From Her Royal Whyness:
Imam Feisal Rauf: New York Islamic centre 'dream alive'
Mr Rauf said the "real battle" is between moderates and radicals in all faiths Imam Feisal Rauf, spiritual leader of a Islamic community centre with a prayer space planned for lower Manhattan, has had a turbulent 2010.
A year ago, the New York Times wrote about the now notorious proposal just around the corner from Ground Zero, the site of the 11 September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center."The story broke last December and nobody raised even a blip," says Mr Rauf, sitting in his office in the Interchurch Centre on Manhattan's Upper West Side. "It wasn't until the election cycle began that this became used as a wedge issue, and our story was hijacked and misrepresented and the fears of the people were whipped up."
During a febrile summer, the centre was cast as a victory mosque by its critics, and prominent Republicans including Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin demanded it be moved.
I ask Mr Rauf whether he understands why some family members who lost their loved ones on 9/11 didn't want a representation of Islam nearby.
Continue reading the main story
Park51 centre
- Several hundred yards from Ground Zero
- In site of former clothing retailer
- 13-storey cultural centre including mosque
- Money yet to be raised for building to start
"The feelings of the 9/11 families is something I am very sensitive to," the imam replies. "I have been a member of this community for 27 years, and Muslims died on 9/11, Muslims were responders, we are as much part of the story of 9/11, and we have to be part of the healing and part of the solution."
'No misunderstanding' Michael Burke, whose brother Bill, a firefighter, was killed on 9/11, is one of a group of relatives who strongly object to Mr Rauf's planned Islamic centre.Mr Burke says it's offensive to have a reminder of the religion used to justify his brother's murder so close to the place where he died. But he also objects to the imam's belief that the community centre will help bridge the divide between Muslims and the West.
"This implies that 9/11 was a misunderstanding," he says. "9/11 was not a misunderstanding, it was an attack."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
End Quote Imam Feisal RaufWe're committed to the path we're on right now, so the argument about location is a specious one”
"The dream is still alive, the intention is still there," Mr Rauf affirms. "Even if we had all the money today it would be at least two to three years until groundbreaking, then once you finalize your plans, another two or three years to build it."
The decision by the developers behind the project to apply for a $5m federal grant reserved for the redevelopment of lower Manhattan has infuriated opponents. "Using federal dollars to build this adds insult to injury," Mr Burke tells me, pointing out that the developer Sharif El-Gamal has defaulted on loans. Mr El-Gamal told the New York Daily News default was a standard way to negotiate better credit rates, and the matter would be resolved.
Ready to react Mr Rauf painstakingly explains that the developer has applied "only for programmes around helping veterans, and providing the kind of social services that our centre aspires to provide".
Bill Burke, whose brother was killed on 9/11, still objects to the planned Islamic centre "We have learnt a number of things from the crisis of this summer, the most important of which is that the real battle is not between the West and the Muslim world, it is between moderates of all faiths and traditions and radicals and extremists of all faiths and traditions," he explains.
As this eventful year draws to a close, Mr Rauf reflects on what he has learned.
"The reason why this story has gripped the nation and the world is that it's relevant," he says. "It's about the relationships between Muslims and the wider world, and that's relevant from Tennessee to London to India."
Next year is the 10th anniversary of 9/11, which will inevitably mean a renewed focus on the Islamic community centre at Park Place. Mr Rauf is ready.
"We're committed to the path we're on right now, so the argument about location is a specious one," he says.
=================================================
Union City case against 'Ground Zero imam' moved to Bayonne, postponed until Feb. 2
BAYONNE -- A February court date has been set in the municipal case of the man known as the "Ground Zero imam," who Union City has fined for alleged health violations found in September at a building he owns.The case is to be heard on Feb. 2 at 9:30 a.m. in Bayonne Municipal Court. The case was moved from Union City to Bayonne to avoid any conflict of interest after Union City sued Sage Development, owned by Imam Feisal A. Rauf, and was granted receivership of the property at 2206 Central Ave. by a Hudson County judge.
Union City had sought receivership of the property so it could collect the rents and make the necessary improvements. The receivership lasted from Nov. 9 to Dec. 9. Last week control of the building reverted to the imam.
Union City is seeking to enforce fines on 24 summonses, mostly dealing with a hot water heater and bed bug infestations found in the 16-unit apartment building. The fine for each violation can go up to $2,000. Union City originally cited Rauf's building with more than 200 alleged violations, mostly for fire code infractions, but the majority have been corrected.
After a 20-minute conference with both sides, Bayonne Municipal Court Judge Frank Carpenter set the February court date to give each side enough time to prepare their case.
Carpenter added that a number of pertinent documents from the Superior Court trial had not yet been received by Bayonne Prosecutor Robert Hennessey or the imam's lawyer, Tomas Espinosa.
