Topic: Park 51

An artistic rendering of the proposed Park51

Park51, originally named Cordoba House (and referred to by some as the "Ground Zero mosque"), is a planned 13-story, glass and steel Islamic community center and mosque, to be located about two blocks from the World Trade Center site, in Lower Manhattan. The facility's design includes a 500-seat auditorium, theater, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, basketball court, childcare area, bookstore, culinary school, art studio, food court, September 11 memorial, and prayer space that could accommodate 1,000–2,000 people. The center would replace an existing 1850s Italianate-style building that was damaged in the September 11 attacks.

Although the Park51 building would not be visible from the World Trade Center site, opponents of the Park51 project have claimed, among other things, that building a mosque so close to "Ground Zero" is offensive to the victims and the families of the victims of the 2001 World Trade Center attack, and that the building itself would serve as a victory memorial to Islam. Supporters respond that this argument is based on the idea that Islam, rather than Islamic radicals, is responsible for the terrorist attack.