Ground Zero Mosque

In what is likely a response to Rep. Peter King's relatively tame hearings on Muslim extremism and homeland security earlier this month, Senator Dick Durbin will be holding a hearing this Tuesday to investigate the supposedly growing problem of anti-Muslim bigotry in America. USA Today reports:

Another setback for the Ground Zero mosque, the New York Times reports:

As reported in the New York Times earlier this week, Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, best-known for his rejected offer of a $10 million check to Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has come out against the Ground Zero mosque.

Perhaps the most basic measure of a country’s character is whether people, when given the chance, flood into the country or risk life and limb to escape from it. By this measure, Muslims are flourishing in America. Meanwhile, though Christianity predates Islam by centuries in the Middle East, intensifying persecution has prompted a mass Christian exodus from that region.

Obamacare is clearly one of the most important political issues among independents this election season. But what do independent voters consider the second most important issue? According to one metric, it's the Ground Zero mosque. Pollster Doug Schoen has the results, from his latest work: 

The Investigative Project discovers that Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the Ground Zero mosque, has "a longtime partner" who thinks 9/11 was "an inside job":

Debra Burlingame, a Board Member of Keep America Safe, responds to President Obama's remarks at today's press conference on Gitmo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the Ground Zero mosque:

As usual, incisive explanation and analysis from the Taiwanese media outfit, NMA World Edition. This time the subject's the Ground Zero mosque controversy: 

On the eve of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Hamas gunmen murdered four Israeli civilians, including a pregnant woman. Even for those who see nuance in terrorist attacks, this one didn’t leave a lot of room for argument. The PA condemned the attack and, reportedly, picked up some 150 Hamas affiliates in the West Bank for questioning.

Will the scheme to locate a multi-story megamosque near Ground Zero be doomed by disaffection between Sharif El-Gamal, the head of Soho Properties, Inc., purchaser of the land for the building, and Feisal Abdul Rauf, the “spiritual guide” of the Cordoba Initiative and American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA)?

In his widely quoted memorial address for Daniel Pearl at an Upper West Side synagogue, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said, "not only today I am a Jew, I have always been one." But that's only the part that's getting all the attention. 

(Language Warning)

A video of a Ground Zero mosque supporter cursing out an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor at the Ground Zero mosque protest is making the rounds:

Of course, this guy is an isolated extremist. But if he were a tea partier, he would represent the entire conservative movement.