NEW YORK, Sept 13: Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the proposed Islamic cultural centre near Ground Zero in New York, has said the Islamophobic backlash over the project rivals, if not exceeds, the anger felt towards the Muslim community after the Sept 11 attacks in 2001 --- and that, if given the choice to do it over again, he would never have proposed building it near Ground Zero.

In an address at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York on Monday, he said he never expected the proposed mosque to become engulfed in controversy.

“I would never have done it,” he said when asked what he would have done had he anticipated what would happen. “I'm a man of peace. I mean the whole objective of peace work is not to do something that would provoke controversy.”

Imam Rauf said that developers were still deciding whether they would relocate the proposed mosque, but that he feared moving it could cause an uproar in the Muslim world.

“My major concern with moving it is that the headline in the Muslim world will be Islam is under attack in America, this will strengthen the radicals in the Muslim world, help their recruitment, this will put our people --- our soldiers, our troops, our embassies, our citizens --- under attack in the Muslim world,” he said.

He also responded to the threat by a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Holy Quran if the mosque weren't moved by saying: “You can't equate the two… . How can you equate burning of any person's scripture with an attempt to build interfaith dialogue?”

He also said at no time did he have any conversation with the Florida pastor on the construction of the Islamic centre nor did he agree to meet the pastor who threatened to burn the holy book.

AP adds: Imam Rauf said he was searching for a solution to the furore the project had created. But he left unanswered exactly what he had in mind.

He said he didn't see the site of the 2001 attacks as sacred space. “It's absolutely disingenuous, as many have said, that that block is hallowed ground,” he said, noting the nearby exotic dance and betting businesses.

“I'm a devout Muslim... and I'm also a proud American citizen,” said Imam Rauf, noting that he was naturalised in 1979 and had a niece serving in the US Army.