Rudy Giuliani ripped the head of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero on Thursday for “selling sensitivity” but not showing any to still-grieving 9/11 families.Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is “creating this vicious, sort of angry battle that’s going on” by insisting on building downtown, the former mayor said on NBC’s “Today” show.
If Rauf is truly serious about healing, Giuliani said, then he wouldn’t push for a project that will cause relatives of the Sept. 11 attack victims “tremendous pain.”
“All you’re doing is creating more division, more anger, more hatred,” he said. “I know some people who are crying over this.”
Giuliani, who was mayor during the 9/11 attacks, has already come out against the proposed center, putting him at odds with Mayor Bloomberg and President Obama - both of whom have said the developer has a right to build the facility on the property.
There was no immediate response from Rauf, who is off on another taxpayer-funded trip to the Middle East to boost goodwill for the U.S.
Rauf has argued that the goal of the 13-story Islamic center is to promote interfaith understanding and give local Muslims a gathering place. But that plan has stirred up national outrage among opponents, who have called it an insult to the memory of the 9/11 victims.
