Another founding member of the Center for Islamic Pluralism , Zuhdi Jasser , who is also the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy , a group of Muslim professionals in the Phoenix Valley of Arizona , strongly opposed the project , saying : For us , a mosque was always a place to pray ... not a way to make an ostentatious architectural statement . '' Ground Zero '' should n't be about promoting Islam . It 's the place where war was declared on us as Americans . " ... American freedom of religion is a right , but ... it is not right to make one 's religion a global political statement with a towering Islamic edifice that casts a shadow over the memorials of Ground Zero . ... Islamists in ' moderate ' disguise are still Islamists . In their own more subtle ways , the WTC mosque organizers end up serving the same aims ( as ) separatist and supremacist wings of political Islam . Neda Bolourchi , a Muslim whose mother died in 9/11 , said : " I fear it would become a symbol of victory for militant Muslims around the world . " Authors Raheel Raza and Tarek Fatah , board members of the Muslim Canadian Congress , said : New York currently boasts at least 30 mosques so it 's not as if there is pressing need to find space for worshipers . W e Muslims know ... this mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation to thumb our noses at the infidel . The proposal has been made in bad faith , ... as '' Fitna '' , meaning " mischief-making " that is clearly forbidden in the Koran . ... As Muslims we are dismayed that our co-religionists have such little consideration for their fellow citizens , and wish to rub salt in their wounds and pretend they are applying a balm to soothe the pain . Akbar Ahmed , Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University , while noting that blaming all Muslims for 9/11 was " ridiculous " , said : I do n't think the Muslim leadership has fully appreciated the impact of 9/11 on America . They assume Americans have forgotten 9/11 and even , in a profound way , forgiven 9/11 , and that has not happened . The wounds remain largely open ... and when wounds are raw , an episode like constructing a house of worship – even one protected by the Constitution , protected by law – becomes like salt in the wounds . Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid , general manager of Al-Arabiya television , also criticized the project in a column titled " A House of Worship or a Symbol of Destruction ? " in the Arab daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat , saying : Muslims do not aspire for a mosque next to the September 11 cemetery ... the mosque is not an issue for Muslims , and they have not heard of it until the shouting became loud between the supporters and the objectors , which is mostly an argument between non-Muslim US citizens ! Rima Fakih , the first Muslim-American crowned Miss USA as Miss USA 2010 , opposed the project on the grounds of it being insensitive to families of 9/11 victims , telling '' Inside Edition '' : I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on the constitutional rights of freedom of religion . But it should n't be so close to the World Trade Center . We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion . A number of American politicians spoke out against the Park51 project . Arizona Senator John McCain , the Republicans ' 2008 presidential nominee , said that it " would harm relations , rather than help " , while his running mate Sarah Palin , the former Alaska governor , wrote on Twitter that " Ground Zero Mosque supporters : does n't it stab you in the heart , as it does ours throughout the heartland ? Peaceful Muslims , pls refudiate " ( '' '' ) ) . Other critics included Mitt Romney , the former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate ; Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson ; Maine Senator Olympia Snowe ; Idaho Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo ; Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson ; and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty . North Carolina congressional candidate Ilario Pantano said , " It is about ... territorial conquest . This mosque is a Martyr – Marker honoring the terrorists "
Miss USA 2010
Miss USA 2010
Park51