The prospect of building a mosque close to Ground Zero was offensive to some opponents of the construction project , since the hijackers in the September 11 , 2001 attacks identified as Muslim . Newt Gingrich declared : " There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia . " Some relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks said they found the proposal offensive because the perpetrators who committed the attacks did so in the name of Islam . A number said that it was not an issue of freedom of religion , property rights , or racism , but rather one of sensitivity to the families of those killed , in choosing the specific location of the center
September 11 , 2001 attacks
September 11 attacks
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