Phoenix
24th August 2010, 05:56 PM
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01701/Daisy-Khan-2_1701621c.jpg
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7960454/Wife-of-Ground-Zero-mosque-imam-speaks-out-on-US-hate-of-Muslims.html
Wife of Ground Zero mosque imam speaks out on US 'hate of Muslims'
The wife of the imam behind the proposed Islamic cultural centre near the Ground Zero site of the September 11th terrorist attacks has compared the treatment of Muslims in America to discrimination against Jews.
By Toby Harnden in Washington
Published: 6:25PM BST 23 Aug 2010
Daisy Khan, co-founder of the Cordoba Initiative
"This is like a metastasized anti-Semitism," said Daisy Khan, wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. "That's what we feel right now. It's not even Islamophobia, it's beyond Islamophobia - it's hate of Muslims. And we are deeply concerned."
Miss Khan, whose husband is travelling outside the United States on a tour partly funded by the US State Department, insisted that the centre - now being called Park51 - would be built as planned despite fierce opposition from many New Yorkers and calls for an alternative site to be considered.
"Of course, it has to go ahead," she told ABC News. "There's so much at stake."
Mr Rauf is scheduled to speak in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar about what life is like as a Muslim in America.
Miss Khan said that the suggestion by Governor David Paterson of New York that he find public land for the Park51 centre was not currently an option but she left the door open to a future shift.
"Right now, it's not, until we consult with all our stakeholders. We have to be very careful and deliberate when we make any major decision like this."
She was appearing with Rabbi Joy Levitt of the Jewish Community Centre in Manhattan, who supports the Park51 initiative.
In an interview with the newspaper Bahraini Al Wasat in Bahrain, Mr Rauf praised the freedoms that Muslims enjoy in the United States.
"If we look at the American Declaration of Independence, we see that it speaks of principles that comply with Islam," he said. (but does Islam comply with the Declaration of Independence? -p)
"The US Constitution protects our rights and what exists in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution is much better than what is found in many Islamic countries."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7960454/Wife-of-Ground-Zero-mosque-imam-speaks-out-on-US-hate-of-Muslims.html
Wife of Ground Zero mosque imam speaks out on US 'hate of Muslims'
The wife of the imam behind the proposed Islamic cultural centre near the Ground Zero site of the September 11th terrorist attacks has compared the treatment of Muslims in America to discrimination against Jews.
By Toby Harnden in Washington
Published: 6:25PM BST 23 Aug 2010
Daisy Khan, co-founder of the Cordoba Initiative
"This is like a metastasized anti-Semitism," said Daisy Khan, wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. "That's what we feel right now. It's not even Islamophobia, it's beyond Islamophobia - it's hate of Muslims. And we are deeply concerned."
Miss Khan, whose husband is travelling outside the United States on a tour partly funded by the US State Department, insisted that the centre - now being called Park51 - would be built as planned despite fierce opposition from many New Yorkers and calls for an alternative site to be considered.
"Of course, it has to go ahead," she told ABC News. "There's so much at stake."
Mr Rauf is scheduled to speak in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar about what life is like as a Muslim in America.
Miss Khan said that the suggestion by Governor David Paterson of New York that he find public land for the Park51 centre was not currently an option but she left the door open to a future shift.
"Right now, it's not, until we consult with all our stakeholders. We have to be very careful and deliberate when we make any major decision like this."
She was appearing with Rabbi Joy Levitt of the Jewish Community Centre in Manhattan, who supports the Park51 initiative.
In an interview with the newspaper Bahraini Al Wasat in Bahrain, Mr Rauf praised the freedoms that Muslims enjoy in the United States.
"If we look at the American Declaration of Independence, we see that it speaks of principles that comply with Islam," he said. (but does Islam comply with the Declaration of Independence? -p)
"The US Constitution protects our rights and what exists in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution is much better than what is found in many Islamic countries."