(Image Source: The Christian Science Monitor)
By: ALEXANDRA OLGIN
ANCHOR CHRISTIAN BRYANT
You're watching multisource US video news analysis from Newsy.
After nearly two years of fiery debate -- the Park51 Islamic Center critics called the Ground Zero Mosque has opened its doors.
Despite dissenters’ fierce opposition -- media reports suggest the actual opening -- was relatively quiet.
In fact -- a far cry from this:
“I predicted that will never be built. Because I don’t believe there is a construction crew in New York or New Jersey that will come over and help you built it...
Adam: There is 1.6 billion Muslims, should we not allow them to find a place to...
Bill: There is no Benny Hanna at Pearl Harbor there is a lot of symbolism.
Adam: That was different. The state of Japan decided that they wanted to go against America, this is 19 people.
Bill: Look it is an attack by a terrorist group that has way more than 19 people harbored by an entire country of Afghanistan.”
Flash forward to now. Though the opening was peaceful -- Park51 Chairman Sharif El-Gamal (exactly how it is spelled)acknowledges a critical mistakes on the board’s part may have ignited some of the controversy.
“Unfortunately some of them were responsibilities that we didn’t know that we had. And one of those responsibilities was really connecting with the 9/11 families.”
WYNC quoted a Brooklyn resident, Jean Stevens, who says the protests have stopped because it’s old news now.
"It seems like there's not much of huge response to this reception or to the mosque anymore, and so I wonder whether if people have forgotten it now that it’s not such a hot topic."
But opponents of the project have not been silent. Blogger Pamela Geller still opposes the Islamic Center and says the opening exhibit of photographs of foreign children living in New York is not as progressive as it claims to be.
CNN quoted her email saying:
“It is an obvious and cynical attempt to manipulate public opinion and divert attention away from the Islamic supremacist ties, shady financial dealings, and contradictory statements of the mosque organizers...”
The center is far from complete and chairman and board is currently fundraising to finish the 15-story Islamic Center.
Transcript by Newsy.
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