Rauf is the imam who has proposed to build a mosque and Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.
=====================================================
http://sheikyermami.com/2010/12/16/europes-collective-suicide-is-a-done-deal/
Europe’s collective suicide is a done deal
EUrabia Alert
The elimination of Western culture & civilization is a done deal according to these documents from the planned Euromediterranean Process, of which few have heard. In reality, this is the biggest treason in history – and the most intelligent, done by stealth, lying/concealment, demoralization, dechristianisation, and corruption.
Europe´s Death Certificate. Jordan Obtains “Advanced EU-Status”: EU´s 4 Freedoms Incl. Free Migration After Morocco. Egypt and Tunesia Next
Link to poster.
Summary: The EU is fully engaged in the delivery on its promise at the 6. Euromediterranean Foreign Ministers´ Conference in 2003 of the allocation of the EU’s 4 freedoms, including freedom of movement, into the EU. First the EU granted Morocco, now Jordan these 4 freedoms – and the European Union announces that Egypt and Tunisia’s are next. The treaty with Jordan is the first within the framework of the ENP – the European Neighbourhood Policy. This article shows the contents of the agreement: It states to aim at strengthening the multilateral institutions of world governance! Moreover, the agreement will bring visa facilitation and promote the free circulation of people and workers between Jordan and the EU – Jordanians are to have equal social rights in the EU as native Europeans. It will coordinate their social security systems, it will strengthen the fight against terrorism and harmonize the judicial system in Jordan with that of the EU and incorporate Jordan into the EUROPOL and CEPOL, and exchange judicial information and promote cooperation between law enforcement authorities in general. It will increase exchanges of students and trainees and include many more Jordanian students in the Erasmus Mundus and Tempus programs. It will enhance the cultural cooperation and increase Jordan’s participation in relevant EU cultural cooperation programs. And much more. After 3 years negotiations will take place ”to lift cooperation to a higher level.”The elimination of Western culture & civilization is a done deal according to these documents from the planned Euromediterranean Process, of which few have heard. In reality, this is the biggest treason in history – and the most intelligent, done by stealth, lying/concealment, demoralization, dechristianisation, and corruption.
Europe´s Death Certificate. Jordan Obtains “Advanced EU-Status”: EU´s 4 Freedoms Incl. Free Migration After Morocco. Egypt and Tunesia Next
Link to poster.
All these actions in relation to the Muslim “partners” in connection with the alreadystealth, lies/concealment, demoralization, dechristianisation, and corruption. This is the Luciferian New World Order, based on the Talmud.
“You are of your father the devil. There is no truth in him. For he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44). To the Pharisees, the authors of the Talmud, the foundation of the New World Order and here and here. Pres Obama´s media czar , Julius Genachowski is a Talmud Ace to secure “internet neutrality” – a la another Jew, Jay Rockefeller?
We were never told about the Euromediterranean Process and here. And when I asked ministers and MPs for an explanation, any comment was refused. A 2 MEPs of the Danish People´s party flattened the problem so obstinately that it was very suspicious. Our bought and here media has entirely concealed it, the most cowardly way of lying, since it costs us our independence and even our souls – and very few ever heard of it. Nevertheless it is the death certificate of Europe. The Euromediterranean is the biggest lie in history alongside with the global warming lie.
Without any ado, without our media having told us about it, the EU has as of 26 Oct. 2010 granted Jordan an “advanced status” according to its promise to the then 10 “partner countries” at the 6. Euromediterranean Foreign Ministers´Conference in Naples on 2–3 Dec. 2003 of having The EU´s 4 Freedoms , incl. free movement for their citizens in the Euromed. area. The only condition was progress as for democracy and economy. Free movement of persons is so important that i.a. for this reason the EU is now threatening Switzerland, which has tightened her immigration rules. On 13 July 2010 the equally silenced Union for The Mediterranean and here with a parliament of its own and a secretariat was proclaimed for all countries on the Mediterranean coasts except Libya incl. all EU members. This enormous organisation is largely unknown, since it is a piece in the puzzle to create the world state consisting of an re-awakening Rockefeller plan about a North American Union, the Union for the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf and the ASEAN + 3 (China, Japan, Australia). That is why the EU passionately supports a UN Parliamentary Assembly, a World Parliament. And that is why Iran has to be subdued somehow. The below ENP Action Plan clearly mentions “global governance” as the aim – as also stated by EU President, the Bilderberger puppet, van Rompuy.EU Press Release 6 Dec. 2010: We have agreed on an “advanced status” for Morocco, a country that has made a clear choice to modernise and to strengthen relations with the EU. With Jordan, we have concluded a new “advanced status” Action Plan, and we are discussing similar arrangements with other neighbours, such as Egypt and Tunisia.
