The imam working on the planned Muslim community center near ground zero said Monday he was open to all options to resolve the fierce dispute surrounding it, while possibly provoking the project’s opponents by declaring that the site, two blocks from the former World Trade Center, was not “hallowed ground.”

Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in Manhattan, the imam, Feisal Abdul Rauf, did not say he would be willing to move the center, the location of which opponents describe as insensitive to the memory of those killed by radical Islamists on 9/11. But he vowed to find a way out of the current impasse over its appropriateness.

“Everything is on the table,” the imam said. “We really are focused on solving it, and solving it in a way that will create the best possible outcome for all. I give you my pledge.”

At the same time, he reiterated his view that changing the location might be seen as bowing to intolerance of Islam  and that the high-profile spot would bring attention to his message of religious harmony.