(CNSNews.com) – The organization planning to build a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero denied reports Tuesday about a scheduled meeting to discuss the matter with New York Gov. David Paterson. The group reaffirmed that it has no intention of moving the controversial project.
Earlier Rep. Peter King (R.-N.Y.), a vocal critic of the plan, said Paterson told him during a phone conversation that he planned to meet with the developers later this week to discuss the possibility of an alternative site.
The project is the brainchild of Feisel Abdul Rauf, an Islamic cleric who heads the Cordoba Initiative, an organization whose stated goal is to improve Muslim-West relations.
Formally called Park51 – the address is 45-51 Park Place in lower Manhattan, about 200 yards from the World Trade Center site – the project widely dubbed the “Ground Zero Mosque” has become a major national political issue.
Opponents argue that its location is insensitive to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured when al-Qaeda attacked on 9/11. The terrorist network claims to be driven by the tenets of Islam.
Paterson last week offered the organizers state assistance if they agreed to move the site, but they declined.
Tuesday’s news suggested a fresh bid by the governor, but the Cordoba Initiative shot down the idea. Read Full Story
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