“I think it’s an insult to the 9/11 families. It’s another smack in the face.” Indeed. And remember, the Imam Rauf and Daisy Khan and Sharif El-Gamal, in innumerable mainstream media whitewashes, have insisted that this mosque is all about promoting harmony and reconciliation between Muslims and non-Muslims. Yet their fanatical intransigence in the face of numerous entreaties to move, and their appalling insensitivity in actions like this one, show the true face of their initiative.
More on this story. “Park51 developers apply for $5M federal grant, outraging opponents of mosque near Ground Zero,” by Bill Hutchinson for the New York Daily News, November 22 (thanks to Twostellas):
Developers of a mosque near Ground Zero are fanning a new flame of controversy by applying for a $5 million federal grant reserved for the redevelopment of lower Manhattan.
“I think it’s an insult to the 9/11 families. It’s another smack in the face,” said retired FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, whose 29-year-old son, Jim, a firefighter, was killed on 9/11.
“I think it’s becoming more and more comical,” he said of the latest twist over the proposed 13-story Islamic community center and mosque. “Now we’re going to have to pay for it.”
Sharif El-Gamal, developer of the proposed Park Place project, confirmed his group has applied for the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. grant.
He said the grant would fund social service programs open to all lower Manhattan residents–such as domestic-violence prevention, Arabic and other foreign language classes–and two multicultural art exhibits.
Grant money would not go to pay for the mosque at the 13-story center two blocks from Ground Zero, according to a report posted on TheDailyBeast.com Monday.
“Park51 remains committed to exploring all sources of revenue and funding to build the community center in lower Manhattan,” said El-Gamal, adding that the $100 million project will “provide hundreds of construction jobs” and 150 permanent jobs once opened….
Diane Horning, 63, founder of the WTC Families for a Proper Burial, scoffed at the developer’s application and questioned the LMDC’s use of federal money.
“All I know is that we asked for assistance from the LMDC to give our dead decent and proper burials and were rejected,” said Horning, referring to a proposal to re-comb the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island for remains of 911 victims.