Park 51 Mosque Will Be Beautiful

[Madeline]

I have a girlfriend who can speak Arabic. I am not sure if she can read and write, but she can listen and understand. She got into an Army language immersion classout in California (this was way before 9/11) and I'm not too sure why she did it. She's a professor of tax law and had done some work in Africa....is Arabic spoken in parts of Africa?

Yes, I do believe it is.

I wonder if she's managed to keep her skills up...was enormously hard for her to learn. She had eight weeks of never hearing English except for like an hour when they were allowed to call friends and family every week. Very strange way to study...I'd certainly never do it.

 

[Kalam]

I'm curious, would someone islamophobic write something like this?

"I like it, it looks like a building's falling in on itself in the midst of destruction, very apropos for such a destructive people and cult. Fuck islam and there pathetic 14th century beliefs and insanity. I'll be in the streets dancing when that shit gets blown up.

Oh, was that insensitive? I'm so sorry, I actually feel sorry for billions of imbeciles worshipping a piece of shit pedophile. Send their rag heads back to the Middle East where they belong.....they don't fit in Western society, or any semi civilized society, they never will."

Seems pretty accurate, doesn't sound fearful, sounds fed up.

Let me guess -- you're the brilliant author?

How Western and enlightened of you to endorse celebrating the deaths of innocent people.

 

[THE LIGHT]

I have a girlfriend who can speak Arabic. I am not sure if she can read and write, but she can listen and understand. She got into an Army language immersion classout in California (this was way before 9/11) and I'm not too sure why she did it. She's a professor of tax law and had done some work in Africa....is Arabic spoken in parts of Africa?

Sure, especially in the northern parts. If I haven't bored you with enough pictures already, here's another.

As with English, each country speaks a different dialect. It's my understanding that Moroccan Arabic, for example, is barely comprehensible to speakers of some other dialects.

Looks like Kalam beat me to it.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Good number of mosques there.

Indeed, some I like quite a bit.

It's a shame the Community Center didn't use some of them for inspiration.

Their design possibilities are limited to those that will work with skyscrapers. But yeah, I see what you're saying. I think they should have incorporated script into the design somehow.

Sorry, but 13 stories is not a skyscraper, and modern skyscrapers are not as limited as they used to be.

 

[Kalam]

Indeed, some I like quite a bit.

It's a shame the Community Center didn't use some of them for inspiration.

Their design possibilities are limited to those that will work with skyscrapers. But yeah, I see what you're saying. I think they should have incorporated script into the design somehow.

Sorry, but 13 stories is not a skyscraper, and modern skyscrapers are not as limited as they used to be.

Alright then.

 

[Synthaholic]

That's a sexy modern look. Kind of reminds me of a flat version of the London egg. Even though it doesn't really mesh with the style of the surrounding buildings, I still like it.

Everything looks like eggs to you.

 

[Madeline]

I have a girlfriend who can speak Arabic. I am not sure if she can read and write, but she can listen and understand. She got into an Army language immersion classout in California (this was way before 9/11) and I'm not too sure why she did it. She's a professor of tax law and had done some work in Africa....is Arabic spoken in parts of Africa?

Sure, especially in the northern parts. If I haven't bored you with enough pictures already, here's another.

As with English, each country speaks a different dialect. It's my understanding that Moroccan Arabic, for example, is barely comprehensible to speakers of some other dialects.

Looks like Kalam beat me to it.

Man, if she kept up her skills she must be raking it in these days, then. I had no idea...I was under the impression all of Africa spoke French for official purposes. Her first gig was writing an income tax code for some little nation in West Africa....all in French, but they gave her a translator.

I'd expect that would be a whole lot harder with Arabic....man, I'd like to be the tax code author to the World Bank or whatnot, LOL. No wonder I haven't heard from her in awhile!

 

[THE LIGHT]

I have a girlfriend who can speak Arabic. I am not sure if she can read and write, but she can listen and understand. She got into an Army language immersion classout in California (this was way before 9/11) and I'm not too sure why she did it. She's a professor of tax law and had done some work in Africa....is Arabic spoken in parts of Africa?

Yes, I do believe it is.

I wonder if she's managed to keep her skills up...was enormously hard for her to learn. She had eight weeks of never hearing English except for like an hour when they were allowed to call friends and family every week. Very strange way to study...I'd certainly never do it.

I know it can be a bit rigorous, but that is the best most effective way to learn it quickly. Now with some of the new software like Rosetta stone it makes it a little more fun. Although that just gives you the basics.

I have a relative that knows 10+ languages.

They say it gets easier the more you learn because there are building blocks of similarities between them. Which is true when you consider that English is a bit backwards in its sentence structure compared to many languages.

 

[Kalam]

Yes, I do believe it is.

I wonder if she's managed to keep her skills up...was enormously hard for her to learn. She had eight weeks of never hearing English except for like an hour when they were allowed to call friends and family every week. Very strange way to study...I'd certainly never do it.

