Palin Criticizes Planned Mosque on WTC site

Sarah Palin blasted plans for an Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City.

Using her Twitter accounted, Palin wrote: “Peaceful New Yorkers, pls refute the Ground Zero mosque plan if you believe catastrophic pain caused @ Twin Towers site is too raw, too real.” The tweet was first reported by The Hill.

An hour later the former Alaska governor added: “Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing.”

The mosque is part of a complex called Cordoba House, a project that has New York politicians lining up on both sides, according to The Hill.

The planned mosque has divided New York officials. Michael Bloomberg has defended the project. But GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio has attacked the proposal and this month called for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo – his Democratic opponent in the race for governor – to probe the project’s backing.

But Cuomo backs the project.

“This country is about religious freedom. If there is a central premise to the founding for this nation, it is religious freedom and it is that government doesn’t pick religions,” Cuomo said this month.

Here’s how the Cordoba Initiative – a group that says its aim is to improve Muslim-West relations – describes the project:

“This proposed project is about promoting integration, tolerance of difference and community cohesion through arts and culture. Cordoba House will provide a place where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds, will find a center of learning, art and culture; and most importantly, a center guided by Islamic values in their truest form – compassion, generosity, and respect for all.”