Straits Times / Singapore Sep 24, 2010 Most New Yorkers oppose mosque
NEW YORK - MORE than two thirds of New Yorkers do not want Muslims to build an Islamic center near the site of the 9/11 attacks on Manhattan, although nearly all agree that they have the legal right, a poll said on Friday. The poll by Quinnipiac University showed 67 per cent of voters across New York state want the mosque and community center to be moved further from Ground Zero than the currently proposed site two blocks away. The poll found that 57 per cent of respondents thought the project was 'wrong', while 32 per cent said it was 'appropriate' - with Republicans overwhelming opposed, by 90 per cent, and Democrats split 50-34 per cent. However, 80 per cent agreed the project was legally allowed to go ahead. 'Almost all New Yorkers agree that America's belief in freedom of religion gives Muslims the right to build the mosque,' Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said. Debate over the mosque's future has become a volatile issue ahead of November 2 legislative and state elections. -- AFP -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
