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Obama backs controversial NYC mosque | World | News | London Free …

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama Friday backed construction of a proposed mosque and Muslim cultural center near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York — a project opposed by U.S. conservatives and many New Yorkers.

“As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country,” Obama said to applause at an event attended by diplomats from Islamic countries and members of the U.S. Muslim community.

“That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances,” he said, weighing in for the first time in a national debate that has grown increasingly heated in recent weeks.

Earlier this month a New York city agency cleared the way for construction of the community center, which will include a prayer room, two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11 attacks, popularly known as “Ground Zero.”

“This is America and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable,” said Obama, who has made improving ties between the United States and the Muslim world a cornerstone of his foreign policy.

Obama was speaking during an Iftar dinner he hosted at the White House. Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

About 2,750 people were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, when al Qaeda hijackers crashed two passenger planes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The attacks deeply traumatized Americans and sparked the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the Bush administration’s “war on terror.”

Many families of those killed in the attacks have mounted an emotional campaign to block the community center, calling it provocative and a betrayal of the memory of the victims.

Conservative politicians such as former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich, a Republican former Speaker of the House of Representatives, also have called for the project to be scrapped.

Mark Williams, a spokesman for the conservative Tea Party political movement, said the center would be used for “terrorists to worship their monkey god.”

OBAMA WEIGHS IN

In his remarks on Friday, Obama preached the need for religious tolerance and noted that the first Amendment of the U.S. Constitution had established the freedom of religion, “and that right has been upheld ever since.”

The president also stressed that al Qaeda was not synonymous with Islam.

“Al Qaeda’s cause is not Islam — it is a gross distortion of Islam,” he said. “These are not religious leaders — these are terrorists who murder innocent men, women and children.”

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has firmly supported the community center project as have many religious organizations in the city. However, 53 percent of New Yorkers oppose it, according to a Marist Poll this week.

The Cordoba House community center is the brainchild of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who told Reuters in an interview last month that he had modeled it on the Young Men’s Christian Association.

Now simply called the Y, YMCA facilities across the United States offer exercise classes, education and community activities.

The city agency’s Aug. 3 ruling is expected to clear the way for construction of Cordoba House, which will include a 500-seat auditorium, art exhibition spaces and a swimming pool as part of a 13-story complex.

Since coming into office, Obama, a Democrat, has worked to reach out to Muslims, many of whom felt targeted by the “war on terror” and by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In a speech in Cairo in June 2009, Obama called for a “new beginning” in ties between the United States and Muslims, saying extremists had exploited tensions between Muslims and the West and that Islam was not part of the problem.

Obama backs controversial NYC mosque | World | News | London Free …


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Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - August 14, 2010 at 1:00 pm

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A Woman Who Boarded A Wrong Bus Gets Lost For 25 Years! Finally home…

BANGKOK, Feb. 7 (UPI) — a woman who boarded the wrong bus on an attempted shopping trip from Thailand to Malaysia has returned home after 25 years.

Jaeyana Beuraheng told her eight children she accidentally boarded a bus bound for Bangkok instead of Malaysia, and once there she boarded a second incorrect bus because she could not read or speak Thai or English, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

Beuraheng, who speaks only the Yawi dialect used by Muslims in southern Thailand, said the noise and traffic of the big city confused and disoriented her, leading her to board the second wrong bus to Chiang Mai, near the border with Burma.

The woman said she spent five years begging on the street in the city and was often mistaken for a member of a hill tribe because of her dark skin tone.

She was arrested in 1987 on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant and was sent to a social services hostel when authorities were unable to determine her origins.

however, last month, three students from her home village arrived at the hostel for training, and they were able to communicate with Beuraheng and help her find her way home.

A Woman Who Boarded A Wrong Bus Gets Lost For 25 Years! Finally home…


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Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - May 24, 2010 at 6:00 am

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Many British Asians 'do not feel British'

More than a third of British Asians do not feel British, a BBC poll suggests.

The research among the under-34s for the Asian Network found 38% of the UK residents of South Asian origin felt only slightly or not at all British.

More than a third agreed to get on in the UK they needed to be a “coconut”, a term for somebody who is “brown on the outside but white on the inside”.

ICM Research interviewed 500 Asian people aged 16-34 and 235 white people aged 18-34 between 4 and 12 July.

Of those polled 84% were satisfied with life in Britain and almost half thought they have more opportunities here.

All of the British Asians polled were of South Asian origin.

Half of them, and nearly two-thirds of the white people interviewed, agreed it was too easy for immigrants to settle in Britain.

