Islamic cultural center opens 'quietly' near NY World Trade site

Park 51 vows to offer social and recreational services, health and educational facilities alongside a religious focus.

NEW YORK: An Islamic cultural center close to the site of New York's World Trade Center opened quietly Wednesday in contrast to scenes last year of vehement protests from those who said the site should not house a mosque.

The opening ceremony for the Park51 center featured a photo exhibit called "NYChildren," displaying over 160 portraits of immigrant children living in New York.

The center, located two blocks from the site of the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, sparked a national debate about the place of Islam among the numerous religions practiced in the United States.

By contrast, Park51 has vowed to offer "social and recreational services, as well as world-class health, wellness and educational facilities," alongside a religious focus.

"Presently, Park51 is opening its doors to New Yorkers of all backgrounds for interfaith workshops, films and lectures," the group said on its website, as a mosque has already been operating on the site for two years.

Last year thousands of people marched through New York on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, facing off in angry debate under a heavy police presence as they protested for or against the project.

The row was stirred in August 2010 by threats from an evangelical Christian pastor to burn hundreds of Korans unless the mosque was moved.