Ground Zero Muslim center may get public financing

reuters.com ^ | 8/27/10 | Joan Gralla; Editing by Dan Grebler

[Liz]

The Ground Zero Muslim center could qualify for tax-free financing, a spokesman for City Comptroller John Liu said. The Democratic comptroller's spokesman said Liu supports the project. The center has sparked an intense debate over the sanctity of the site where nearly 3,000 perished. "If it's financially feasible and if they can demonstrate an ability to pay off the bonds and comply with the laws concerning tax-exempt financing, we'd certainly consider it," Liu's rep told Reuters.

[nmh]

I don’t think you’re right on Catholic schools. ALthough they are connected to the Catholic Church, I do’t beleieve they can benefit form that as a “non profit”.

I also don’t agree with religious schools getting state money. You want GOVERNMENT out of the schools, if you want to be consistent. When government gets in, they CHANGE things and usually what YOU would WANT in the school.

Maybe someone else knows more about non Muslim schools getting state funding. I don’t know of any that do but I am not all knowing.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

Anybody around who still doesn’t realize that our elected officials hate the Judeo-Christian foundations of this country and love the crazies who want to destroy our country and replace it with a totalitarian dictatorship?

[Alberta's Child]

So much for the prohibition against paying interest under Islamic sharia law, eh?

[Alberta's Child]

So much for the prohibition against paying interest under Islamic sharia law, eh?

[SteveAustin]

A couple things to clarify here.

a) The Mosque is entirely responsible for the repayment of these proposed tax-exempt bonds. The City is merely allowing the Mosque to use their tax-exempt conduit to get a lower interest rate. The City is not providing the cash. Private investors will buy these bonds.

b) This type of financing is available to Christian Schools and organizations. And it is used by said Christian organizations all the time.

c) This type of financing was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2002 in the Zelman case on school vouchers used in the City of Cleveland. The ACLU said the vouchers were unconstitutional because they were being used by parents for religious schools. The Court said as long as the parents made the choice of school (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc) they sent their kids to, there was no establishment of a religion.

d) The whole thing turns on what is being built. The portion of the facility that is used by the general public for health, education (secular) and welfare can qualify for tax-exempt financing. Anything used for religion and spiritual purposes may not.

e) I agree that Sharia law would prohibit this type of borrowing since interest must be paid. These guys have to pay cash or get a zero interest loan from their buddies in Saudi for this to be Sharia compliant.

[Smokin' Joe]

I do not agree with this practice, for the record, not that I don’t think they should receive such funds, but because such funds allow the state to potentially wield control over such schools.

This is my chief objection as well.

[cookcounty]

WHAT?????????????????????????

Where are the Church-and-State-Separaters now???????????????????????????????

[Liz]

So much for the prohibition against paying interest under Islamic sharia law, eh?

Yeah, the connivers had it all figured out before the rest of us were clued into this scam.