Londoners to pay for £100m 'Mega-Mosque'

People who liked this item

22 Comments

1.  

   paulant ~ 16 months ago

   1 vote
   
   Personally I think that, especially in a city that has as many religious groups living side by side as ours does, that there should be a very clear divide between religion and politics. Londoners should not be expected to finance the building of a place of worship for one religion, worshippers contribute toward supporting their own churh (and i've never heard of a poor one). I wish all groups the best practicing their own beliefs at thier own expense, as I do.
   [ reply ]
   1.  

      JV ~ 16 months ago

      1 vote
      
      Agree
      [ reply ]
   2.  

      Big Al ~ 16 months ago

      1 vote
      
      Well put - I agree with your point. But the poll asks "do you agree to the mosque" - I don't see the problem with a mega-mosque but I do protest to having to PAY for it. Just wanted to make that clear!
      [ reply ]
   3.  

      graeme ~ 16 months ago

      -1 vote
      
      Agreed. Does this now mean that Livingstone will also oversee the building of a new mega-Catholic church, a new mega-CoE church, a mega-synagogue and Hindu temple. He is after all the champion of multiculturalism, so why muslims only?
      [ reply ]
2.  

   paulant ~ 16 months ago

   0 votes
   
   Don't read anything in to the fact that I can't spell 'Church' in the last but one line! : 0
   [ reply ]
3.  

   Loves Bloc Party ~ 16 months ago

   1 vote
   
   One thing I like about the UK is that there are many different religions, and the majority do not subscribe to a religion.
   
   *S* I agree with your view!
   [ reply ]
4.  

   georgie ~ 16 months ago

   0 votes
   
   Why a mega-mosque? What's wrong with a regular sized mosque? I don't like the idea of places of worship being the size of a Wal-mart superstore.
   [ reply ]
5.  

   paulant ~ 16 months ago

   -1 vote
   
   I'm not sure. Apparently there is no large Muslim community in that area either, they will have to travel. I'm guessing this is another brilliant investment along the lines of the millenium dome!?
   Anybody else know more, perhaps its on some meridian line to mecca or something?
   [ reply ]
6.  

   graeme ~ 16 months ago

   0 votes
   
   What has this got to do with the role of Mayor of London. Ken livingstone is like a medieval Lord, doing as he pleases while the peseants (us) look on!
   [ reply ]
7.  

   paulant ~ 16 months ago

   0 votes
   
   If I was really cynical I would wonder about the number of voting Muslims in this country. A powerful force to have on your side indeed.
   [ reply ]
   1.  

      graeme ~ 16 months ago

      -1 vote
      
      Nothing cynical about assuming politicians make decisions in order to chase votes ... especially someone like Livingstone.
      [ reply ]
8.  

   jfmuk ~ 16 months ago

   1 vote
   
   Why don't they build like a multi religon mega mosque/church/temple? It would be like a shopping centre but with different religous areas to cater for everyone.
   [ reply ]
   1.  

      Big Al ~ 16 months ago

      0 votes
      
      LOL - yeah! I bet that's one shopping centre no teengaer would be seen dead hanging out in!
      [ reply ]
9.  

   paulant ~ 16 months ago

   0 votes
   
   A whole food chain revolution. The first McMuslim menu, kosha KFC, Burger 'King Herod'... oh dear, did I just cross a bad taste line!? (finar)
   [ reply ]
10.  

    Gruntfutuck ~ 16 months ago

    1 vote
    
    Facts about the East London Mosque proposal.
    
    1. It is just a proposal. A planning application hasn't even been submitted yet.
    
    2. Even if a planning application is submitted, it will still have to go through the normal planning process. It is by no means a certainty that planning permission will be granted.
    
    3. It is not being built on the Olympic site. It is being built on derelict land near West Ham station, over 1/2 mile from the nearest boundary of the Olympic site.
    
    4. The site was purchased by the Islamic charity in the early 90's.
    
    5. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the Olympic Games. It is not proposed by, supported, endorsed, funded, sanctioned, or mandated by the Olympics.
    
