More Islamaphobia

"Saudi Prince opposed to Ground Zero mosque in New York"

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud has said he is against the construction of a mosque close to the 9/11 site in New York and also he had no part in financing the controversial project.

"I am against putting the mosque in that particular place. And I'll tell you why. For two reasons: first of all, those people behind the mosque have to respect, have to appreciate and have to defer to the people of New York, and not try to agitate the wound by saying 'we need to put the mosque next to the 9/11 site'," he was quoted as saying by the 'Arabian Business'.

"I heard and saw a lot of news about me being associated with it and this is all wrong. We did not finance this thing," he added.

"The wound is still there. Just because the wound is healing you can't say 'let's just go back to where we were pre-9/11'. I am against putting the mosque there out of respect for those people who have been wounded over there," he was quoted as saying.

So now Citigroup has been heard from.

I had exerted rare insight with my previous prediction that the Ground Zero Mosque controversy would scare away moderate Muslim investors, none of whom will want to have all of their family, friends, associates and past business deals put under a microscope.

NOW THEY TELL ME!      These times demand more than the Times of India; here is some Daily News coverage, including this from the Ground Zero Imam:

Rauf said he has no intention of moving the project.

"While we respect the points of view of other interested observers, we plan to build the community center in this location," Rauf said in a statement yesterday.

Time will tell.

Comments

[Clarice]

It's an obvious prediction. Unfortunately geniuses like Bloomberg and Obama and Pinch missed it.

[Jack is Back!]

Clarice,

Speaking of Pinch, William McGowan has a new book out, "Gray Lady Down" - I wonder if the Times will even review it:) I have read excerpts and it is pretty devastating.

[Clarice]

Thom Lifson's been documenting Pinch's mismanagement for years. If you are in Sarasota, you can look at a gorgeous, award winning multimillion dollar building for the local POS paper the family bought because some members of it liked Sarasota. The paper has few subscribers or advertisers and there are no other tenants interested in this building.

It is gorgeous, though.

[NK]

We live in a world where a Saudi Prince better understands and has more empathy for Americans than Pinch, Mikey Bloomberg and Barry O. Please pause and think of the magnitude of that simple fact.

[Clarice]

I hav, NK. And I doubt you and I are the only ones to catch that.

[Kathy Kinsley]

I agree - you aren't the only ones to catch that.

[Omar]

Maybe Prine Abdul thinks Rauf's a bit too friendly with the Iranians. I seem to recall a photo of Rauf with Larinjani being scrubbed rom his website at some point. . . And then there were his kind words about the Vilayet al Fiqh (Iranian Guardian Counsel system). Hitchens commented about that at some length.

[Clarice]

Omar, I think the Saudi royal family has a better notion of p.r. and natural human sentiment than Obama and Bloomberg and most of the msm do.

[Dianne]

Hmmm... I wonder if there's a difference in opinion on the plan for the New World Caliphate between Iran and Saudi Arabia?

[Clarice]

I have always thought the grifters behind the GZM would take the money from wherever they could. I guess that means now Iran and the Democras.

[Carol Herman]

For a facade, it looks like a suicide bomber was inside, and exploded prematurely.

Oh, and there's a question as to who owns the site. Certainly not the waiter who cooked this whole thing up.

[Lightmore]

So how will Memory Hole Central (formerly Little Green Footballs) spin this one away?

/As if anybody still cares about Bong Hits for Barry's opinion

[Stephanie]

Carter said that students were holding forums to gather opinions on what actions could be taken.

"We have the thoughts of having more surveillance cameras and people thinking about just shutting down the Free Expression Tunnel completely," he said. "Some people want guidelines (that) if you do write something (that's hate speech), then there’s a penalty to what you write."

Bonds said that graffiti demeaning many different groups is common in the tunnel.

"It's free expression, but nobody is walking through, regulating it," she said. "They're just letting it happen, and it's not just racism, but gender, sexuality and religious discrimination."

Woodson said that it would be impossible to guarantee that no offensive or hateful messages might be painted in the Free Expression Tunnel. Dialogue, not policy changes, are key to preventing offensive speech, he said.

"All we can do is create an environment, create a climate where this is brought to the light of day and discussed," he said. "But can we stop it? No. And would the law allow us to stop it? No. But does it reflect what we stand for? Absolutely not."

N.C. State sophomore Shaneice Mitchell agreed that students need to take responsibility for the messages left in the tunnel.

"We're scholars, so we need to know – and we should know – how to act when it comes to expressing our views," Mitchell said.

LUN

Some fine examples of the quality of education and the elitism brigade.

[Omar]

Clarine:

"Omar, I think the Saudi royal family has a better notion of p.r. and natural human sentiment than Obama and Bloomberg and most of the msm do."

While I agree with the general thrust of your comment, I rather doubt the Saudi Royals are motivated by "natural human sentiment." Ever heard of Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud, beheaded at the behest of her Grandfather? Another such Princess received secret asylum in 2009 lest she suffer the same fate.

[WhiskeyJim]

About that Mosque: Who will build it? No one I know. Who will sell them the material? No one I know.