NYC govt approves Ground Zero mosque

A New York community board backed a controversial plan for an Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero.

A New York community board resoundingly backed a controversial plan for an Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero.

The non-binding vote by the Manhattan community board late Monday passed 29:1 with 10 abstentions in a strong endorsement of the planned project. Supporters say the proposed Cordoba House will transform negative stereotypes about Islam prevalent in the city since the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

"We expected some opposition. I think we have reached a moment where certain things are starting to get flushed out. Certain emotions are coming to the surface. We have learned a lot from this," said Daisy Khan, who is part of the project.

"I'm actually glad this kind of debate is taking place," she said. Opponents complain that a mosque so close to Ground Zero, where Islamist hijackers crashed two airliners into the Twin Towers, killing almost 3,000 people, is an insult to the memory of the dead.

But Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer said that "for anyone to imply that a mosque is not appropriate in New York..., that is just an un-American attitude." "I'll do everything I can to make sure this mosque does get opened and people have the right to assemble there and practice their religion," he told the Daily News.

The proposed Islamic center is to be built on the site of a former clothing shop and is planned to contain sports facilities and a theater, as well as the mosque.