Reported By: Soha crwenewswire Middle East correspondent
A New York City agency has cleared the way for the mosque to be built near Ground Zero. The New York’s City Landmarks Commission announced that it would not give an old building on the site landmark status to protect it from demolition.
This commission has now paved the way for the conversion of the building to a 13 storey Islamic center. The project has sparked heated opposition as many believe that it is an insult to those 3000 who died in the 9/11 attacks. The Opposition attempted to have the building classified as an historic building as it also was damaged during the attack on the twin towers. The commission, however, unanimously voted that the building was not historic.
The $100 million project named the US Cordoba House complex includes a mosques, cultural centre, auditorium and prayer room.
Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg hailed the decision, saying, `to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists`.
The debate has become a heated political issue in the past few weeks as many right wing politicians also joined the ranks of the critics. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Plain also opposed the project.
Surprisingly the powerful Jewish organization, Anti-Defamation League also stepped in and said it opposed the project.
No comments:
Post a Comment