NBC Names Ground Zero Mosque Developer a ‘Person of the Year’
NBC has announced that it has named the developer of the controversial Islamic prayer center near Ground Zero, Sharif el-Gamal, one of the network’s “People of the Year.” El-Gamal will sit down for an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer on Thanksgiving night.
The prayer center, known as Park51, has sparked outrage and massive protests from people who say that building a mosque so close to the site of the World Trade Center attacks is disrespectful to 9/11 victims and their families.
NBC’s previous coverage of Park51 has sometimes come off as insensitive to the people who object to the prayer center’s construction. Last August, NBC anchor Mika Brzezinski referred to Park51 opponents as people “who don’t care about the Constitution.”
“New York's mayor actually came out pretty clearly on this, as well. And a lot of people are applauding him for his political strength because there are many who don’t care about the Constitution, just want to jump on what will get to people emotionally on this and connect with them,” said Brzezinski on NBC’s “Today Show” on Aug. 14.
Some of the reporters on the network also mocked former Alaska governor Sarah Palin for requesting that “peace-seeking Muslims” “refudiate” the proposed Islamic center.
“But of course, refudiate isn't an actual word, more like a blend of two words with similar meanings, refute and repudiate,” said reporter Peter Alexander, who quipped later in the segment that Palin “will have plenty of time to coin some new words going forward, Matt [Lauer]. The scheduled groundbreaking on this [Park51] site is still years away.”
While the NBC program with Sharif el-Gamal doesn’t air until Thursday, it will be interesting to see whether Matt Lauer raises some of the concerns of the mosque opponents during the interview.
In a brief excerpt from the interview, which is posted on the NBC site, Lauer grills el-Gamal over whether he initially predicted that the mosque project would be so hurtful to so many people.
“You say when you first envisioned this project, it never crossed your mind that there would be controversy over that,” said Lauer.
El-Gamal shook his head.
“You seem like such a smart guy, I’m surprised that it never crossed your mind,” responded Lauer.
But while el-Gamal may have never imagined that an Islamic prayer center near Ground Zero would spark controversy, other early supporters of the project did – and they even assumed it would turn violent.
In one of the first articles written about the project, the New York Times reported last December that “though the [Park51 organizer] imam [Feisal Abdul Rauf] is adamant about what his intentions for the site are, there is anxiety among those involved or familiar with the project that it could very well become a target for anti-Muslim attacks.”
The short excerpt of the interview also shows that el-Gamal may have an inspiring message for moderate Muslims who are struggling against extremist factions in their religion:
“I am an American,” said el-Gamal. “I am an American who has a specific belief system. And my belief system – in order to be a good Muslim, you have to be a good Jew, and a good Christian. And in order to be a Muslim you have to believe in pluralism. You do not commit a mass murder.”
But hopefully NBC will buck its earlier trend of ignoring legitimate criticism of the Park51 proposal, and put el-Gamal’s project under more serious scrutiny.
- Alana Goodman's blog
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Comments
NBC / Wakeup
Submitted by TMF2006 on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 9:59am.
No wonder your ratings are sinking! How could the people that run NBC pick this character as "Person of the Year".
Comcast has their work cut out for them to get NBC/MSNBC to report the news not make the news!
Person of the year on one of
Submitted by jkwtrading on Fri, 11/26/2010 - 8:07pm.
Person of the year on one of our two favorite and best holidays of uplift..no less....Thanksgiving..
The Founding Fathers
Submitted by MidAmerica on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 10:00am.
The Founding Fathers thought long and hard on how to create a government that would be self sustaining and guarantee freedom to it's citizens. But I don't think they imagined a day like ours where the supposed 'free press' would actually be nation-wide and would work with a particular political position against the will of a majority of the people. They tried to put in place every obstacle against tyranny by politicians but didn't foresee the day when the 'Free Press' would be working in tandem with certain politicians to take away the voice of the people and replace news with state propaganda.
Shame on NBC
Submitted by Cactus Kurt on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 10:02am.
Amazing, but not surprising. For NBC to name Sharif el-Gamal as 'Person of the Year' is a slap in the face to those that were murdered on 9/11. NBC might as well spit on the families, police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and others that have suffered in the name of Islam. NBC, like the proposed Islamic prayer center, is insensitive. The solution is simple: Just build the damn thing somewhere else.
Obama can't change on this
Submitted by Texndoc on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 10:05am.
He's already numerous times endorsed the Obamamosque. And in the vast space between NYC and San Francisco the idea goes over like a lead balloon. So NBC and Christiane Amanpour are going to do their damnest to get support up by stunts like this. Good luck.
Not an American
Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 10:18am.
That SOB is not an American as long as he's Muslim. Americans are free.(supposed to be at any rate) Muslims are not.
If that makes me Anti-Muslim, yer damned right it does.
