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Title: Despite Protests, Mosque Plan Near 9/11 Site Wins Key Vote
Source:
ABC News
URL Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/mosque-pla ... dle-protests/story?id=10747570
Published: May 26, 2010
Author: By RAY SANCHEZ
Post Date: 2010-05-26 11:57:27 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 314
Comments: 1
May 26, 2010 Opponents called it an "insult," "demeaning" and a "house of evil," but the angry protests did not stop an advisory board from approving plans to build a mosque and Islamic center two blocks from the site of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. In a heated, four hour meeting Tuesday night, Community Board 1, which represents the area of lower Manhattan that includes Ground Zero, voted 29-1 in favor of the proposal. There were 10 abstentions. At the raucous meeting, some relatives carried signs with the faces of 9/11 victims, reflecting still-raw emotions nearly a decade after the terrorist attacks. "This is an insult," said one of the more than 150 people at the meeting. "This is demeaning. This is humiliating that you would build a shrine to the very ideology that inspired the attacks on 9/11." Angrily pointing a finger at board members, another protester said: "This house of evil will be the birthplace of the next terrorist event." But Community Board 1 member Rob Townley called the plan a "seed of peace," a message repeated by mosque supporters throughout the night. "We believe that this is a significant step in the Muslim community to counteract the hate and fanaticism in the minority of the community," he said. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the mosque proposal, said he understood the pain and outrage, especially since Muslims also died in the attacks. "We have condemned the actions of 9/11," Abdul Rauf said. "We have condemned terrorism." Still, plans to build a mosque and Islamic community center could be thwarted by the New York City's Landmarks Commission, which will hold a hearing on the matter in the early summer.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
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This is the building... the one with the gates down...
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