Identity ‘important’

Three-quarters of the British Asians felt their culture was being diluted by living in the UK and nearly half believed white people did not treat them as British.

A total of 59% of the British Asians polled felt they were British, compared to 73% of white people.

Among the British Asians interviewed were 296 Muslims, 112 Hindus, 39 Sikhs and 33 Christians.

Among the Sikhs, 77% said they felt completely British or a lot. for Muslims, the figure was 64%, followed by Hindus and Christians on 46%.

The poll was commissioned to coincide with the BBC’s India and Pakistan ’07 season of programmes to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1947 partition of India.

Some 12% of those polled said they considered themselves to be “coconuts”.

Meenal Sachdev, director of Connect India – which works with young Asians to strengthen identity – said she did not think British Asians needed to be “coconuts” to be successful.

“Identity can be a tool for success. I feel very confident about being a British Indian,” she said.

“Confidence with identity comes down to ability and knowing you have as many opportunities as other people,” she added.

Reena Combo, editor of Ikonz, a monthly Asian magazine aimed at young British Asians, said: “I feel British but I feel very Asian as well.

“Many British Asians consider themselves to be British but at home they are more in touch with their cultural and ancestral roots.”

But she agreed some British Asians thought they needed to become “coconuts”.

“They feel they need to fit into society and that society looks at them in a bad way,” she added.

Your Comments

I think Asians fit well into society. I consider myself a British Asian because I am Asian and was born and brought up in the UK. It’s a unique blend, evidence of success is shown in the media on a regular basis. take a look at different styles and music the British Asians contribute to the world as a whole!Asif Khan, London

I am a Sikh Indian Lady born and brought up in the UK. I love the UK and consider it to be my home. Having said that, I am proud to be Indian. I feel people like me have the best of both worlds. I believe Sikhs as a whole integrate in the UK very well as our culture does not conflict with the UK and instead works in harmony. I am not a Coconut nor am I distinctly Indian or British. I have a balance with both sides which is what all British actions should achieve.Sati Sethi, London

I may not be Asian but I also don’t feel British, I’m Scottish. what is the problem with not feeling ‘British’? many of the UK residents don’t feel that way either and that includes English people I know. Leon Anderson, Aberdeen, Scotland

I don’t even think about it, I live, work and pay my taxes and hang out with all sorts of people from different backgrounds. No worries. Rocky Jay, Southampton

I’m a British born young man with a Pakistani ethnicity. however, I feel more British than I feel Pakistani, I relate to the British culture more than the Pakistani one. I’m surprised to learn that a third of those interviewed thought that being a “coconut” is the only way of achieving well in the British community. Recently I’ve been elected as the Member of UK Youth Parliament for the Borough of Rochdale. I represent a diverse community and one of the things I want to do in my community is to engage with young Muslims in particular about their so-called ‘identity crisis’. Usman Nawaz, Rochdale, England

Whilst my parents are from India, I was born in Britain and have spent most of my life there. I don’t especially ‘feel’ British, but nor do I ‘feel’ Indian. I think to align oneself so passionately to any sense of ‘nationhood’ is stifling. I see the state as a convenient boundary, nothing more. I am a citizen of the world. I appreciate Italian food, Russian literature, the Japanese work ethic, Indian Kama Sutra and the English weather. Why should I ‘favour’ any one country over another? I will support government policy if I feel it’s just and feasible, and I will support any football or cricket team if I feel they have played well enough to win, it’s irrelevant to me whether they’re Indian, English or whatever else. Jagdeep, Sutton Coldfield, UK

I am very proud to be a British Indian. yes there have been struggles, especially growing up in the 80′s but otherwise I feel I have been given all the opportunities possible. I love going to India and completely respect and enjoy the country, culture and people but see myself as British first and wouldn’t live anywhere else. Disappointed to hear that a proportion don’t feel at home here, personally I think you have to make an effort to integrate too. I would be really interested to see the breakdown of these results by ethnicity, i.e. for Indians and then for Pakistanis and Bangladeshis… I’m sure there would be quite a difference. Rons, London

I’m a British Sikh and feel my loyalty goes to the country that has given me and my family so much, so yes I’m British, but still feel that improvements regarding understanding of all cultures need to be respected and understood.Tal Sahota, Wolverhampton, West Mids

One does not necessarily have to be a coconut, but being sensitive to other cultures is very crucial in today’s age. Obviously when you move to a different country, it is utmost important to appreciate the local values and find a sort of a middle point where you are comfortable. if you hate everything, then it is not a good thing for yourself as well as others staying in that country. Mahesh Gogate, London

Many British Asians 'do not feel British'


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Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - March 3, 2010 at 4:00 am

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