AP Exclusive: Backers of NYC mosque appear divided

His mother and father were passengers on an EgyptAir flight that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in 1999. U.S. officials ruled that the co-pilot deliberately steered the plane into the sea. No group claimed responsibility for the crash, and investigators have discounted the possibility of terrorism. Egypt has claimed that mechanical failure caused the crash.

Still, Elzanaty said it is hurtful that some critics of the mosque project have accused him of secretly sympathizing with terrorists, given his personal loss.

Some of those detractors have pointed to a donation that he made in 1999 to the Holy Land Foundation, which was later indicted on charges of contributing money to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Five leaders of the foundation were recently convicted of illegally supporting Hamas.

Elzanaty said he believed his donation was being used to support Palestinian orphans, and noted that the U.S. government had the foundation on its list of IRS-approved charities until 2001.

“America is my country,” he said, “and I will never do anything to hurt it.”

MAYOR BLOOMBERG DEFENDS ISLAMIC CENTER