Elmont Online

ALBANY -- The New York Civil Liberties Union says mosques and the people who worship there have been subject to negative stereotyping, official obstruction and hostile acts in recent years, and warned of more to come as the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is followed by a fierce election cycle.

In its look at nine incidents across the state, the report devotes significant attention to a building that's still years away from construction: the proposed Park51 community center in Lower Manhattan. Opposition to Park51, which is planned to occupy space two blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center, became a major campaign issue for 2010 Republican gubernatorial hopefuls Carl Paladino and Rick Lazio, among many others.

One of Park51's developers, real estate broker Sharif El-Gamal, took part in a conference call Wednesday along with NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman and Prof. Foroque Ahmad Khan, director of the Islamic Center of Long Island.

"The anti-mosque and anti-Muslim sentiment expressed in the opposition to Park51 was not an isolated incident," Lieberman said, hastening to add NYCLU recognizes the right of the mosque's opponents to speak out.

She noted Park51 has been used as an issue in the special election to fill former Rep. Anthony Weiner's seat: GOP candidate Bob Turner has been running a TV ad assailing Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin's support for the developers' right to build. (Weprin has said he'd like to see Park51's backers find a different location.)

NYCLU's report ranges from the international furor over Park51 to ugly but minor incidents such as the September 2010 vandalism of a mosque in the city of Hudson. It revisits several controversies in which public officials or community members have attempted to block the construction or expansion of mosques out of what Lieberman termed "an undifferentiated fear and distrust of their Muslim neighbors."

Khan said too many Americans have little knowledge of their local Muslim communities, a void currently being filled by anti-Islamic pundits and activists. "Some people ... have made a cottage industry out of this," he said.

Khan praised New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York City for "setting the tone" with their opposition to broad-brush intolerance. He noted that one of the promising aftereffects of 9/11 was a strengthening of interfaith and outreach efforts across the country. "That's the only way you can break down the stereotypes," he said.

Reach Seiler at 454-5619 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .