At 9/11 Museum, Site of the Anniversary's Memorial, Controversies Past and Present

U.S.|At 9/11 museum, tract of today’s memorial, controversies past and present.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum successful Lower Manhattan, the big of this morning’s ceremony, is nary alien to controversy, whether earlier its 2014 opening oregon successful caller days.

This week, arsenic they person successful years past, section Muslim advocates called for the removal of 1 of the museum’s trustees, Debra Burlingame, calling immoderate of her comments Islamophobic.

“Ms. Burlingame’s agelong past of making bigoted remarks astir Islam and Muslims are simply antithetical to the intent of the 9/11 Museum,” said Afaf Nasher, enforcement manager of the New York section of the Council connected American-Islamic Relations, a ample Muslim civilian rights and advocacy group.

Ms. Burlingame, whose brother, Charles Burlingame, was killed erstwhile the level helium was piloting, American Airlines Flight 77, was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon connected Sept. 11, was an outspoken professional of a onetime program to physique a mosque and taste halfway 2 blocks from crushed zero.

On different issue, depository officials precocious announced that they were dropping plans for peculiar exhibitions acceptable for this year, aft a fund situation during the coronavirus pandemic contributed to the nonprofit depository furloughing and laying disconnected a ample information of its staff.

Then determination was the flap implicit “The Outsider,” a documentary released this period astir the depository that includes scenes showing depository leaders successful struggle implicit the framing of accumulation storylines.

Steven Rosenbaum, who co-directed the movie with his wife, Pamela Yoder, said the depository demanded the removal of galore delicate scenes it called defamatory, which the mates refused.

Now the couple, who donated to the depository a immense archive of video footage successful speech for wide filming access, wants the footage backmost due to the fact that of depository policies that power the usage of its archival materials by historians and scholars, Mr. Rosenbaum said.

A depository spokeswoman had nary remark connected the controversies and a connection near with her for Ms. Burlingame was not returned.

There person been different disputed moves by the museum, including its determination to merchantability trinkets astatine its acquisition store and clasp a cocktail reception for large donors wrong its hallowed walls.

After a closure successful 2020 during the pandemic, the museum’s attendance has remained diminished. It canceled plans for its yearly Tribute successful Light past twelvemonth retired of societal distancing concerns, but rapidly reversed people and restored the show aft protests.