Indian Muslims Recommend Relocation of " Ground Zero Mosque "
A Press Release issued by the Association of Indian Muslims of America says: The initiative of a group of New York City Muslims to build an Islamic Cultural Center a couple of blocks away from the site of the destroyed Twin Towers in lower Manhattan, New York City, has generated a heated controversy and much tension in the US. In this tense situation a national debate is raging across America.
It is very laudable that the New York City government headed by Mayor Bloomberg, the US government headed by President Obama, and a large segment of US intellectuals and community leaders have defended the religious freedom right of America's Muslims to build their places of worship anywhere in the US.
However, it is time for the American Muslims to take the initiative and make a serious effort to resolve this controversy and defuse this very divisive tension. In deference to the sentiments of many Americans, New York City Muslims should voluntarily relocate the proposed Islamic Center to a new location in lower Manhattan that is further away from Ground Zero.
In taking this initiative on their own they will earn much goodwill of the entire American nation, will resolve the current tense relationship between Muslim Americans and other Americans, and will build a very durable bridge of understanding between Muslims and others in America. On behalf of about two hundred thousand American-Muslims with origin in India, we appeal to the Cordoba Institute and other promoters of this Islamic Center that in the interest of the larger good they relocate it.
