The Topic: A Mosque at Ground Zero

A proposed mosque and interfaith community two blocks from Ground Zero touched off another contentious hearing Tuesday at a college campus on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The Associated Press reported that the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative are two groups attempting to house the mosque in a building damaged by fallen debris from the Sept. 11 attacks.

Anger boiled over at the hearing. Andrea Quinn, a Queens resident, who said she worked with World Trade Center victims, called the proposed mosque a "citadel of Islamic supremacy."

On the other side of the debate, Rafiq Kathwari, a self-described moderate Muslim, said, "This has been made by a very vocal minority into an issue of bigotry. I'm standing in a hall in which I feel ashamed to be an American."

The five-story building on Park Place was completed in 1858, and the latest thrust of opposition to the mosque points out the site's value as a historical landmark -- because it was damaged in the attacks.

But is that reason enough to thwart the planned mosque?

According to the AP:

Sharif El-Gamal, the CEO of the company that owns the property, ... testified at the hearing, saying they were opposed to designating the building a landmark because it does not meet the requirements of historical significance.

"This is not the Woolworth building, this is not the Chrysler building," he said later in an interview.

Other supporters of the mosque said they would like residents to accept the mosque and Islam community center as a bridge between cultures and religions, a view taken by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

An editorial in Thursday's New York Daily News says there is a marked difference between mainstream and radical Islam, an issue sometimes lost in the debate:

The project's sponsors describe it as a community center dedicated to fostering interfaith understanding. One need not be a supporter to understand that radical Islam and the Islam practiced by the majority of Americans are light-years apart.

Politicians Take Sides

Mosque opponents are critical of Bloomberg and Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who is running against Republican Rick Lazio for governor of New York.

According to the AP:

Lazio said it also warranted landmark designation because on Sept. 11, 2001, it was struck by airplane debris from the terror attacks against the nearby World Trade Center. That connection to the attacks, he said, made it "a place of deep historical significance and a reminder of just what happened on New York's darkest day."

Lazio testified in opposition to the mosque at the land use hearing in Manhattan. Lazio requested that Cuomo, New York's attorney general, investigate the mosque's funding, an issue Bloomberg termed "un-American," according to the AP.

The AP also reports that Lazio isn't the only politician concerned about the mosque's funding. Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, said: "I think the 9-11 families have a right to know where the funding comes from; I think there are significant questions." The mosque's estimated costs are $100 million.

Mayor Bloomberg's business media outlet, Bloomberg News, cites a Qunnipiac poll showing that sentiment against the mosque is running 2 to 1 against. Different currents of New York City thought are reflected in the Quinnipiac poll results, showing strongest opposition in Staten Island and strongest support in Manhattan.

Tell us what you think about the proposed mosque near Ground Zero. Should it be built? Should the building be restored as a historic landmark? Should the site be more inclusive of religions, including Islam?