Mosque going up in NYC building damaged on 9/11

By CRISTIAN SALAZAR
Associated Press Writer
Thu May 6, 2010

NEW YORK – In a building damaged by debris from the Sept. 11 airliners that brought down the World Trade Center and soon to become a 13-story mosque, some see the bridging of a cultural divide and an opportunity to serve a burgeoning, peaceful religious population. Others see a painful reminder of the religious extremism that killed their loved ones.

Two Muslim organizations have partnered to open the mosque and cultural center in lower Manhattan, saying the $100 million project will create a venue for mainstream Islam and a counterbalance to radicalism. It earned a key endorsement this week from influential community leaders.

But some 9/11 victims' families said they were angered that it would be built so close to where their relatives died. the rest