DAY OF INFAMY 2001
Whoa! New Ground Zero mosque challenge in works
'We're poised to file legal action … and put a stop to this project'
August 03, 2010
By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
wnd.com
Hold on with those demolition crews and construction cranes near Ground Zero.
A new challenge to the Ground Zero mosque in New York City could be filed in court as early as tomorrow, according to an organization representing a survivor of the 9/11 attacks by radical Muslims that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.
"We're poised to file legal action on behalf of our client to challenge this flawed decision and put a stop to this project," Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, confirmed today.
The organization said it will file an Article 78 petition in state court to challenge the plan to build a 13-story Islamic mosque at the site of a building that was struck by wreckage from the jets used as bombs by Islamic radicals in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The claim will allege there's been an abuse of discretion in the city procedures that approved the program.
"The actions taken by the city of New York represent a blatant disregard for the city's own procedures, while ignoring the fact that this is a historic and hallowed site that should not be destroyed to build an Islamic mosque," said Sekulow.
"It has been clear from the beginning that the city has engaged in a rush to push this project through – ignoring proper procedure and ignoring a growing number of New Yorkers and Americans who don't believe this site is the place to build a mosque," he said.
The ACLJ represents first responder Tim Brown, a decorated firefighter who survived the collapse of New York's Twin towers in the 9/11 attacks. He lost nearly 100 friends that day.
The legal team also represents thousands of Americans who have signed on to the Committee to Stop the Ground Zero Mosque – which opposes building an Islamic mosque on a site it says should be used to honor and preserve the memory of 9/11 and its victims.
The announcement of the planned legal action followed today's vote by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to allow the demolition of the152-year-old building on the site.
The ACLJ had given New York officials oral and written testimony urging city officials to designate the site as a landmark.
"The building links two distinct periods in American history," the ACLJ argued. "It reflects the growth and rise of American free enterprise and stands as a symbol of America's strength and survival in the face of brutal, sadistic terrorism."
In its written testimony, the organization said there are thousands of buildings in New York already given landmark status, including 18 West 11th, where the "terrorist organization Weather Underground detonated a bomb."
"The World Trade Center Site has been determined eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Six (6) federal and state agencies have recognized the historic significance of the area," the group's testimony said.
"In this matter, the building links America's rise as an economically and free country to the current fight to maintain freedom and liberty in the face of terrorism," the ACLJ said. "The building stands as a testament to an uninterrupted linkage of the rise of American capitalism with our current quest to preserve our freedom and democracy. The building, therefore, should stand as part of the commemorative and educational experience of our shared political, cultural and historic heritage."
The ACLJ pointed out that the federal government's Heritage Emergency National Task Force, designated to help libraries, museums and others archive important historical artifacts, still is "engaging in a complete inventory of historic artifacts buried or lost in the buildings surrounding the World Trade Center."
A spokesman for the ACLJ said the legal filing was being developed today, but one of the concerns is that city officials failed to follow their own procedures and time lines in approving the mosque project.
In an earlier interview with Associated Press, New York Rep. Peter King also suggested there might need to be a further investigation of the funding of the $100 million mosque.
"It's a house of worship, but we are at war with al-Qaida," King said at the time. "I think the 9/11 families have a right to know where the funding comes from; I think there are significant questions."
A spokesman for a Muslim activist organization today told Fox News there was to be no mosque, contradicting weeks of affirmations about the plans.
The project is headed by the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Institute. But the institute's chief, Imam Faisel Abdul Rauf, has refused to reveal where the money for the building is coming from. And he once suggested in a television interview that U.S. policies were a contributing factor in the 9/11 attacks.
King said in the earlier report, "Right at this moment in history, it's bad form to put it there. There are things you are allowed to do, but that aren't appropriate to do." |
