TWO US networks were refusing to air an ad by a group protesting against plans for a mosque near Ground Zero in New York, US media said.
The ad takes a radical stand against the “monstrous 13-storey mosque”, which supporters bill as a chance to heal post-9/11 tensions and which so far has gained support from New York City officials.
US media, including the Politico website, quoted sources at NBC and CBS networks as saying they were refusing to screen the video, titled Kill the Ground Zero Mosque. “On 9/11 they declared war against us,” the video says against a backdrop of militants firing weapons and footage of hijacked planes slamming into the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001.
“That mosque is a monument to their victory and an invitation to more. Join the fight to kill the Ground Zero mosque.”
NBC Universal’s advertising standards manager, Jennifer Riley, wrote that the ad did not clarify whether references to “they” meant terrorists or the Islamic organisation sponsoring the mosque project.
“Consequently, the ad is not acceptable,” she said, according to Politico.
The video has already received more than 139,000 hits on YouTube and is funded by an organisation called National Republican Trust, which is not part of the Republican Party.
Supporters say the proposed Islamic centre and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero will transform negative stereotypes about Islam that have been widespread in the city and across the country since 9/11.
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