I know it can be a bit rigorous, but that is the best most effective way to learn it quickly. Now with some of the new software like Rosetta stone it makes it a little more fun. Although that just gives you the basics.

I have a relative that knows 10+ languages.

They say it gets easier the more you learn because there are building blocks of similarities between them. Which is true when you consider that English is a bit backwards in its sentence structure compared to many languages.

I've been told that Rosetta Stone for Arabic is a waste of time. That wouldn't surprise me; you can't learn proper pronunciation without someone identifying specifically what you're doing wrong.

 

[Madeline]

Yes, I do believe it is.

I wonder if she's managed to keep her skills up...was enormously hard for her to learn. She had eight weeks of never hearing English except for like an hour when they were allowed to call friends and family every week. Very strange way to study...I'd certainly never do it.

I know it can be a bit rigorous, but that is the best most effective way to learn it quickly. Now with some of the new software like Rosetta stone it makes it a little more fun. Although that just gives you the basics.

I have a relative that knows 10+ languages.

They say it gets easier the more you learn because there are building blocks of similarities between them. Which is true when you consider that English is a bit backwards in its sentence structure compared to many languages.

I have that CD for German around here somewhere. I was in a European chatroom for a long time, and one of the guys sent it to me. I want to master a second language (some would say I'm still working on my first) but I doubt I'll even get to speak in some understandable fashion. I have little aptitude for it.

There's no way I'd ever learn Arabic or Chinese or Hebrew.

 

[THE LIGHT]

I wonder if she's managed to keep her skills up...was enormously hard for her to learn. She had eight weeks of never hearing English except for like an hour when they were allowed to call friends and family every week. Very strange way to study...I'd certainly never do it.

I know it can be a bit rigorous, but that is the best most effective way to learn it quickly. Now with some of the new software like Rosetta stone it makes it a little more fun. Although that just gives you the basics.

I have a relative that knows 10+ languages.

They say it gets easier the more you learn because there are building blocks of similarities between them. Which is true when you consider that English is a bit backwards in its sentence structure compared to many languages.

I've been told that Rosetta Stone for Arabic is a waste of time. That wouldn't surprise me; you can't learn proper pronunciation without someone identifying specifically what you're doing wrong.

Something tells me you are right.

Especially for the fact that I have conversed with a few people who originally spoke Arabic and learned some of their English through Rosetta. Needless to say their English wasn't too good, but you do have to hand it to them for trying.

 

[Kalam]

I know it can be a bit rigorous, but that is the best most effective way to learn it quickly. Now with some of the new software like Rosetta stone it makes it a little more fun. Although that just gives you the basics.

I have a relative that knows 10+ languages.

They say it gets easier the more you learn because there are building blocks of similarities between them. Which is true when you consider that English is a bit backwards in its sentence structure compared to many languages.

I've been told that Rosetta Stone for Arabic is a waste of time. That wouldn't surprise me; you can't learn proper pronunciation without someone identifying specifically what you're doing wrong.

Something tells me you are right.

Especially for the fact that I have conversed with a few people who originally spoke Arabic and learned some of their English through Rosetta. Needless to say their English wasn't too good, but you do have to hand it to them for trying.

English is probably a hard language for them to learn. Arabic is very logical grammatically and is usually pronounced exactly as it's spelled. English relies on the grammatical structures of several completely different language families and has few completely consistent spelling rules. I'm thankful that it's my first language because I'd never want to learn it later in life.

 

[Ragnar]

I wonder if she's managed to keep her skills up...was enormously hard for her to learn. She had eight weeks of never hearing English except for like an hour when they were allowed to call friends and family every week. Very strange way to study...I'd certainly never do it.

I know it can be a bit rigorous, but that is the best most effective way to learn it quickly. Now with some of the new software like Rosetta stone it makes it a little more fun. Although that just gives you the basics.

I have a relative that knows 10+ languages.

They say it gets easier the more you learn because there are building blocks of similarities between them. Which is true when you consider that English is a bit backwards in its sentence structure compared to many languages.

I have that CD for German around here somewhere. I was in a European chatroom for a long time, and one of the guys sent it to me. I want to master a second language (some would say I'm still working on my first) but I doubt I'll even get to speak in some understandable fashion. I have little aptitude for it.

There's no way I'd ever learn Arabic or Chinese or Hebrew.

Three years of High School Spanish and all I recall is my teacher hitting me on the head and screaming "levántese!!".

"Get up"? "Wake up"? Not sure?

 

[Kalam]

I know it can be a bit rigorous, but that is the best most effective way to learn it quickly. Now with some of the new software like Rosetta stone it makes it a little more fun. Although that just gives you the basics.

I have a relative that knows 10+ languages.

They say it gets easier the more you learn because there are building blocks of similarities between them. Which is true when you consider that English is a bit backwards in its sentence structure compared to many languages.

I have that CD for German around here somewhere. I was in a European chatroom for a long time, and one of the guys sent it to me. I want to master a second language (some would say I'm still working on my first) but I doubt I'll even get to speak in some understandable fashion. I have little aptitude for it.

