Islamic center near ground zero opens its doors

NEW YORK (AP) — The developer of an Islamic cultural center near the site of the terrorist attacks that leveled the World Trade Center says the biggest error on the project was not involving the families of 9/11 victims from the start.

"We made incredible mistakes," Sharif El-Gamal told The Associated Press in an interview in his Manhattan office.

The Park51 Islamic community center — at 51 Park Place, two blocks from the World Trade Center site — opened to the public Wednesday night with a photo exhibit of New York children representing 160 ethnicities.

The Park51 building includes a mosque that has been open for two years. El-Gamal said the overall center is modeled after the Jewish Community Center on Manhattan's Upper West Side, where he lives.

"I wanted my daughter to learn how to swim, so I took her to the JCC," said the Brooklyn-born Muslim. "And when I walked in, I said, 'Wow. This is great.'"

The project has drawn criticism from opponents who say they don't want a Muslim prayer space near the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The center is open to all faiths and will include a 9/11 memorial, El-Gamal said. He called opposition to the center — which prompted one of the most virulent national discussions about Islam and freedom of speech and religion since Sept. 11 — part of a "campaign against Muslims."

Last year, street clashes in view of the trade center site pitted supporters against opponents of the center.

When the center was first envisioned, several years ago, activist Daisy Khan and her husband, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, played a major, vocal role. But they soon left the project because of differences with the developer.

El-Gamal, 38, confirmed Wednesday that they parted ways because "we had a different vision." He declined to elaborate.

The couple said they had discussed Park51 plans with relatives of 9/11 victims, first responders and others, including the possibility it could become a multi-faith center focusing on religious conflict. But El-Gamal wishes victims' families had been involved earlier — before the center became a point of contention.

"The biggest mistake we made was not to include 9/11 families," El-Gamal said, noting that the center's advisory board now includes at least one 9/11 family member.

At first, "we didn't understand that we had a responsibility to discuss our private project with family members that lost loved ones," he said, and they did not "really connect" with community leaders and activists.

But today, "we're very committed to having them involved in our project. ... We're really listening."

Pointing to the inclusivity of a center that critics feared would be polarizing, El-Gamal noted that the featured photographer in the "NYChildren" exhibit is Danny Goldfield, who is Jewish.

The Brooklyn photographer was inspired to create the exhibit by the story of Rana Sodhi, a Sikh who immigrated from India and settled in Arizona. His brother was killed in a retaliatory hate crime four days after Sept. 11, 2001.

Noting that Islam, Judaism and Christianity overlap in history and literature, El-Gamal said, "In order to be a good Muslim, you have to be a good Jew and a good Christian."

El-Gamal told the AP that fundraising is under way to complete the 15-story building that also is to include an auditorium, educational programs, a pool, a restaurant and culinary school, child care services, a sports facility, a wellness center, and artist studios.

The mosque is especially needed in lower Manhattan, he said, because thousands of Muslims either work or live in the neighborhood, "and in our religion, we must pray five times a day."