Mosque Planner Calls Americans Bigots

Mosque Planner Says Opposition Goes 'Beyond Islamophobia'

A leader of a planned Muslim community center near Manhattan's Ground Zero compared opposition to the project to the persecution of Jews, in comments that could add to the controversy over the center's proposed site.

"We are deeply concerned, because this is like a metastasized antisemitism," said Daisy Khan, who is spearheading the project with her husband, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. "It's beyond Islamophobia. It's hate of Muslims."

Ms. Khan, appearing on ABC News's "This Week" on Sunday, vowed to push ahead with plans to build a 15-story complex two blocks from the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in lower Manhattan, saying there was "too much at stake." Read more...

Moving Islamic Center 'Not' on the Table for Now, Backer Says

In an exclusive interview on "This Week," Daisy Khan, one of the main backers of the mosque and Islamic community center near ground zero, told Christiane Amanpour that moving the project to another site is not currently an option they are considering.

"So is moving [the center] on the table still?" Amanpour asked.

"Right now it's not until we consult with all our stakeholders," Khan said.

Amanpour asked Khan if America was Islamophobic.

"This is like a metastasized anti-Semitism, that's what we feel right now," Khan said. "It's not even Islamophobia, it's beyond Islamophobia; it's hate of Muslims. And we are deeply concerned." Read more...

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