However, the Union for the Mediterranean has not brought about the degree of progress we had hoped for in our neighbourhood – especially concerning democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights. Both EU Member States and partner countries want stronger relations based on high level political co-operation and deeper economic integration. Civil society organizations are also very supportive of the ENP as a tool to advance shared values and good governance. We develop a framework in which our expectations of partners are spelled out more clearly, as are the “rewards” that our partners will obtain if those expectations are met. Kommentar: Here is Morocco´s Action Plan. Not even that Morocco is breaking the premises of this advanced status is being mentioned in the media. The EU is now fulfilling its promises by granting its “partners” (in the New World Order – see videos on right margin of this blog) “advanced status” one by one! The foundation of this New World Order project is the Barcelona Declaration from 1995.
EU Press Release 26 Oct. 2010: On the occasion of the ninth EU-Jordan Association Council‘s meeting of 26 October 2010, the first ever European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan incorporating the “advanced status” partnership was agreed by the two parties.
“Jordan has become an increasingly significant player, a regional actor and a key interlocutor for the European Union in the Middle East,” stated Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission.
The “advanced status” partnership will be based on the overarching objective of promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the EU neighbourhood. The advanced status is building on the core values Jordan and the EU share, i.e. the rule of law, good governance and the respect for human rights.
The “advanced status” partnership further expanded the areas of cooperation between Jordan and the EU opening up new opportunities in economic and trade relations via a progressive liberalisation in services and the right of establishment, facilitation of market access, progressive regulatory convergence and preparations of future negotiations on a deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, as well as reinforced cooperation with certain European agencies and programmes. More EU information here.
The Jordan Times 28 Oct. 2010: Jordan and the European Union on Tuesday agreed on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan, under which the Kingdom enters into an “advanced status” partnership with the supranational institution. “This is a great achievement for Jordanian diplomacy. Jordan is the second Arab country to obtain advanced status after Morocco,” Minister of Industry and Trade Amer Hadidi told The Jordan Times yesterday, calling on the business sector to take advantage of the opportunities the agreement presents.
ENP Action Plan for Jordan – an excerptAfter three years, decisions by Jordan and the EU may be taken on the next step in the development of bilateral relations, including the possibility of new contractual links.“Effective management of migratory flows and facilitation of movement of persons in conformity with the acquis, in particular examine the scope for visa facilitation for short stay for some categories of persons to be defined jointly.”Implement the Jordanian Sustainable Development Strategy, and implement the government’s strategy to reduce poverty • Develop the transport, energy and information society sectors and networks through sector liberalisation, investment in infrastructures and interconnection with EU networks. Notice in particular the marked texts: (28), (40), (41), (46), (48), (63), (64), (65): These taken together with the many other agreements mean mortal danger to Europe´s stability, prosperity and cultural survival.
Quite clearly global governance is mentioned as the aim.
CommentAs I see it these Action Plans with the EU are the New World Order´s death certificates for the European nation states, their cultures and religion. It is a silent liquidation, people seeing it happening under their very eyes – but still they don´t grasp what is actually going on. It is high treason in the usual sense of the word – but like good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lies, all other concepts in the New World Order adopt meanings twisted 180 degrees to what we are accustomed to – so all of a sudden traditional European values are treacherous – to the New World Order antivalues.
The Action Plans open up for a flood of citizens from the “partner Countries”. Now from 1 Jan. 2011, Muslims from the “partner” countries Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania will have visa-free travel into the Schengen zone. And guess where they will go? Well, where the social offers for them are the best, of course. So, a migration is about to take place, 1.3 mio Albanians having applied for passports into the EU, And as the “partners” south and east of the Mediterranean also obtain free access, native Europeans will soon be a minority, which has to keep all those “partners” alive, for the immigrant master race does not work – according to one of their imams. Native Europeans will become slaves or hunted game – unless they convert to Islam, as anywhere where the Muslims have taken power in previously Christian lands. They occupied 30% of our state budgets in Denmark and Sweden in 2001.
Well, that does not concern the decadent native Europeans. The Euromediterranean Process is considered just an insignificant thing by the few who even heard of it. In reality, this is the biggest treason in history – and the most intelligent, done by stealth, lying/concealment, demoralization, dechristianisation, and corruption. This is truly Luciferian.
APPENDIX to the ENP Action Plan for Jordan
Promote the stability and effectiveness of institutions strengthening democracy and the rule of law including good governance and transparency.
Further enhancement of the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, upgrade its quality and strengthen its administrative capacity.
Support the freedom of the media and strengthening freedom of expression
Ensure respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in line with Jordan’s international commitments
Promote Equal Treatment of women.
Promotion of fundamental social rights and core labour standards
Develop an enhanced political dialogue and regular exchange of information on Common Foreign Security and Defence Policy (CFSP) and European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). – Work with the EU to make multilateral institutions and conventions more effective, so as to reinforce global governance
Combating terrorism.
