NEW YORK – A New York city agency has cleared the way for the construction of a Muslim cultural centre near the site of the September 11th attacks.
In a case that triggered national debate, the City Landmarks Commission voted unanimously to deny landmark status for an old building currently on the site of the planned centre.
Opponents of the cultural centre, which would include a mosque, say it will be a betrayal of the memory of victims of the attacks on September 11th, 2001, carried out by al-Qaeda using hijacked passenger aircraft.
Critics had hoped to stall the project by having the 1857 Italianate building declared a historic landmark worthy of protection because pieces from one of the hijacked aircraft hit it. Commissioners argued that the building, situated among a row of businesses about a block from the attack site, held no historic value; their vote will allow it to be demolished.
At least one more legal challenge is likely but the commission’s ruling will clear the way for construction of Cordoba House, which will include a prayer room and a 500-seat auditorium as part of a 13-storey Muslim cultural complex. “We are grateful to the Landmarks Commission,” said Sharif El-Gamal, chairman of the company that owns the building. “It has been a whirlwind for the past four months, during which we have worked tirelessly to realise an American dream which so many others share.”
The vote attracted several people with signs reading “This mosque celebrates our murders” and “Don’t glorify murders of 3,000.” – (Reuters)