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United States News Title: Attorney General Eric Holder To Meet With Faith Leaders Amid Fears Af Anti-Muslim Tide Washington (CNN) -- A broad coalition of Christian, Jewish and Islamic leaders denounced what they described as a rising tide of anti-Muslim bigotry across the United States Tuesday, arguing that such sentiments constitute a betrayal of traditional American principles. "Freedom of religion is a hallmark of this country," said Ingrid Mattson, head of the Islamic Society of North America. It is time to decide "whether we are going to live up to our values." "America was not built on hatred. America was built on love," said Washington's Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The various leaders are among the founders of the newly formed Interfaith Coalition on Mosques. They addressed the controversial issue during a news conference at Washington's National Press Club. The coalition released a statement decrying a "disturbing rise in discrimination against Muslims" and declaring that the current "level of hostility, fear mongering and hate speech is unacceptable and un-American." "We believe the best way to uphold America's democratic values is to ensure that Muslims can exercise the same religious freedom enjoyed by everyone in America," the statement read. Video: Quran burning backlash Video: End of Ramadan and 9/11 RELATED TOPICS * Islam * Eric Holder * Hillary Clinton * David Petraeus Numerous faith leaders in recent weeks have expressed concerns about hate crimes against American Muslims in the runup to this weekend's anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, which coincides with the holiday of Eid-al-Fitr marking the conclusion of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Attorney General Eric Holder is slated to discuss the concern at a Tuesday afternoon meeting with religious leaders at the Justice Department. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may weigh in on the debate as well when she joins a Ramadan celebration at the State Department Tuesday night. Clinton is expected to deliver remarks around 8 p.m. ET. Concern over what some observers have termed "Islamophobia" has been heightened by a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington. Also stoking the flames of controversy is the continuing bitter debate over a Muslim community center and mosque planned near ground zero in New York. Opponents of the plan to build the community center say it is too close to the site of the terror attacks and is an affront to the memory of those who died in the al Qaeda strike. Backers cite, among other things, First Amendment rights and the need to express religious tolerance. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the religious leader behind the project -- officially known as Park51 -- has returned to the United States from an outreach trip to the Middle East, according to Daisy Khan, his wife. He plans to make a public statement about the debate surrounding the project later this week, although the exact timing of his remarks is unclear. The project is slated to include a variety of facilities, including a prayer room, a performing arts center, gym, swimming pool and other public spaces. It is planned for a site two blocks from the World Trade Center. A source familiar with Park51 told CNN's Allan Chernoff last week that the structure is being planned as an 11-story building. It will cover 120,000 square feet -- 10,000 feet of which would be designated for the Muslim prayer space. The developer is considering the possibility of an interfaith education/meditation/prayer space as well, the source said. Last week, the Council on American-Islamic Relations launched a series of commercials designed to fight what it called growing Islamophobia. One in the series features a Muslim firefighter who was among the first responders on 9/11. Opponents of the New York Islamic center are "trying to tell the world and tell Americans that Muslims do not belong here. That Muslims are the others, when we are in fact, all Americans," said Nahad Awad, executive director of the council. "They're trying to portray Muslims as foreigners. This is a dangerous repeat of history. If it's allowed, it's going to hurt all of us," he said. In a statement on its website, the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, said it plans to mark the anniversary of the 2001 attacks by burning Qurans this weekend "to warn about the teaching and ideology of Islam, which we do hate as it is hateful." The pastor of the small church, Terry Jones, has written a book titled "Islam is of the Devil," and the church sells coffee mugs and shirts featuring the phrase. The U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Monday criticized the church's plan, warning the demonstration "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas. "It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," Gen. David Petraeus said. Asked for the president's perspective on the controversy, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday "the best best place to look for the views of this administration is to look at what Gen. Petraeus said." "We know that this type of activity is being transmitted back to places like Afghanistan," Gibbs said. "It puts our troops at harm's way ... [and] is a concern to this administration." Jones told CNN's "American Morning" on Tuesday that he is "taking the general's words" seriously. We are "weighing the situation" and are "praying about it," he said. But it is "very important that America wakes up," he argued. Radical Islam "must be shown a certain amount of force [and] determination." The planned event has drawn criticism from Muslims in the United States and overseas, with thousands of Indonesians gathering outside the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sunday to protest the planned Quran burning. "Those mainly conservative Christians who respond to their Muslim brothers and sisters -- their fellow Americans -- with anti-Muslim bigotry or hatred, they are openly rejecting... the First Amendment principles of religious liberty which we as evangelical Christians benefit daily," said Rev. Richard Cizik, of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, at the National Press Club. "And to those who would exercise derision ... bigotry [and]open rejection of our fellow Americans for their religious faith -- I say shame on you."
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