BY BRIAN GEHRING and KAREN HERZOG Bismarck Tribune | Posted: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 10:00 am
The national debate over plans to build a mosque, or Islamic center, near Ground Zero in New York City has made its way to North Dakota.
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, N.D., said Tuesday his Bismarck office had received three letters from Citizens for Responsible Government and the Tea Party of Williston asking him to state his position on the issue.
In a phone interview, Pomeroy said he was on the road between Minot and Bismarck and had not personally read the letters.
However, Pomeroy said he believes it is local zoning issue but he does have serious reservations about the plan. “The last thing we need is for Congress to get involved.”
“I have concerns about building a mosque in that area ... I hope they reconsider,” Pomeroy said.
“I believe Ground Zero is sacred ground.” Pomeroy said a recent visit with his family to Ground Zero left him teary-eyed.
“It’s (9/11) not just a date on the calendar,” he said. “It is pain borne by the families of the victims each and every day.”
Pomeroy said any plans for building an Islamic center in the area should be “sensitive to the families of the survivors.”
Tracy Potter, North Dakota Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, said the idea of the mosque being built next to location of the Twin Towers is somewhat inaccurate.
Potter said Tuesday the plan is to build in the general vicinity of Ground Zero, in an area of New York City where “gentlemen’s clubs” and fast food chains are common.
“First, I absolutely support the Bill of Rights and the freedom of speech and religion,” Potter said. “That is what our country is all about.”
Potter said he sees it as a New York issue, saying if it is legal to build a mosque in that area of the city, then local laws should rule.
Potter added he believes it is appropriate for leaders to speak up against bias against any religion.
Tom Nelson, spokesman for Rick Berg, North Dakota Republican candidate for the U.S. House, said first and foremost, the wishes of the victims’ families should be considered.
Until then, Nelson said the federal government should focus on issues affecting the entire nation. “They haven’t passed a budget yet in Congress,” Nelson said.
Nelson said national issues like the economy, job creation, balancing the budget, fixing healthcare and ending bailouts should be the priority.
Gov. John Hoeven, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, was unavailable for comment.
Spokesperson Jody link said personally Hoeven does not believe a mosque should be built near an area where more than 3,000 people died.
She said Hoeven believes there are other places better suited to build the mosque and he feels most Americans feel the same way.
Attempts to reach the state’s religious denominational leaders for comment Tuesday were mostly unsuccessful.
Bishop Paul Zipfel of the Bismarck Catholic Diocese said that, although the American Conference of Catholic Bishops has not issued a statement on the issue, he understands that the builders of an Islamic center would have the legal right to do so, but that he would hope that great sensitivity would be shown by the Muslim community when making that decision.
Bishops of the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America were on vacation or sabbatical; messages left with the conference minister of the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota and the District President of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod were not returned by press time.
