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Woody Allen Backs Downtown Mosque, Calls Foes 'Frauds'

By DNAinfo Staff on September 16, 2010 1:24pm  | Updated on September 17, 2010 6:15am

Woody Allen spoke out in favor of the proposed mosque and community center at the opening of his new film.
Woody Allen spoke out in favor of the proposed mosque and community center at the opening of his new film.
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Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

By Nina Mandell

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Woody Allen didn't waste a moment in sharing his opinion on the proposed mosque and community center when speaking to Inside Edition at the premiere of his new film.

"I'm for the building of the mosque," Allen said. "I think that all the people weighing in on it except for the people that lost someone at Ground Zero" are "exploitative, fake, frauds. They're using it for personal reasons and political reasons."

Allen was at the premiere of his new film, "You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger."

The director is the latest in a line of celebrities to weigh in on the controversial plan. Earlier this week, Michael Moore announced he was raising money for the project. Last week, Donald Trump put in a bid for the property to prevent the planned center.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov offered $10 million for the proposed site of the controversial Park51 development.
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov offered $10 million for the proposed site of the controversial Park51 development.
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Flickr/FIDE President

Allen said the center would go a long way in building up tolerance and protecting America from another attack.

"If I could speak to people that lost relatives and loved ones, I would try and convince them, if I could, that to build the mosque goes a way towards seeing that this kind of thing doesn't happen again," Allen told Inside Edition. "And to intolerantly not build the mosque is just polarizing and leads to the kind of problems that rake up this type of conflict."

The comments came as Russian chess champ and noted eccentric Kirsan Ilyumzhinov offered $10 million to buy the site of the proposed mosque.

Ilyumzinhov, who is the head of the World Chess Federation and claims to have been abducted by aliens, said he had sent a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the offer on behalf of the Federation, the New York Post reported.

He reportedly plans on building a chess center at the site.

"The amount of $10 million was set because last week American billionaire Donald Trump made a similar offer for $7.5 million, and we've decided to outbid him," Ilyumzhinov said, according to RIA-Novosti.

Trump actually made the offer for $6 million, according to the Daily News.

Ilyumzhiov, a multi-millionaire businessman, is infamous for his claim that he was abducted by aliens in 1997.

Bloomberg's office had no comment on the offer, the Moscow Times said.