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Anti-Defamation League Opposes Mosque Near Ground Zero
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 30, 2010
Modified Jul 30, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 30, 2010
Modified Jul 30, 2010
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The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish organization whose programs "counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry," has finally weighed in on the controversy engulfing an Islamic group that wants to build a community center and mosque near the World Trade Center site. This should calm everybody down:
Proponents of the Islamic Center may have every right to build at this site, and may even have chosen the site to send a positive message about Islam. The bigotry some have expressed in attacking them is unfair, and wrong. But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of what is right. In our judgment, building an Islamic Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center will cause some victims more pain - unnecessarily - and that is not right.
The ADL's statement also argues that the "controversy which has emerged regarding the building of an Islamic Center at this location is counterproductive to the healing process." There they go again with "at." The mosque/community center—which would have no minarets or loudspeakers blasting the call to prayer—will be located two blocks from the World Trade Center site, with other properties creating a big buffer zone between the scary Muslims and those who want to wrap their bigotry in the 9/11 flag.
Tagged
adl
anti-defamation league
ground zero mosque
islamophobia
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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