Clerics Raise Concerns About Film to Be Shown at 9/11 Museum

An interfaith clergy group is calling on the National September 11 Memorial Museum to make changes to a short film to be shown at the soon-to-open center, saying its references to “Islamists” and “jihad” could blur lines for visitors between Al Qaeda terrorists and Muslims in general, writes The New York Times.

The brief documentary, to be shown on a loop in a museum exhibit, aims to explain the historical roots of the attack and the ideology of the September 11, 2001, hijackers. A panel of clerics advising the museum raised strong objections to the film and asked that it be edited to include language making clear the distinction between the 9/11 attackers and the vast majority of Muslims.

Officials at the museum, which is to open May 21, said there are no plans to change the film and noted that others exhibits tell the story of Muslim victims and the response of the larger Islamic community to 9/11. A spokesman said the gallery in which the film will be shown has large interpretive panels illustrating how Al Qaeda was portrayed as “a far fringe of Islam.”