After four years as a lightning rod for conservative and anti-Muslim groups, as well as some families of 9/11 victims, the long-planned Muslim community center and prayer space located blocks from the World Trade Center site—aka the "Ground Zero" mosque—might actually become a different kind of space.
According to the NY Times, "Sharif El-Gamal, the developer, said through a spokesman that instead of a $100 million, 15-story community center and prayer space, he now planned a smaller, three-story museum 'dedicated to exploring the faith of Islam and its arts and culture.' The building would also include a sanctuary for prayer services and community programs." Guess he abandoned that "Soho House for Muslims" idea, too.
El-Gamal, who has admitted past mistakes with his Park 51 plan, says that he's asked Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel (he designed this luxury condo building) to design the building; also, there will be "public green space," the Times reports. His spokesman Hank Sheinkopf explained the building will be 5000 square feet, "This is a more tailored approach, both physically and programmatically. It will prove to be an important addition to the neighborhood and to New York City’s arts and cultural community."
Jihad Watch's Robert Spencer told the Times that he wasn't fooled, "The structure as you describe it would be as grotesque as a three-story museum dedicated to exploring the faith of Shintoism and emperor-worship, and its arts and culture, with a sanctuary for prayer services and community programs, at Pearl Harbor." Additionally, the museum plan isn't fully financed and there's no timeline for construction.
Last year, plane wreckage from 9/11 was found behind the building.
