NEW YORK: The imam leading the effort to build an Islamic center and a mosque near the site of the Sept. 11 attacks said Monday that a resolution to the raging debate over its location is being examined.

“We are exploring all options as we speak right now, and we are working to what will be a solution, God willing, that will resolve this crisis, defuse it and not create any unforeseen or untoward circumstances that we do not want to see happen,” Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said during a question-and-answer session following a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations.

He did not elaborate on whether the options included moving the center from a site two blocks from the World Trade Center. But in response to a later question, Rauf said the proposed location, while controversial, was important.

“We need a platform where the voice of moderate Muslims can be amplified. ... This is an opportunity that we must capitalize on so the voice of moderate Muslims will have a megaphone,” he said.

Rauf called on moderates from every religion to create a coalition to prevent extremists from “hijacking” the media and the true religious cause.

The imam said he wanted to clarify a “misperception” that the Islamic center’s proposed site was sacred ground. “It is absolutely disingenuous as some have suggested that the block is hallowed ground,” he said, noting its proximity to strip joints and betting parlors.

During his remarks, Rauf raised the question of whether the project was worth the controversy. “The answer is a categorical yes,” he said. “Why? Because this center will be a place for all faiths to come together in mutual respect.” He noted: “The world will be watching what we do here.” He also decried some aspects of the debate surrounding the proposal.

“Let us therefore reject those who would use this crisis ... for political gain or even for fame,” he said.

Meanwhile, as protesters marched in Gainesville, Florida, on Sunday in front of the Dove World Outreach Center in opposition to Terry Jones, the pastor who threatened to burn copies of the Holy Qur’an, demonstrations flared up in other US states. Jones flew to New York Friday night and met with Feisal to discuss the possibility, or perhaps impossibility, of relocating the mosque.

Several incidents were reported of individuals desecrating copies of the Holy Book in New York City, Washington DC, Tennessee and Kansas, but these actions were met with counter-protectors.

In Amarillo, Texas, Jones supporters were about to burn a Qur’an copy when a skateboard-toting youth rescued it from David Grisham, director of a radical Christian group called Repent Amarillo.

According to the Amarillo Globe News, there were about 200 protesters in the Sam Houston Park to show either support or opposition to Grisham’s plans. The young man who snatched the Qur’an from Grisham was identified as 23-year-old Jacob Isom. After the incident, Grisham got into his car and left. Isom later delivered the rescued Qur’an to a representative of the Islamic Center of Amarillo.

Arab spokespersons of groups like the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, the largest grassroots organization in the US serving Arab Americans, say they are now in an uncomfortable position of explaining or coming to terms with freedom of speech and the freedom to offend that is also protected.

“On one hand, our country’s commitment to the First Amendment would allow Jones’ Qur’an burning to occur,” said Imad Hamad, Midwest regional director of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee. “We leaders in civil rights advocacy know all too well the necessity to maintain freedom of speech -- including the right to offend.”

Hamad pointed out that the First Amendment is the same constitutional protection being used by people who have demonstrated against Islamophobia. The amendment also includes the freedom of religion clause that protects the practice of Islam in America, as well as the construction of Park51.

Celebrities and politicians have united in their calls for tolerance amid the appeal to hate promoted by the likes of Jones. Even Tea Party Patriot stars Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck (who both oppose the Park51 project) spoke out against the burning of the Qur’an.

“When I reflect on the nation I immigrated to 30 years ago, I marvel at how far America has come in protecting the rights of its minorities -- but I remain concerned by how far we still need to go,” Hamad said. “Muslim Americans have remained contributing elements in virtually every fabric of American society. Having witnessed the election of the first black president, a Christian with the middle name Hussein, we remain hopeful that the US will continue to protect and restore the sacrosanct principles embodied by our founding fathers -- that there is room in America for all cultural and religious backgrounds.”

(With input from agencies)