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New York:
Indian-origin Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria has returned an award
he received from the Jewish group Anti-Defamation League over its
opposition towards the Ground Zero mosque.
Zakaria returned the Jewish group's Hubert H Humphrey First
Amendment Freedoms Prize, which was presented to him in 2005.
"I was thrilled to get the award from an organisation that I had
long admired. But I cannot in good conscience keep it anymore. I
have returned both the handsome plaque and the $10,000 honorarium
that came with it. I urge the ADL to reverse its decision. Admitting
an error is a small price to pay to regain a reputation," Zakaria
wrote in a letter.
The debate about a building a mosque on the Ground Zero site has
been raging in the US for several months dividing New Yorkers,
families of the victims of 9/11, civil society organisations and
politicians.
This week, the project received the green light from The Landmarks
Preservation Commission, which voted 9-0 for the construction to
begin.
The following day, The American Centre for Law and Justice, a
conservative advocacy group, sued to halt the construction.
The Jewish group has also vehemently opposed the mosque.
"But ultimately this is not a question of rights, but a question of
what is right. In our judgement, building an Islamic Centre in the
shadow of the World Trade Centre will cause some victims more pain
unnecessarily " and that is not right," ADL said in a statement.
The plan is being pushed by a Kuwaiti-born Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
and will cost a $100 million.
Parties that oppose the building a mosque, which will be called
Cordoba House, insist this project us inappropriate since the
terrorist attacks were carried out by extremist Muslims.
Abraham H Foxman, ADL national director, wrote in a response letter
to Zakaria that he was "saddened but stunned and somewhat
speechless" by the decision to return the prize.
"As someone I greatly respect for engaging in discussion and
dialogue with an open mind, I would have expected you to reach out
to me before coming to judgment," he said.
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