"It is desirable to try to use moral suasion, an appeal to being sensitive to the feeling of the victims' families"

This depends on which victims families feelings we are being asked to consider.

If you mean the families of Moslems whose relatives died, then it insensitive to refuse them a community centre on the basis that Moslems are to blame.


If by some freak of neglect you don't mean them, then it depends on which feelings we are supposed to be sensitive to..

The last time I checked, Racism and Grief were not the same emotion.

On the other hand, Racism and ignorance are very closely related - so an Islamic cultural centre would be of great use in dispelling racist myths.

"Islamists are not prone to compromise much on religious or political matters."

What Islamists?

"during the Muslim conquests, the victors often placed mosques directly on previous religious sites, notably the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and the Hagia Sofia cathedral in Constantinople"

So to John, the above is relevant, while the following is irrelevant ...

"There are already in (on) Manhattan 17 mosques."


It seems that some people are able to deduce from ancient history in the middle east that Moslems are motivated to conquer and build on holy sites and that therefore they are motivated today to do the same on a ... er ... non holy site ...

But they are unable to deduce that with 17 mosques on Manhattan, Moslems are clearly and observably able to live and coexist peacefully with mew yorkers in a fully harmonious and non conquest oriented way.


John - you seem happy to disseminate false generalizations about Moslems and to have confused Moslems with Islamists ...