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 organization 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 Center 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 Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center 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.
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 organization 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 Center 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 Center in the shadow of the World Trade Center 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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