A museum, dedicated to Islam, may soon be operating in New York City, near the World Trade Center.
A museum dedicated to Islam is being planned in New York City, near the World Trade Center.
The mind behind the project is Sharif El-Gamal. Through a spokesperson, he told The New York Times that he is determinedly planning on building the three story high, 5,000-square-foot museum.
According to him, it is to ‘dedicated to exploring the faith of Islam and its arts and culture.’
No scheduled time frame has been given, but El-Gamal did confirm that he is paying for the initial financing out of pocket, and is hoping to find other benefactors who are willing to contribute to it.
In 2010, El-Gamal proposed building a community center and mosque in the same location. Right after he made those plans known, street protests broke out, comprised of New Yorkers and citizens around the country.
The protestors were adamant that a mosque should not be situated so close to where the 911 attacks occurred. Due to the backlash, El-Gamal agreed to revise the project, which was originally supposed to be a 15 story prayer space and community center, costing around 100 million dollars to build.
The upcoming museum is a scaled down version of the plans and will reportedly include a public green space, prayer sanctuary and community programs.