Ground Zero Mosque Opens

The so-called Ground Zero mosque, where proponents of religious freedom clashed with angry New Yorkers and especially families of 9/11 victims for nearly two years, opened Wednesday.

Instead of protesters, who tried to shut down the Park51 center several times, spectators milled about the center before entering to view a photographic exhibition.

NYChildren, as the exhibit was titled, was as much a tribute to New York City's diversity as a display of mere photographs. It includes snapshots of a city children representative of 160 ethnicities from around the world. The controversial Mosque part of the center wasn't showcased at all (for now).

The photographs were compiled by a 44-year-old Jewish shutterbug from Brooklyn, Danny Goldfield.

Meanwhile, the developer behind the cultural center conceded he was partly to blame for the virulent opposition the project has encountered.

"We made incredible mistakes," Sharif El-Gamal told The Associated Press in an interview in his Manhattan office. "The biggest mistake we made was not to include 9/11 families."

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