Todd Starnes "A group of New York Muslims has taken offense at a small town’s new memorial honoring those who died in the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier fired off a letter to city leaders in Owego alleging that words engraved in the granite memorial would encourage hatred to Muslims.
"The memorial, which will be dedicated on Saturday, identifies those responsible for the attacks as “Islamic terrorists.”
"That’s a problem for the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier, based in nearby Johnson City, NY.
"A spokesperson told our Fox television affiliate that having the words “Islamic terrorists” on the monument is a “broad brush against the many Muslims who live in the Southern Tier.”
“ 'They want us to change the word from ‘Islamic Terrorist’ to either ‘terrorist’ or ‘Al Qaeda terrorist,’” City Manager Donald Castelluci told me. “I sent them back an email saying I disagreed with their premise 100 percent.”
"The entire inscription reads: