The night before the expected approval of the Ground Zero mosque, the backers of the plan are pledging to include a memorial to the victims of September 11 as part of the center, as a means of addressing complaints from opponents that the location of the mosque is insensitive. Daisy Khan, one of the building’s partners and the wife of the cleric leading the effort, told the Journal that the governing board of the center will include members of other religions in order to “protect the interests of the center and to ensure the center has the highest standards of transparency.” The addition of an interfaith chapel is also being explored, Khan said.
“We’ve heard and felt their pain, and we’re extending ourselves,” she said. “We want to repair the breach and be at the front and center to start the healing.”
Despite Khan’s claims, the Anti-Defamation League still isn’t placated. The group’s Abraham Foxman said that Khan’s statements don’t address their central concern about the mosque’s physical proximity to Ground Zero. “If you want to heal us, don’t do it in our cemetery,” he said. “We are joining in with families who are not saying don’t do it at all, but saying don’t do it here.”