DenverChristianity and Islammosquesmuslim

Sen. Kevin Grantham, Colorado Republican, Thinks Ban On Construction Of New Mosques Is Worth Considering

Lawmaker: Ban On Building New Mosques Worth Considering
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Dutch right-wing politician and staunch critic of Islamic religion, Geert Wilders spoke at at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver last weekend issuing his usual warning that Europe and the United States are at risk of being taken over by the Islam religion -- a religion that Wilders has said is not really a religion, but an "ideology of a retarded culture," according to The Guardian.

At the Summit, Wilders also repeated his point of view that he has nothing against Muslims, that he understands that there are "many moderate Muslims," it's just Islam that he's got a problem with. "I have a problem with Islamic tradition, culture, ideology," Wilders told The Guardian in 2008, "Not with Muslim people."

Wilders may think there are some moderate Muslims, but that does not change his position on their mosques -- Wilders thinks that the construction of new mosques ought to be banned in the West. A position he has held for some time and one that he repeated at the Western Conservative Summit.

The reaction to Wilders was mixed, according to the Colorado Statesman, but State Sen. Kevin Grantham (R-Canon City) appeared to agree with the radical European politician.

Although Grantham told the Colorado Statesman that he agrees with Wilders that there are some Muslims that "we would call moderate," Grantham maintained that the "philosophical underpinnings" of the "culture of Islam" are a problem and even "antithetical to the American way."

Grantham also agreed that a Wilders' proposal of a ban on new mosque construction was worth considering, saying to the Colorado Statesman:

You know, we’d have to hear more on that, because, as he said, mosques are not churches like we would think of churches. They think of mosques more as a foothold into a society, as a foothold into a community, more in the cultural and in the nationalistic sense. Our churches — we don’t feel that way, they’re places of worship, and mosques are simply not that, and we need to take that into account when approving construction of those.

Read the entire story at The Colorado Statesman.

Wilders clearly stirs up a lot of controversy for his extreme point of view on Islam. In May 2012, Imam Abdullah Antepli, Muslim Chaplain at Duke University wrote for The Huffington Post that although he believes that the facts fail to support Wilders "wild assertions of a clash between Islam and the West," he sees Wilders rhetoric as potentially dangerous.

"What is very troubling is the increasing support and popularity of Mr. Wilders and people like him in Europe and North America," Antepli wrote. "The message and the fear culture that they are trying to promote are regretfully becoming more and more mainstream. This only shows clearly that Western world is increasingly loosing its health and immunization against the various viruses of hate, exclusion and intolerance. One can only hope and pray that the Western world is still healthy and strong enough to overcome and heal from this pathology over time."

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Before You Go

Tea Party Statements
'2nd Amendment Remedies'(01 of06)
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During Nevada's 2010 Senate election, an audio clip surfaced of Sharron Angle raising "Second Amendment remedies" as a viable solution to take when "government becomes out of control."The Tea Party-backed hopeful ultimately proved unsuccessful in her campaign to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. (credit:Getty)
'I Do Not Wear High Heels'(02 of06)
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Ken Buck, a Tea Party-backed contender who ultimately fell short in his bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in Colorado, made headlines in 2010 when he quipped that people should vote for him "because I do not wear high heels."
'I Am Not A Witch'(03 of06)
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Christine O'Donnell captured headlines in 2010 with a now-infamous campaign ad in which she tells voters, "I'm not a witch." She says, "I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you."O'Donnell was defeated in her campaign for Senate in Delaware by Democratic Sen. Chris Coons. (credit:Getty)
Scientists For Creationism?(04 of06)
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Rep. Michele Bachmann said in October of 2006, "There are hundreds and hundreds of scientists, many of them holding Nobel Prizes, who believe in intelligent design." (credit:AP)
Democrats = Communists?(05 of06)
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HuffPost's Jen Bendery reported in April of this year:
As many as 80 House Democrats are communists, according to Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.).West warned constituents at a Tuesday town hall event that he's "heard" that dozens of his Democratic colleagues in the House are members of the Communist Party, the Palm Beach Post reported. There are currently 190 House Democrats.West spokeswoman Angela Melvin later defended West's comments -- and clarified to whom West was referring."The Congressman was referring to the 76 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The Communist Party has publicly referred to the Progressive Caucus as its allies. The Progressive Caucus speaks for itself. These individuals certainly aren't proponents of free markets or individual economic freedom," Melvin said in a statement to The Huffington Post.
 (credit:AP)
Welfare Prison Dorms?(06 of06)
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The AP reported in August of 2010 on then-New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino:
Throughout his campaign, Paladino has criticized New York's rich menu of social service benefits, which he says encourages [undocumented] immigrants and needy people to live in the state. He has promised a 20 percent reduction in the state budget and a 10 percent income tax cut if elected.Asked at the meeting how he would achieve those savings, Paladino laid out several plans that included converting underused state prisons into centers that would house welfare recipients. There, they would do work for the state - "military service, in some cases park service, in other cases public works service," he said - while prison guards would be retrained to work as counselors."Instead of handing out the welfare checks, we'll teach people how to earn their check. We'll teach them personal hygiene ... the personal things they don't get when they come from dysfunctional homes," Paladino said....Paladino told The Associated Press the dormitory living would be voluntary, not mandatory, and would give welfare recipients an opportunity to take public, state-sponsored jobs far from home."These are beautiful properties with basketball courts, bathroom facilities, toilet facilities. Many young people would love to get the hell out of cities," Paladino he said.He also defended his hygiene remarks, saying he had trained inner-city troops in the Army and knows their needs."You have to teach them basic things - taking care of themselves, physical fitness. In their dysfunctional environment, they never learned these things," he said.
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