Imam's Antigay Words Spark Controversy

The imam of an already-controversial Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, Park51, has sparked anger for saying that the sexual orientation of gays and lesbians is caused by abuse.

"An enormously, overwhelming percentage of people struggle with homosexual feeling because of some form of violent emotional or sexual abuse at some point in their life," Imam Abdallah Adhami said, according to NY1 News. "Again, not necessarily in their childhood. ... A small, tiny percentage of people are born with a natural inclination they cannot explain. You find this in the animal kingdom on some level as well."

Adhami joined Park51 earlier this month as a senior adviser. The building is located just blocks from the World Trade Center site; its proximity to one of the locations of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks caused some objections to the project.

Watch the full report at NY1.