There's no way I'd ever learn Arabic or Chinese or Hebrew.

Three years of High School Spanish and all I recall is my teacher hitting me on the head and screaming "levántese!!".

"Get up"? "Wake up"? Not sure?

"Rise!" -- "Sit up!"

That's my guess because the French word is sort of similar. I took several years of French, which I barely remember, and one of Spanish, which I've all but completely forgotten.

 

[Madeline]

Ragnar wrote:

Three years of High School Spanish and all I recall is my teacher hitting me on the head and screaming "levántese!!".

"Get up"? "Wake up"? Not sure?

I had Latin until grade 9 and Spanish 10 to 12, but my Spanish class was ESL for Puerto Ricans, who speak extremely fast. I could never even get the page number we were supposed to be on from the teacher, and the other students could not even understand me when I said "Ola".

LOL.

 

[RoccoR]

Madeline, et al,

There are many non-Muslims that are listening.

I am still trying to learn from the non-Mulsims here who, like you, abhore Islam but it is virtually impossible not to discount what you say as irrational fear. And frankly, all the name calling helps not one little bit.

(COMMENT)

Normally --- you would be correct in the concept of "irrational fear;" divorced of normal mental clarity and sound judgment. But in this case, in this time in history, Islam (the religion) and the Muslim (the practitioner) have created a reputation in reality; demonstrated by deeds, actions and words. It wasn't always like this. There was a time when America and (at least a portion) of the Muslim World had an understanding and peace (Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Signed at Tripoli November 4, 1796: ).

When I was young (before I went to war in Vietnam), I grew-up with a completely different notion of the Muslim (mostly from the movies of Hollywood). I had the impression that they were valiant warriors, men of Chivalry from the Middle Ages, who were honorable in peace and in war. I remembered the images of Baghdad and the ethics and bravery of Prince Sinbad; how he saw the wonders of the world. I remembered many of the ethos that emerged in the stories of 1001 Arabian Nights and how Ali Baba was so much more than a thief. But by the time I actually got to Baghdad, my image had changed. Hollywood didn't change it, the Muslim did.

The reputation that the Muslim has built for them is collective. Yes, I recognize that there are many Muslims that have spoken against the current rain of terror, wrapped in the cloth of Islam, but I (and much of the world) also have seen its effects. The practitioners have not made a concerted effort to change their image.

It is a very dangerous world out there today. And it is affecting more than just America. Entire countries have fallen to a radical interpretation of the faith. Every nation in the Western World is being slowly intimidated by the faithful. And there is no real effort on the part of the Islamic Leadership to clean-up the reputation and the faith of the reputation they have built over the decades.

Freedom of Religion is a double-edged sword for America. Those of us that serve our nation must fight for the right of the Muslim to practice Islam. But at the same time, we must detect and neutralize the Muslim wave that is attempting to spread the more extremist ideology (known as Deobandism); and others that are actively working to overthrow Middle Eastern Regimes (which they believe have been corrupted by the west alliances) and establish a pan-Islamic caliphate. Yes, there is a very inactive moderate Muslim segment that does condemn Jihadist activity, but that is not the same as actively working to suppress hostile activity.

"Islamophobia" implies that there is an "irrational fear." It suggests that no one should fear that a Muslim is, all of the sudden, going to start shooting people, or that a Muslim soldier might not frag his commander. It is saying that it is irrational to keep an eye on the Muslim that boards your plane, because it is unlikely they would take it over and crash it into a populated area. It is irrational to worry that a Muslim will detonate a car bomb in Times Square, Attack on the US warship in port, drive huge bombs into civilian building and Embassies, or light-up a shoe bomb aboard a plane.

The reputation is built and reinforced on a continuing basis; and these are not the normal crazies or criminals. These are believers who think in there martyrdom they are going to be rewarded in the mass murder of the innocent.

I submit, that it might not be unreasonable to assume that it would be almost impossible to put these events out of their mind.

Most Respectfully,
R

 

[sitarro]

Tons of great architecture going on in Dubai. (or was until recently? depends on how far the bad economy is spread)

I don't know how well they've weathered the recession, but they have some super cool buildings in the works. There's supposed to be an underwater hotel and a building with independently rotating floors, among other things.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq-QUkE1DGM]YouTube - Preview of World's First Rotating Skyscraper[/ame]

Holy crap!

My guess is that these projects will be abandoned, but you never know.

Sure, there's nothing that could go wrong with that.

 

[xotoxi]

Take it from me...that building is ugly.

 

[xotoxi]

Tons of great architecture going on in Dubai. (or was until recently? depends on how far the bad economy is spread)

I don't know how well they've weathered the recession, but they have some super cool buildings in the works. There's supposed to be an underwater hotel and a building with independently rotating floors, among other things.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq-QUkE1DGM"]YouTube - Preview of World's First Rotating Skyscraper[/ame]

Holy crap!

My guess is that these projects will be abandoned, but you never know.

Every resident of that building would get a lifetime supply of this:

 

[chanel]

Will it be built before the Freedom Towers? Methinks so.