Department of Offense

(July 15) — Plans to build a mosque and Muslim community center two blocks from ground zero, former site of the World Trade Center, have not been well received by many non-Muslims around the country — to say nothing of some New Yorkers.

For proof, check out the thousands of protesters who gathered to express their outrage at the project last month, or the proposed anti-mosque TV ad that was recently rejected by the major networks.

Now, one man appears to be ready to fight religious fire with religious fire. Televangelist Bill Keller announced this week he will build a $1 million “9/11 Christian Center at Ground Zero.”

“If they can put a mosque near ground zero, we should be able to put a Christian center near ground zero and give people a choice,” Keller told DNAinfo today.

He also told the website that the proposed mosque was “a spit in the face of the people of New York.”

Keller is the founder of LivePrayer, a website he launched in 1999 “for the sole purpose of having a site on the Internet where people can go 24 hours a day, seven days a week for prayer. The whole mission of LivePrayer.com is to give those who are hurting … hope.”

A former computer salesman convicted of insider trading who became a born-again Christian, Keller is known for mixing Muslim stereotypes and slurs into his evangelical messages. He’s also a “birther” who produced an infomercial last year soliciting donations to pressure President Barack Obama to show his birth certificate.

Now his organization has put up a separate website for the 9/11 Christian Center, which is collecting donations from those who wish to “stand against evil.” Like Keller’s other website, it includes links to virulent anti-Muslim screeds.

It is unclear whether Keller has obtained the necessary permissions to actually construct the center. Still, he plans to hold monthly prayer meetings in the nearby Embassy Suites Hotel until it is built.

The proposed $100 million mosque/Islamic center at ground zero, however, has obtained its building permissions. It is a collaboration between the Cordoba Initiative and the American Society for Muslim Advancement, conceived in the wake of 9/11 to promote “integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion through arts and culture” based on the Islamic values of “compassion, generosity and respect for all.”

Furthermore, it has the support of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, now the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. The Republican contender for governor, Rick Lazio, has called upon Cuomo to investigate the center’s funding in his capacity as attorney general.
Filed under: Nation, Surge Desk
Tagged: 911, 911 mosque, bill keller, christian center, ground zero, ground zero mosque, mosque, Barack Obama – United States of America – World Leader, Law – News Topic, Rick Lazio, Andrew Cuomo, New York New York, World Trade Center, Bill Keller, Christian Center, Michael Bloomberg, Mosques
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