For years, news media have been reporting that the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have been negotiating over an appropriate parcel of land and subsidy to allow the rebuilding of the church. While agreement seemed to be reached in March 2009, according to New Jersey conservative columnist, Mark Impomeni,”The deal fell apart for good in March 2009, when the Port Authority abruptly ended the talks after refusing to allow church officials to review plans for the garage and screening area underneath. Sixteen months later, the two sides have still not met to resume negotiations.”
In March 2009, the New York Times had reported that Port Authority and the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church had reached an agreement.
The March 2009 New York Times report stated that: “The tiny St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church is once again at the forefront of the myriad disputes that plague the rebuilding effort at ground zero. The fate of the church, a narrow whitewashed building that was crushed in the attack on the World Trade Center, was supposed to have been settled eight months ago, with a tentative agreement in which the church would swap its land for a grander church building on a larger parcel nearby, with a $20 million subsidy from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. This would have allowed work to begin at the south end of the site. But the two sides never came to final terms. After months of negotiations, the Port Authority, which is overseeing reconstruction at ground zero, ended its talks with the church on Monday, saying that the church had sought increasingly costly concessions. Complaints, of course, abound on both sides. The authority now says that St. Nicholas is free to rebuild the church on its own parcel at 155 Cedar Street, just east of West Street. The authority will, in turn, use eminent domain to get control of the land beneath that parcel so it can move ahead with building foundation walls and a bomb-screening center for trucks, buses and cars entering the area.”
The report concluded that “One person who was involved in the negotiations on behalf of the church, and who insisted on anonymity so as not to inflame the situation, criticized the Port Authority, saying it had made constantly shifting demands on St. Nicholas. Still, he said, the remaining issues were relatively small.”
In northern Afghanistan, a young couple were reportedly stoned to death in the Kunduz province’s Dasht-e-Archi district, in front of a crowd of 150 men, with the young woman stoned to death by men first. Responsible for Equality And Liberty rejects the barbaric practice of stoning and religious extremist groups that endorse and support such cruel killings, which frequently target women.
AP reports: “Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan stoned a young couple to death for adultery, which a rights group said was the first confirmed use of the punishment here since the hardline Islamist regime was ousted in 2001.”
“The Taliban-ordered killing comes at a time when international rights groups have raised worries that attempts to negotiate with the Taliban to bring peace to Afghanistan could mean a step backward for human rights in the country. When the extremists ruled Afghanistan, women were not allowed to leave their houses without a male guardian, and public killings for violations of their harsh interpretation of the Quran were common.
“This weekend’s stoning appeared to arise from an affair between a married man and a single woman in Kunduz province’s Dasht-e-Archi district.”
“The woman, Sadiqa, was 20 years old and engaged to another man, said the Kunduz provincial police chief, Gen. Abdul Raza Yaqoubi. Her lover, 28-year-old Qayum, left his wife to run away with her, and the two had holed up in a friend’s house five days ago, said district government head, Mohammad Ayub Aqyar.”
“They were discovered by Taliban operatives on Sunday and stoned to death in front a crowd of about 150 men, Aqyar said.”
The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that a group called the Church of Islam seeks Green Bay city zoning approval to build a mosque “in the shuttered Bob’s Bait and Tackle shop, 1512 Velp Ave.” The Green Bay Press-Gazette reports that a Green Bay city District 7 City Council Alderman Ned Dorff, representing the west side area of Green Bay “questioned whether many nearby residents and business owners are aware of the proposed development” and might “ask for a postponement on council action to allow for more public debate.” Green Bay alderman Ned Dorff told the Press-Gazette that because he has not heard from any constituents on the zoning request,”We need to talk about this more publicly.” Ned Dorff was endorsed by the Green Bay Press-Gazette in his 2010 campaign to win a seat on the Green Bay City Council.
On Ned Dorff’s Facebook page, he asks “Proposal to rezone commercial land for religious use on Velp is coming to council tomorrow night. Good idea? Bad idea? Sound off here or come to council 7 PM 2nd floor city hall.”
Green Bay Council Alderman Ned Dorff Says Postponement of Mosque Zoning Hearing Needed For More Public Debate (Photo: Facebook)
============================
Update:
Ned Dorff sent the following statement to R.E.A.L. on his position:
“To give you some background on a few points in your article: The reporter asked me if I’d heard public feedback about a commercial area being rezoned for non-taxable religious use. I said I hadn’t and that it’s a sign that word didn’t get out. My only concern is taking a property off the tax rolls that we just (July 20) voted on to zone as commercial in an area we are trying to redevelop as a business district might go against the overall plan for the corridor. (Those concerns have since been assuaged).”
“I consider myself a progressive person and I am proud to represent the most progressive voting district in the city of Green Bay, which traditionally hasn’t voted based on race, gender, or creed.”