And Happy Thanksgiving!(which is an insult to Islam)
-Jon
Mika
Submitted by rpeeler42 on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 10:25am.
The constitution does not say we must commit suicide when faced by an enemy threat.. Mika is a typical left-wing airhead. NBC is fast approaching being irrelevant., if they aren't already there ..I am still looking for a "moderate" muslim. I really don't think you can be a devout muslim and be a patriotic American citizen. It is literally impossible.
The one moderate muslim
Submitted by needle on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 11:09am.
O'Reilly has had one -- One! -- such moderate Muslim on his program a few times.
I am not worriedso much about the self-proclaimed Islamo-terrorists. Many of the successful Islamo-terrorists are dead, along with an ample amount of collateral deaths and damage, of course. And a good many more in Gitmo or similar places.
It is the 1 Billion other Muslims loose in world that concern me, minus the one identified moderate Muslim, of course.
Actually at this point I am not worried about ALL of the 1 Billion other Muslims loose in world, but it is anything but clear which ones I do not need to worry about. CAIR and other Muslims scream about prolifing; but actually if they want to allay our fears about them, they would embrace profiling. The problem may well be that CAIR and similar Muslin advocates are unsure of their differences with Islamo-terrorists.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
NO moderate muslim, needle.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 11:33am.
There is a term, I think it's spelled taqiyya, which tells muslims that it is perfectly acceptable to Allah for you to lie like a dog if it will further the aims of Islam. In fact, they are practically required to lie if they expect to be a "good" muslim.
Bottom line is you can't trust ANYTHING any of them say.
Besides, the only thing that taqiyya is good for is making margarita's! A much better way to get stoned than the Islamic way!
Beyond the pale
Submitted by ThisnThat on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 10:27am.
NBC had a choice. Lots and lots of people could have been selected. Brown for winning "Kennedy's seat". The Tea Party, whose peaceful protests resulted in 60 Republican wins in the House. Michelle obama for her Spain vacation. obama for taking over 500+ hotel rooms on a visit to India. But none of these are good enough. Instead, NBC selects one of the most polarizing figures of our time, and celebrates his -- what? American patriotism? Muslim culture? Terrorist ties? I guess at this point, we really can't expect any more from NBC -- they've been going down this anti-American path for years. And finally -- just like many other liberals/socialists/communists, they are coming out in the open and publicly/proudly/boldly announcing their allegiances.
__________
“Didn't win the Medal of Honor? Didn't even serve? Then lie about it. We'll support you." — 9th Circuit Court
It's a good thing for Sharif el-Gamal that I am not the POTUS
Submitted by Dave. on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 10:37am.
..else his enemy-coddling ass would be so far under the jail no one would find him.
Ever.
This nation is going to die because of it's own stoopidity.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
My Thanksgiving Day promise.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 11:35am.
I will never turn to NBC on my TV again, ever!
NBC = No Brain Cells network
Submitted by Martin2717 on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 11:41am.
NBC = No Brain Cells network
NBC's "People of the Year" quite
Submitted by Model850 on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 12:56pm.
NBC's "People of the Year" include some quite interesting choices along with Sharif el-Gamal:
LeBron James, Kim Kardashian (really?!?!), Chilean miner rescuer Brandon Fisher and Justin Timberlake. No idea what criteria were used in the selection process.
Definitely won't be watching, though.
How interesting.
Submitted by CobraMan on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 1:30pm.
"While the NBC program with Sharif el-Gamal doesn’t air until Thursday, it will be interesting to see whether Matt Lauer raises some of the concerns of the mosque opponents during the interview."
I wonder if the developer's request for federal funds will be discussed?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
So when did our media become traitors?
Submitted by ArrowSmith on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 5:39pm.
At least William Randolph Hearst's "yellow journalism" had America's interests at heart. I guess when William Duranty and the NY Times started covering up Stalin's crimes is the moment it all changed. When the Communists inflitrated our media.
So What?
Submitted by Corbeck on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 9:00pm.
Two points.
Just because he gets named, doesn't mean he's virtuous. He's obviously a big troublemaker, and if the comments on this page are any indication, he's quite successful at getting folks to go bat guano. Some of us aren't as bound up in other people's opinions. I lose little sleep over it.
As I recall, Time magazine named Adolph Hitler as "Man Of The Year" way back in January of 1939. Again, he was the antithesis of virtue, but he was certainly significant.
I'll save my energy (and pennies), to contribute to a deserving worthy in the next election that I consider to be "Person of the Year", rather than concern myself over some journalist(s) opinion.
How old are you?
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 12:26am.
"As I recall, Time magazine named Adolph Hitler as "Man Of The Year" way back in January of 1939."
You recall? How old are you?
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Comcast
Submitted by ssquared on Thu, 11/25/2010 - 11:52pm.
