The New York Times is reporting that Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, who happens to be the second-largest shareholder of Fox News’s parent company, News Corp., is opposed to the construction of a mosque at Ground Zero. An excerpt:
“I have been associated with this mosque in New York, but frankly speaking, I have nothing to do with it,” he said in an interview. “I’m not for putting that mosque there.”
Prince Walid offered a two-pronged explanation for why he was opposed to the project: he said out of respect for Islam, it does not belong at the proposed location because of its proximity to a strip club; and out of deference to the families of 9/11 victims who might feel antagonized, the Islamic center should not be near ground zero. “I respect all religions,” he said.
The prince’s charity, the Kingdom Foundation, has supported causes linked to the imam behind the project, Feisal Abdul Rauf, as another News Corporation outlet, The New York Post, has reported. But, he says, it does not support the Islamic center project near ground zero.”