“Please issue a correction to your article that my only concern was about taking a commercial parcel off the tax rolls. That concern has since been addressed by very capable staff in our planning and economic development departments. The Press-Gazette shaped their story the way they wanted. You can also feel free to include the other statement I wrote on Facebook about how council should treat this as a zoning issue, not a religious debate. Please contact the others who have picked up your story. I might have been painted as a xenophobic enemy by a quote taken out of context, but nothing could be further from the truth.”
“I do not look forward to the day where city government meddles with the First Amendment to favor one group over another. I will _not_ delay or vote down the proposal based on anti-Islamic sentiment. That would be an ugly, irresponsible thing to do.”
Ned Dorff also states on his Facebook page: “This debate has unfortunately turned into one over religion. Really, as a council, we should have no say over legal religious activity, as per the 1st Amendment. To do so in Green Bay would set a very dangerous, probably illegal, precedent. What we are looking at is the zoning of the area and the best way to redevelop Velp. How do we zone properly to provide neighborhood services, encourage business and keep the street in good condition?”
=============================
The Press-Gazette stated that the Green Bay planning commission had already unanimously voted last month to support to zoning change to allow the former bait and tackle shop to be converted into a mosque, and stated that the decision had to be ratified by the Green Bay City Council to allow the mosque to be built.
Anti-Mosque Protester Comment on Green Bay Press-Gazette Web Site (Screen Shot) Anti-Mosque Protester Comment on Green Bay Press-Gazette Web Site (Screen Shot) Anti-Mosque Protester Comment on Green Bay Press-Gazette Web Site (Screen Shot)
Wilson, Wisconsin Mosque Protest: A member of the audience expresses her views Monday night while a speaker addresses the Town of Wilson Town Board on whether to grant a conditional use permit for a mosque in the town. Photo by Gary C. Klein/The Sheboygan Press (The Sheboygan Press)
“In passing this law, Congress found that the right to assemble for worship is at the very core of the free exercise of religion. Religious assemblies cannot function without a physical space adequate to their needs and consistent with their theological requirements. The right to build, buy, or rent such a space is an indispensable adjunct of the core First Amendment right to assemble for religious purposes. Religious assemblies, especially, new, small, or unfamiliar ones, may be illegally discriminated against on the face of zoning codes and also in the highly individualized and discretionary processes of land use regulation. Zoning codes and landmarking laws may illegally exclude religious assemblies in places where they permit theaters, meeting halls, and other places where large groups of people assemble for secular purposes. Or the zoning codes or landmarking laws may permit religious assemblies only with individualized permission from the zoning board or landmarking commission, and zoning boards or landmarking commission may use that authority in illegally discriminatory ways.”
“To address these concerns, RLUIPA prohibits zoning and landmarking laws that substantially burden the religious exercise of churches or other religious assemblies or institutions absent the least restrictive means of furthering a compelling governmental interest. This prohibition applies in any situation where: (i) the state or local government entity imposing the substantial burden receives federal funding; (ii) the substantial burden affects, or removal of the substantial burden would affect, interstate commerce; or (iii) the substantial burden arises from the state or local government’s formal or informal procedures for making individualized assessments of a property’s uses.”
“In addition, RLUIPA prohibits zoning and landmarking laws that: (1) treat churches or other religious assemblies or institutions on less than equal terms with nonreligious institutions; (2) discriminate against any assemblies or institutions on the basis of religion or religious denomination; (3) totally exclude religious assemblies from a jurisdiction; or (4) unreasonably limit religious assemblies, institutions, or structures within a jurisdiction.”
“The Department of Justice can investigate alleged RLUIPA violations and bring a lawsuit to enforce the statute. The Department can obtain injunctive, but not monetary, relief. Individuals, houses of worship, and other religious institutions can also bring a lawsuit in federal or state court to enforce RLUIPA.”
Tea Party Patriots Web Page: NYC Tea Party Activist "Jerry" Promotes Park Place Islamic Center Protest (image: TeaPartyPatriots.org web screen shot)Park 51 NYC Islamic Center Logo
Reports indicate that Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is likely to face an Iranian court sentence on Saturday, August 21, 2010, but also states if she is to be stoned it will not be during Ramadan.
As previously reported, the Iranian government will not allow Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani asylum in Brazil. In another report by the Guardian, “ran appears to be quietly changing the sentences of Iranians awaiting death by stoning to hanging after international outcry following the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two.”
AP reports: “Iran will not send a woman who had faced death by stoning on an adultery conviction to Brazil, which has offered her asylum, the president said in a TV interview broadcast Monday.”
AHN: Iran Not To Execute Stoning Woman In Ramadan Month
— AHN reports: “Nearly two days after Iranian government has announced that the woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery will not face execution during the ongoing holy month of Ramadan, an Iranian court postponed her final sentence. A human rights group named International Committee Against Stoning said that the sentence in Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case is likely to be announced on August 21 when her lawyer will make next appearance at the court.”
