By Jill Colvin and Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Staff
LOWER MANHATTAN — Mayor Michael Bloomberg will not criticize the new imam of Park51 for making controversial remarks about homosexuality, he told reporters Thursday.
Imam Abdallah Adhami, who became the new spiritual leader of the mosque near Ground Zero earlier this month, provoked outrage by saying in a lecture series that people become gay after suffering a trauma, NY1 reported.
"An enormously, overwhelming percentage of people struggle with homosexual feeling because of some form of violent emotional or sexual abuse at some point in their life," Adhami said in a lecture offered for sale online, according to NY1.
"A small, tiny percentage of people are born with a natural inclination they cannot explain. You find this in the animal kingdom on some level as well."
When asked for his reaction to the remarks during a press conference on Thursday, Bloomberg declined to comment, citing his policy of not weighing in on religious leaders' words.
"I think it's very dangerous if the city government tries to criticize people and what they say, especially when it comes to religion," Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg has been a strong supporter of the Park51 mosque and community center, and his commissioners have worked closely with the project’s leaders to shepherd it through the city approvals process.
Park51 did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the organization addressed the concerns via Twitter Thursday afternoon.
"Opinions voiced by p51 staff & advisers do not represent official p51 positions," Park51 tweeted. "p51 is an all-inclusive community center open to all, regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation."
