According to online article "A look inside NYC Islamic center imam's mosques," the major reason for Park 51 is the need in New York City for more worship/mosque room for Islams. "...the arrival of a mosque a couple blocks from ground zero was driven mostly by the simple need for more space," reads the article. "As the Muslim population of downtown New York has shot up in recent years--especially during daytime working hours--worshippers at Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's small mosque in the city's Tribeca neighborhood found themselves stuck in lines outside the door during Friday afternoon prayers" (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/27/a-look-inside-nyc-islamic-center-imam%E2%80%99s-congregation-and-his-mosques).
CNN is reporting it the way it is: Park 51 is being built largely due to the fact that the room is needed for those Islams wishing to worship in Manhattan. They have given just the facts and done so ethically and accurately.
We declare this segment: TRUTH
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THE COLBERT REPORT
The topic of whether there is a need for a cultural center with a mosque inside in this particular area is one that is highly debatable. According to Factcheck, Park 51 has said that there is a need for another mosque in the Lower Manhattan area. The mosques that are currently in the area have to hold 3 or 4 services on Fridays in order to serve the crowds (http://factcheck.org/2010%2F08%2Fquestions-about-the-ground-zero-mosque%2F).
Colbert does not address the need of a mosque near Ground Zero, but he does mention the protests that are happening in Wisconsin, California, and Tennessee. He humorously states that the protests happening in these areas will "show both of the Muslims that live there" (http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/343735/august-12-2010/the-word---weapon-of-mass-construction).
This is an example of gatekeeping. Colbert chose not to discuss whether a mosque is needed in the Lower Manhattan area to serve the Muslim community. This subject is very important in forming the opinion of his audience about the construction of this proposed building. His audience didn't have a chance to hear the facts regarding this issue. Rather than discuss whether there is a need in Lower Manhattan for another mosque, Colbert focuses on the humorous side of the issue by showing the complete intolerance that people are showing for Islam, not the community center.
Due to the fact that this issue was not addressed...
We declare this segment: TRUTHINESS
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THE DAILY SHOW
On August 10 as well as August 26, 2010, Stewart discusses the mosque currently in use that is a mere 4 blocks away from Ground Zero (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-august-10-2010/municipal-land-use-update---ground-zero-mosque, http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/thu-august-26-2010-michael-bloomberg, http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-26-2010/daily-show--8-26-10-in--60-seconds). We have already addressed The Daily Show's argument about the mosque's proximity to Ground Zero, but here another argument can be made. If there is already a mosque near Ground Zero, why should there be another? On the episode airing July 7, 2010, Stewart (kind of) addresses the need for another mosque. He shows a clip of a Fox News anchor reporting on mosques being built around the country, much to the contempt of many Americans. The anchor asks on behalf of some Americans, "Why are these mosques being built in my community?" to which Jon Stewart answers "because there are Muslims who live in your community?!" (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-7-2010/wish-you-weren-t-here).
(See 3:35 - 5:45)
(See 3:35 - 5:45)
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Wish You Weren't Here | ||||
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Stewart doesn't present any proof or statistics that Muslims need another mosque, but he does make a good point with his exaggeration: if there are Muslims in a community, they need a place to worship.
There have been assertions that currently in New York, mosques are too small to hold everyone. Different prayer sessions need to be held and some Muslims need to worship on the sidewalks because they can't all fit inside (http://www.factcheck.org/2010/08/questions-about-the-ground-zero-mosque). Due to gatekeeping, Stewart (and the show's writers) didn't cover materials expounding on the need for a mosque. The nature of the show suggests that details and statistical analyses are boring and don't deserve time on The Daily Show. Instead of completely ignoring the issue, though, Stewart addresses the rights of religious institutions to build a mosque, and also the simple logic that if people live in a location that doesn't provide adequate space for worship, it only makes sense for them to build another place of worship.
There have been assertions that currently in New York, mosques are too small to hold everyone. Different prayer sessions need to be held and some Muslims need to worship on the sidewalks because they can't all fit inside (http://www.factcheck.org/2010/08/questions-about-the-ground-zero-mosque). Due to gatekeeping, Stewart (and the show's writers) didn't cover materials expounding on the need for a mosque. The nature of the show suggests that details and statistical analyses are boring and don't deserve time on The Daily Show. Instead of completely ignoring the issue, though, Stewart addresses the rights of religious institutions to build a mosque, and also the simple logic that if people live in a location that doesn't provide adequate space for worship, it only makes sense for them to build another place of worship.
We declare this segment: TRUTH
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GLENN BECK
2:40-3:22
In this segment of the video, Glenn Beck claims that there is no need for a mosque in this particular location, partially due to the fact that the area is mostly commercial with very little residential ares. In addition, the people attending would have to travel farther and longer just to get to this new site. Therefore there is no real need for a new mosque in the area.
In another article (http://www.factcheck.org/2010/08/questions-about-the-ground-zero-mosque/), there are some answers to these questions. In the article it does state that there is in fact a need to build a new mosque, due to the fact that there wasn't enough room in the current locations. By building this new mosque, it will make it more convenient for the current residents to attend. This could be used as an example of agenda-setting, because Glenn Beck is showing us what he thinks we should think about.
We declare this segment: TRUTHINESS
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MSNBC
Unfortunately, I was unable to find a specific article or video that gave information to how many mosques/community centers are already in NYC, how many Muslims are in the radius of the new proposed mosque/community center, and if it is truly needed. I believe that this is not due to an attempt at gatekeeping or Truthiness (by omission), but rather that most of the focus on the Park 51 issue happened in mid-August to early-September and MSNBC's archives for past articles, especially articles more than two weeks old, were very sparse.
There was no declaration for this segment due to lack of obtainable information.
There was no declaration for this segment due to lack of obtainable information.
