to die," and she has since received numerous death threats.

You cannot look at me with a straight face and tell me there is not a deep and widespread problem with Islam. I know there are many great people who follow the teachings of Mohammed, but there are plenty, including those in high positions of power in the mosque, that are poisoning their people with violent rhetoric.

There can be no progress if we accept this kind of behavior as the norm. Most of what I do with my writing is call people out when they do something wrong, and this is no different.

There is no excuse for killing innocent civilians. It's time to grow up.