While most New York voters agree Muslims have the right to build a mosque near the World Trade Center site, a similar majority opposes it out of concern for families victimized by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a statewide Quinnipiac University poll said.
Voters agreed 54 percent to 40 percent that the U.S. Constitution protects Muslims’ right to build the mosque. They also said that they oppose its construction 53 percent to 39 percent “because of the sensitivities of 9/11 relatives.” Seventy-one percent want backers to “voluntarily build the mosque somewhere else,” the survey said.
The planned mosque has drawn opposition from Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate, and from former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, who say the site is inappropriate. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that telling Muslims to relocate the mosque would undermine America’s values and damage its image.
