Ground Zero mosqueGround Zero mosque clears legal hurdle

Published 12 July 2011

Last Friday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to block the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan; the mosque would be built in a building which once housed the Burlington Coat Factory located two blocks from site of the World Trade Center; the mosque may have cleared its legal hurdles, but before it can begin construction the developer’s must also overcome some large financial hurdles; an estimated $100 million is needed to complete the project, and the money has not yet been raised

Site of the proposed "Ground Zero Mosque" // Source: lehighvalleylive.com

Last Friday, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to block the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.

In an attempt to stop the planned mosque, Timothy Brown, a former New York City firefighter, filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission decision that denied landmark status for the 150 year-old building that is scheduled to be demolished to make room for the mosque. Justice Paul Feinman of the State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled against Brown stating that while he was “an individual with a strong interest in preservation of the building,” Brown had no special legal standing to determine the fate of the building.

The planned community center, known as Park51, would house an auditorium, swimming, as well as a mosque. Proposed by Sharif el-Gamal, the imam of a nearby mosque, the community center would be built in a building which once housed the Burlington Coat Factory located two blocks from site of the World Trade Center.

The mosque has been hotly debated with critics contending that building a mosque near Ground Zero, where Muslim extremists executed the 9/11 attacks, was insensitive to the memory of those who lost their lives in the attacks.

At a hearing in March, Brown called the plan’s developers “un-American.”

The mosque’s supporters, including New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Obama, say that the right of the religious group to build a mosque is protected by the Constitution and that it is their right to build a place of worship wherever they wish.

 

In the lawsuit, Brown also accused Mayor Bloomberg of influencing the landmarks commission’s decision to deny the building’s landmark status.

A lawyer for the city argued that such claims were simply “a conspiracy theory” and that the landmarks commission had followed proper procedures.

The mosque may have cleared its legal hurdles, but before it can begin construction the developer’s must also overcome some large financial hurdles. An estimated $100 million is needed to complete the project, and Gamal has said that he has not raised enough money.