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Miss USA opposes Ground Zero mosque

Updated on: 23 August,2010 10:47 AM IST  | 
Agencies |

Looks like Miss USA -- a practicing Muslim and the first Arab-American ever to snag the sparkly crown won't be unrolling her prayer mat in the mosque near Ground Zero

Miss USA opposes Ground Zero mosque

Looks like Miss USA -- a practicing Muslim and the first Arab-American ever to snag the sparkly crown won't be unrolling her prayer mat in the mosque near Ground Zero.

Rima Fakih, a Queens-raised daughter of Lebanese immigrants, said she respects freedom of religion but believes the proposed Islamic cultural center is too close to the site of the worst domestic terror attack in US history.



"I totally agree with President Obama with the statement on constitutional rights of freedom of religion," the beauty queen said in an interview that aired yesterday.

"I also agree that it shouldn't be so close to the World Trade Center. We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion."

Fakih -- who graduated from St John's Prep HS in Queens before relocating to Michigan with her family spoke to the TV show while she was practicing for today's Miss Universe pageant.

She and Obama might have different views on the mosque, but the Lebanese-born stunner harbors no ill will toward the president.

In fact, she dedicated her barely-there costume for the beauty extravaganza to Obama.

Fakih unveiled the sexy get-up in a video, saying, "Mr President, the amazing costume I will wear during the Miss Universe pageant represents the celebration of life, liberty and all that is American."

She said she dedicated the gold lam ufffd outfit -- a Victoria's Secret-like interpretation of the American eagle on the presidential seal featuring massive gold wings and little else to Obama as "a tribute to your work to bring peace to the world."

Fakih's stance on the controversial mosque is not the first time the pageant winner has made headlines for her off-stage activities.

Pictures of the 24-year-old who recently said that she was fasting for Ramadan while preparing for Miss Universe were seen pole dancing shortly after she won the crown.
The shots were taken in 2007 at a dance contest, and included images of her working her way up a stripper pole in tight shorts and bopping around with dollar bills in her bra.


Protests galore
Several hundred protesters staged rival demonstrations yesterday for and against plans to build a mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001 attacks, some brandishing signs against Islam and others denouncing religious bigotry.



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