It will be interesting to see who gets flushed down the toilet with a full load of draincleaner when Comcast takes over at NBC, CNBC & MSNBC.
My nominations:
Keith Olberman (an ag grad with a large vocabulary and a domineering mother)
Katie Couric (a bitch on wheels)
Matt Lauer (dumber than John Conyers)
Meredith Viera (DUH)
Mika Brashenski (too bad she is a fox..but she is an airhead just like her father)
Joe Scarbuough (a traitor to his political roots)
I'm betting at least half this list is gone
There are a few of the financial reporters at CNBC who deserve the boot too. Herb Greenberg was the worst but he beat feet back to San Diego when the FEDS started asking for his phone records. He was and probably still is, an insider trader alson guilty of RICO violationrs of financial manipulation with jim Cramer and David Einhorns (Greenstreet Partners) wife, Sheryl Strauss Einhorn who used to write for Barrons. They fired her and probably had suspisions if not proof that whe was conspiring with Cramer, Greenberg and her husband to mamipulate stock prices they had positions in...either long or short.
sharif el-gamal
Submitted by okiehawk44 on Fri, 11/26/2010 - 12:22am.
Just another guy with an unsold development deal in NYC.
Islam's past explains Park-54
Submitted by Zero-Niner-Zero on Fri, 11/26/2010 - 4:00am.
My neighbor, a graduate student from India, pointed something out the other day -- whenever Islam has conquered a city in the past, they built a mosque on the battlefield -- essentially planting a flag so as to claim the territory. That is what they are doing here -- it is exactly the same thing that we did in the 1980s when we put a McDonalds in Red Square.
This is an act intended to provoke. And if folk are referring to Hussain Ibish as the "moderate moslem on O'Riley's show", I can assure you that "Insane Rubbish" is not moderate! I know him personally, I have to resist the urge to vomit every time I hear his voice on Fox News....
Bottom line is that the NYC construction trades are very much union, and if one local votes to strike the job, no one is going to cross the picket line. No one -- not in NYC -- and then Obama will have to decide to send in Federal Marshalls or not -- if he does this, the SEIU will implode with all the locals going to other unions because the rank&file of SEIU are beer-drinking Democrats who either are veterans themselves or know someone who is.
NBC -- "Now Being Canceled"
"The Constitution is not a suicide pact"
Submitted by Zero-Niner-Zero on Fri, 11/26/2010 - 4:42am.
Lincoln never quite said it, but the quote is often attributed to him. He suspended the Writ of Habeus Corpus in Maryland (which was never in rebellion - remember it is only 'rebellion or invasion' that permits the suspension of this writ) and seized the Lee estate (now Arlington National Cemetary) the moment Virginia voted to seceede from the union. - not even waiting for the ballots to be counted.
Stand on the front porch of Lee's house and you can see what cannons in his dooryard could do to Washington. And had Maryland joined the Confederacy (it was a slave state), DC would have been surrounded and starved into submission. Lincoln violated the Constitution - Chief Justice Roger Taney said so in the Merryman & Milligan cases -- and Taney then wrote in his diary that he fully expected Lincoln to throw him into jail.
What the Park54 folk fail to realize is that we have a long history of recognizing that our Constitution is not a suicide pact -- that it largely didn't apply to Communists during the Cold War and eventually we are going to have to conclude that it doesn't apply to Moslems during this war. Look at what FDR did to the Japanese-Americans in California -- civil rights are the first thing to go out the window when people are afraid and that is something that the Park 54 folk have to understand, if they provoke this issue, they may not like the eventual result...
Build the damn thing somewhere else. -- just because Now Been Cancelled News won't tell you this, America is a Judeo/Christian country and we are tolerant because of our Judeo/Christian values, but only tolerant to a certain point. Cross the line -- and you folk are -- and you will find that you have 'awoken a sleeping giant."
You want President Obama to
Submitted by yutsnark on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 2:21am.
You want President Obama to suspend the constitution? Really?
And he hasn't already? There
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 4:42am.
And he hasn't already? There are plenty of problems with the TSA groping going on. And then there are the massive bailouts and buyouts of the Auto companies and the list goes on and on.
To be more precise, do you
Submitted by yutsnark on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 4:52pm.
To be more precise, do you want him to suspend the constitution regarding the "ground zero mosque" issue? Should he declare that only Christians are allowed to purchase property? I wouldn't want any president to assume that kind of authority.
I can see a case for the Fed
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 6:06am.
I can see a case for the Fed government prohibiting Park 51 to proceed. It could be considered a threat to the country if the case were made right. But, the question is mute because Obama would not do anything to upset his Islamic masters.
However, the locals can say no to Park 51 very easily and without much effort. Which they should.
Right, the locals could say
Submitted by yutsnark on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 9:23am.
Right, the locals could say no. But wouldn't they face an anti-discrimination suit?