Poll: 63% of New Yorkers oppose mosque near site of Sept. 11 attacks
Democrats nationwide, including President Barack Obama, have defended the proposal as protected by the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.
By The Associated Press Tags: Israel news Barack ObamaA majority of New York state voters remain opposed to a mosque proposed as part of a planned Islamic cultural center near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City, and the issue will be a factor for many in November elections, according to a poll released Wednesday.
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People in New York protest the proposed construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center. |
| Photo by: AP |
The Siena College poll showed 63 percent of the state's voters surveyed oppose the project, with 27 percent supporting it. That compares with 64 percent opposed and 28 percent in favor two weeks earlier, results that are within the polls' sampling margins.
Democrats nationwide, including President Barack Obama, have defended the proposal as protected by the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.
Many Republicans have called it an affront to the memory of those killed in the 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center.
A CNN/Opinion Research poll released last week found that nearly 70 percent of Americans opposed the mosque plan, while 29 percent approved.
In a new question, the latest poll found that many in the state believe the project is protected by the Constitution, even if they oppose the plan.
Nearly two-thirds of voters, 64 percent, say the developers have a constitutional right to build the mosque. Twenty-eight percent say they do not.
Among those who oppose building the mosque, about half agree that developers have the constitutional right to build it. Twenty-eight percent of mosque opponents say they do not have that right.
Nearly a quarter of voters questioned said the issue will have a major effect on which candidate for governor they support. Thirty-seven percent say it will have some effect, while about 40 percent of voters say it won't matter.
The state at large is more conservative than heavily Democratic New York City.
The poll showed Republican Carl Paladino, who has taken the hardest line against the project among the candidates, is continuing to gain on Rick Lazio heading into the Sept. 14 Republican primary and also gaining on Democrat Andrew Cuomo. Still, Cuomo continues to have twice the support of either Lazio or Paladino.
Of those who see the issue as a major factor in their vote, almost all - 92 percent - oppose building the mosque near the attack site referred to as ground zero. Cuomo has only a narrow lead over Lazio among those voters.
Cuomo has defended the project, saying it is protected by the Constitution. Lazio wants an investigation into who will fund the $100 million project. Paladino said it is akin to a Japanese war memorial at Pearl Harbor, the site of the 1941 attack that brought the United States into World War II.
The telephone poll questioned 788 registered New York state voters Aug. 9 through Monday. It has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.
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Build it farther away and the problem will disappear.
It's really sad that there are still so many people around that are so ignorant about what really happened on 9/11and therefore made in the past, and are making now' so many wrong decisions because of what happened on that fateful day.. There is a wealth of information on the web if people REALLY want to know, but somw rather believe the lies that the Governament and the Corporate Midia tells to manipulate people's decision making : going to war,the patriot act, phone tapping, homeland security and on and on and on... Now the the Mosque at Ground Zero!!.......... Next will we attack Iran,Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan?....When will it end?!........Many people around the world have woken up, including me,, and we are having GREAT SUCCES!!. WEARE DEMANDING A REAL INDIPENDENT INVESTIGATION!.Now it's only a matter of time before the truth comes out and the real monsters that perpretrated those horrible crimes will be brought to justice. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but can't fool all the people all the time..P eople are realizing that t our economy is beomg dreined by our spending billions on these wars, our contry is going to be bankrupt and our Democracy will be destroyed if we continue on this course. Though some still prefer to remain and idulge in their mental fog. GO TO THESE SITES : www.ae911truth.org Architects&Engineers for 9/11truth and www.liberatethis.com. and www.ifamericansknew.org EXAMINE THE FACTS AND TAKE ACTON!!!.... YOU OWE IT TO THE VICTIMS WHO DIED ON THAT DAY AND TO THE FIRST RESPONDERS WHO HAVE DIED AND ARE STILL DYING FROM RESPIRATORY DISEASES. YOU ALSO OWE IT TO OUR BRAVE SOLGERS AND THE INNOCENT CIVILIANS WHO ARE DYING IN THESe ILLIGAL AND IMMORAL WARS!!
First they came for the Muslims.. I hope they come for me too!
THEY HAVE NOT SEEN THE TRUTH ON 911. http://911truth.org/article.php?story=20041221155307646
is there really funding for this mosque or is this a just political PR ploy? And its making us all look bad in the eyes of the Moslem world.
JERSEY CITY IS THE BEST SPOT 5 MIN FROM MANNHATTAN
Try building a Catholic Church 2 blocks from Mecca and then talk about who are racists.
Mecca is in Saudi Arabia where they don't even pretend to have religious freedom. The proposed Community Center is in America where we do pretend to have religious freedom.
American Jews and other religious minorities should be very alarmed at this poll because anti-semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of intolerance is on the rise here. Hate doesn't discriminate. It's a fire that spreads uncontrollably and engulfs all, including those who started it and those who ignored it in its flames.
There are in excess of 100 mosques in New York City, far beyond what is representative of the Muslim population. The issue is not that of "denying Muslims their right to worship". The issue is building yet another (unneeded) mosque 560 feet from site where 2800 people were killed IN THE NAME OF ISLAM. As for "American Jews and other religious minorities should be very alarmed at this poll because anti-semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of intolerance is on the rise here", please don't lecture to us. Antisemitism has been rampant throughout recorded history, and has been on a dramatic rise worldwide during the last 10 years, and this is largely due to Islamic influence. So, as for your comment "Hate doesn't discriminate", it most certainly does. There is no other group in history that has been discriminated against anywhere near as much as us Jews. So if you're really concerned about hatred and anti-semitism (of course, based on your postings, you aren't), look no further than your nearest Mosque.
Muslims in the West have not shown any remorse and any responsability for this massmurder!! Let be Muslims in the ME who actually celebrated the 9/11 attacks. In short US citizens are rationale to demand first a change in attitude of muslims before allowing them to set foot on holy ground!!
"There is no other group in history that has been discriminated against anywhere near as much as us Jews." This is the biggest piece of crap I've ever heard in a long time; you probably believe what the black man endured for over two hundred years in America wasn't discrimination at all. Jews believe they deserve some kind of preferential treatment because of the Holocaust while the black man suffered a Holocaust 100 times worse. You sound like you are full of hatred for Muslims, well , they will build their mosque so get used to it.