News Corp. backer says he doesn’t support Islamic center

Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal isn't backing Park51.

But Fox News viewers can't be blamed from thinking that Al Waleed—the second-largest investor in Fox parent News Corp., and longtime friend of owner Rupert Murdoch—might support the proposed Islamic community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan, two blocks from ground zero.

Fox News contributor Dan Senor described Al Waleed as a backer of "radical madrassas all over the world" during a "Fox & Friends" segment on Park51's funding. ("Daily Show" host Jon Stewart had previously mocked Senor and Fox's hosts for not mentioning that Al Waleed has $2 billion invested in their network's parent company.) Previously, Fox News host Glenn Beck even linked Al Waleed to the 9/11 attacks.

Despite such insinuations, Al Waleed hasn't spoken before on Park51. Now, in his first interview on the matter, Al Waleed told the New York Times that he doesn't think the controversial project is a good idea.

"I have been associated with this mosque in New York, but frankly speaking, I have nothing to do with it," Al Waleed said. "I'm not for putting that mosque there."

The prince has supported Park51 Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in the past through his charity, the Kingdom Foundation. But this time, he's not backing Rauf. Al Waleed told the Times that the location of Park51 is problematic for two reasons: out of respect for 9/11 families and because it would stand too close to a strip club.

Park51 critics who argue that a large swath of Lower Manhattan is now "sacred ground," and therefore unsuitable for Muslims to build a house of worship, often neglect to mention the number of bars, off-track better parlors and strip clubs also located within a few blocks of the Twin Towers site.

Al Waleed seems to be taking the criticism in stride, including "The Daily Show" riff on how Fox News cover him.

"It's funny; it's like a joke," he told the Times. "I take these things very lightly."

(Photo of Al Waleed, center, and Murdoch, right, in Abu Dhabi in March: Karl Jeffs/Getty Images)