A conservative advocacy group founded by the Rev. Pat Robertson is suing to try to block a planned Islamic community center and mosque near ground zero. The proposal has become a fulcrum for balancing religious freedom and the legacy of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The American Center for Law and Justice said it filed a petition Wednesday challenging a city panel’s decision to let developers tear down a building to make way for the mosque. It would be two blocks from ground zero.

City lawyers say they’re confident the panel followed appropriate procedures. A spokesman for the mosque project declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Opponents say the mosque plan insults the memory of those killed by Islamic terrorists in the 2001 attacks. Supporters see it as a monument to tolerance.