World News: Islamic center opens in New York
An Islamic community center that fueled angry demonstrations because of its proximity to the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has opened quietly in Lower Manhattan, drawing no protesters but bringing words of regret from the developer for not consulting with Sept. 11 survivors during its planning.
The scene at Wednesday’s official opening at the building on Park Place, about 2 1/2 blocks from the former World Trade Center towers, was far different from a year ago, when the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks became a platform for groups trying to prevent the center from going forward.
The new owner’s decision to use the building for an Islamic center, including a prayer space, divided politicians and survivors of Sept. 11 victims, with some saying the project was an insult because it is so close to ground zero. They labeled the center the “ground zero mosque.”
But the center is open to everyone, not just Muslims, its developer and the property’s owner, Sharif El-Gamal, said Wednesday in an interview on CNN a few hours before Park51 Community Center, as the site is called, opened its doors.
“We are building a community center that’s going to be open to all people. It is based on Islamic values and heritage … just like a YMCA,” said El-Gamal, whose history with the project was covered in this Los Angeles Times story. In fact, El-Gamal says he modeled the center after the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan’s Upper West Side neighborhood, where he lives and takes his daughter.
