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Plans for Ground Zero Mosque Move Forward

   VOA News 03 August 2010
   People  in New York protest the proposed construction of a mosque near
   the World Trade Center site, 6 Jun 2010

Photo: AP

   People  in New York protest the proposed construction of a mosque near
   the World Trade Center site, 6 Jun 2010

   Plans  to  build  a  mosque near the site of the destroyed World Trade
   Center  in  New York cleared an obstacle Tuesday when a city committee
   denied landmark status to a nearby building.
   The  New  York  Landmarks  Preservation  Committee  voted  unanimously
   against  giving  protected  status  to  a  building constructed in the
   1850s, that developers want to tear down to build an Islamic community
   center and mosque.
   The  World  Trade  Center  site in downtown New York has been known as
   ground  zero  since  the  terrorist  attacks  of  September  11,  2001
   destroyed the twin towers that once stood there.
   The plan to build a mosque a few blocks from the ground zero has drawn
   criticism  from  those who say it is disrespectful to victims who were
   killed in an attack by Islamist extremists.
   Supporters  of  the  project say it will help bridge divisions between
   the West and the Muslim world.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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