The richest person in the Arab world who has aided plans to build a mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, on Thursday said it would be better to shift to another site not associated with the Sept. 11 attacks. In an interview with the Dubai-based Arabian Business magazine, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal conveyed moving the mosque and other facilities would respect the wounds still felt by New Yorkers.
In the interview, the Prince noted he contributed to the foundation of New York's Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, but said, "We did not finance this thing."
The prince explained his support for a new location. "Those people behind the mosque have to respect, have to appreciate and have to defer to the people of New York, and not try to agitate the wound by saying 'we need to put the mosque next to the 9/11 site'. "The wound is still there. Just because the wound is healing you can't say 'let's just go back to where we were pre-9/11',"
