ianstone
08-10-2010, 04:02 PM
New York buses to carry graphic ad featuring picture of Twin Towers attack in opposition to planned mosque near Ground Zero
By Mail Foreign Service (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Mail+Foreign+Service)
Last updated at 4:06 PM on 10th August 2010
Comments (68) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1301846/New-York-buses-opposed-ground-zero-mosque-carry-twin-towers-attack-ad.html#comments)
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New York City's transit agency has approved a bus advertisement that depicts a plane flying toward the World Trade Center's towers as they burn along with a rendering of a proposed mosque near ground zero.
The ad was paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), an organisation that opposes radical Islamic influence in the United States. The group's executive director says she doesn't find the ad offensive.
The group sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to demand it accept the ad, which was approved Monday.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/10/article-1301846-0ABFF57E000005DC-800_634x132.jpg Approved: The American Freedom Defense Initiative advert against a proposed mosque near the Ground Zero site. The group sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to demand it accept the ad
MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz says the agency doesn't endorse the ad's views.
The plan for a mosque just blocks from the World Trade Center site has ignited a national debate about the limits of tolerance and the symbolism of ground zero.
The ads - which are scheduled to be printed and posted on city buses within 10 days - feature an image of an 'airplane headed toward the burning World Trade Center' next to a building that’s labeled as 'WTC Mega Mosque' and the words 'Why There?'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/10/article-1301846-0AC03417000005DC-107_634x344.jpg A map showing the proposed location of a Mosque near the Ground Zero site
A lawyer for the New-Hampshire-based AFDI referred to the decision as 'a victory not just for free speech but against political correctness and Mayor Bloomberg's bullying'.
A spokesman for the mayor declined to comment.
It follows similar controversy in May when buses in Manhattan carried adverts offering information to people who want to leave the Islamic faith.
The adverts, entitled 'Leaving Islam?', pointed readers to a website called RefugefromIslam.com and were meant for Muslims who are fearful of leaving the faith.
Naturally the advert drew criticism from Islamic groups in the U.S.
Read more: [URL]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1301846/New-York-buses-opposed-ground-zero-mosque-carry-twin-towers-attack-ad.html#ixzz0wEdrC7iV (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1301846/New-York-buses-opposed-ground-zero-mosque-carry-twin-towers-attack-ad.html)
By Mail Foreign Service (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Mail+Foreign+Service)
Last updated at 4:06 PM on 10th August 2010
Comments (68) (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1301846/New-York-buses-opposed-ground-zero-mosque-carry-twin-towers-attack-ad.html#comments)
[/URL]
New York City's transit agency has approved a bus advertisement that depicts a plane flying toward the World Trade Center's towers as they burn along with a rendering of a proposed mosque near ground zero.
The ad was paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), an organisation that opposes radical Islamic influence in the United States. The group's executive director says she doesn't find the ad offensive.
The group sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to demand it accept the ad, which was approved Monday.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/10/article-1301846-0ABFF57E000005DC-800_634x132.jpg Approved: The American Freedom Defense Initiative advert against a proposed mosque near the Ground Zero site. The group sued the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to demand it accept the ad
MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz says the agency doesn't endorse the ad's views.
The plan for a mosque just blocks from the World Trade Center site has ignited a national debate about the limits of tolerance and the symbolism of ground zero.
The ads - which are scheduled to be printed and posted on city buses within 10 days - feature an image of an 'airplane headed toward the burning World Trade Center' next to a building that’s labeled as 'WTC Mega Mosque' and the words 'Why There?'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/10/article-1301846-0AC03417000005DC-107_634x344.jpg A map showing the proposed location of a Mosque near the Ground Zero site
A lawyer for the New-Hampshire-based AFDI referred to the decision as 'a victory not just for free speech but against political correctness and Mayor Bloomberg's bullying'.
A spokesman for the mayor declined to comment.
It follows similar controversy in May when buses in Manhattan carried adverts offering information to people who want to leave the Islamic faith.
The adverts, entitled 'Leaving Islam?', pointed readers to a website called RefugefromIslam.com and were meant for Muslims who are fearful of leaving the faith.
Naturally the advert drew criticism from Islamic groups in the U.S.
Read more: [URL]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1301846/New-York-buses-opposed-ground-zero-mosque-carry-twin-towers-attack-ad.html#ixzz0wEdrC7iV (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1301846/New-York-buses-opposed-ground-zero-mosque-carry-twin-towers-attack-ad.html)