    6. The funds required to build it, if consent is granted, will be raised privately from charitable donations. There is no proposal to spend 'taxpayer's money' to fund it.
    
    
    [ reply ]
11.  

    georgie ~ 16 months ago

    1 vote
    
    gruntfutuck, thanks for presenting the facts of the matter. What are your personal feelings about the planning of a mega-mosque? Do you think location will be accessible for the Muslim community on the whole? I was under the impression that there is a large Islamic community in East London, and in fact that location would be very close to predominantly Muslim neighborhoods.
    [ reply ]
    1.  

       Gruntfutuck ~ 16 months ago

       1 vote
       
       Thanks georgie. I'm pretty neutral to the idea on the whole. If it looks good, is appropriate for the area and the neighbours don't object I don't have any problem with it. There is a large Muslim community in East London, you're right, who have replaced the largely immigrant Jewish community that lived there in the early 20th century (and were victims of similar propaganda campaigns)
       What I really object to is the spreading of lies and misinformation designed to cause resentment against a small section of society and further the aims of neo-nazi organisations. When it comes to information provided by the BNP, it's best to check the facts first before you believe it.
       [ reply ]
12.  

    paulant ~ 16 months ago

    0 votes
    
    WHoa! Don't mistake this for an agenda. My only point was a separation between religion and politics. Tax payers money being spent on equally benefical projects. I realise this might sound naive but please, PLEASE. don't turn this dinner party into the kind of cliche that reduces everything to the lowest common denominator
    [ reply ]
    1.  

       Gruntfutuck ~ 16 months ago

       0 votes
       
       Didn't mean to infer you had an agenda paulant, for that I apologise ureservedly.
       But you have to accept some responsibility for passing on islamaphobic propaganda without actually verifying the truth of it first.
       IF taxpayer's money *was* being spent on a project of this kind people would have every right to object. However the truth of the matter is that it is not, but this is one of the lies that is being used to cause resentment against Muslims, do you see how it works?
       I guess the message is don't believe everything you read, and remember that letting this kind of stuff go unchallenged is only going to make our society worse, not better.
       [ reply ]
13.  

    paulant ~ 16 months ago

    0 votes
    
    Islamaphobic? I've re-read the article and comments a few times and to be honest i'm offended by what you've projected on to it.
    A lesson learnt though, misunderstaning is so easy and leads to all manner of slip twixt cup and lip.
    I shall retreat back to the non-complaining passive massive that know no good ever comes of raising your hand.
    [ reply ]
    1.  

       Gruntfutuck ~ 16 months ago

       0 votes
       
       The islamaphobic comment is more about the motive behind this malicious goosip than the content. I appreciate that at face value it isn't islamaphobic, but it's untrue nonetheless. And I classify it as islamaphobic because I know that it is a deliberate untruth spread to cause resentment against muslims, although I fully appreciate you may not have been aware of this when you posted it.
       Still, at least we can all sleep better knowing that evil Ken isn't planning to spend public money on such a project, eh?
       [ reply ]
14.  

    georgie ~ 16 months ago

    0 votes
    
    Hi paulant,
    
    Just wanted to see how you were feeling about the direction of comments about this post. I think it's posts like this that really raise awareness of people's feelings about difficult controversy. I noticed you said "no good ever comes of raising your hand". I really admired your willingness to be brave enough to bring up a high-emotion debate issue, and as you can see, your bravery has delivered incredible results. Perhaps this has been the most noticed, commented-on article on the site to date. Quite a success, in my book.
    
    Though you may have come away with a sour taste in your mouth, it is actually strong opinions and a willingness to engage in respectful conversation to share different perspectives that keeps many users hooked on this site and coming back for more. For that, I thank and recognize both paulant and gruntfutuck. Why not use this platform to create a respectful atmosphere for debate? Online communities are a perfect place for exactly that.
    
    Cheers! Georgie
    [ reply ]
15.  

    AdGuy

    22 votes
    
    This is my two cents...
    
       
    Hey you know AdGuy always gets the last word! ;)