Continue progress in the establishment of fully functioning market economy through structural reforms.
Promote investment in Jordan
Promotion of sustainable development
Liberalisation of trade in goods
Facilitate market access of industrial products.– Implement the Palermo Action Plan for the Free Movement of Industrial Products approved by the July 2003 Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Trade Ministers.
Remove obstacles to the establishment and operation of companies.
Gradual abolition of restrictions on supply of services.
Development of financial services.Further development of capital markets. Liberalisation of Payments, Capital Movements
(28) Facilitate the movement and integration of workers. – Equality of treatment of Jordanian and Community workers nationals who are legally residing and working in the territory of the Community or Jordan, elimination of discrimination.
– Coordination of social security schemes.
Develop the conditions to enable competition between the EU and Jordan companies and among Jordanian companies.
Establish implementing rules on competition, including in particular a consultation mechanism.
(40) Management of migratory flows and prevention of illegal migration – Dialogue on asylum issues. – Exchange of information on migration issues (entry and stay, integration) and illegal migration – Discussion on the possibility of co-operation on transit migration.
(41) Start and develop dialogue in visa issues– Develop visa co-operation, including the possible adaptation of visa systems, the visa and travel documents issuing procedure including their security. – In order to facilitate the circulation of persons, examine within the context of existing structures, de possibilities of facilitation visa issuing (simplified and accelerated procedures in conformity with the acquis)
Reinforce the fight against drugs
Develop co-operation in the fight against money laundering
(46) Develop co-operation between Jordan and EU Member States judicial and law enforcement authorities – Implement relevant international conventions and, where already ratified, start developing national legislation for their implementation
– Exchange of information between EU, EU Member states and Jordanian law enforcement agencies, including on matters related to the International Criminal Court. – Co-operation in the field of police training between Jordanian and European police academies and colleges, as well as with CEPOL – Explore the possibilities for co-operation between Jordan and EUROPOL (European Police Office).
(48) Strengthening cooperation to combat terrorism – Develop cooperation to strengthen the fight against the financing of terrorism in line with the standards laid down in the FATF recommendations on terrorism financing. – Develop cooperation between law enforcement agencies to combat terrorism. – Develop judicial cooperation in the context of combating terrorism.
Take steps to adopt an updated overall energy policy converging towards EU energy policy objectives.
Progress on energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources.
Take steps to ensure that conditions for good environmental governance are set and start implementing them.
(63) Reform and upgrade the education and training systems and work; within the framework of the Jordanian national programme, towards convergence with EU standards and practice. – Encourage the participation in the Erasmus Mundus programme.
(64) Enhance co-operation in the field of education, training and youth – Establish a policy dialogue between EU and Jordanian authorities in the field of education and training – Explore the possibility of extending co-operation in the areas of school education, vocational education and training through the possible extension of the TEMPUS programme. – Increase links among Jordanian educational institutions and with the EU – Enhance youth exchanges and co-operation in the field of non-formal education and intercultural dialogue.
(65) Enhance cultural co-operation – Enhance Jordan’s participation in the relevant EC cultural co-operation programmes.Increase the level of health security, health information and knowledge.
Communicable Disease Surveillance and Health Security (Epidemiological Surveillance and Control).
============================================================
http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2010/dec/14/park-51-proponents-opponents-plot-their-next-moves/
Park51 Proponents, Opponents Plot Their Next Moves
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
- Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (Arun Venugopal)
For those who consider Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf the embodiment of evil -- a wily terrorist sympathizer bent on bringing "stealth jihad" to the United States -- the sight of him in a light blue cashmere sweater may feel incongruous. But these days, the imam seems a lot more relaxed than he did this summer, at the height of the furor over Park51. And while the most vitriolic or unfounded accusations have not faded, they pack less of a charge for him now.
After finding themselves on a 24/7 media loop for the better part of the autumn, the imam and his closest allies have recently managed to escape the attention of the press.
But last week, the imam returned to the spotlight with a press release announcing a project known as the Cordoba Movement. The announcement, he said, was directed at supporters of Park 51, "to expand upon the birth of a movement which happened this summer, with the thousands of people who rallied around us from all 50 states of the union and as many countries across the world and all six [sic] continents."
Echoing the thoughts of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others, the imam thinks the furor over Park51 had more to do with pre-election hype that flared before November's midterm elections and a campaign of misinformation by opponents and less to do with genuine grassroots opposition.
The issue, he said, "was not really our location."
"What happened this summer was really the rise of Islamophobia in America," he said. "Because there were three, four, five other centers at the same time -- real mosques that were planned, that were also attacked at the same time."
Still, the imam thinks he could've managed the controversy more skillfully, primarily by engaging with 9/11 families earlier, "and in a much more robust manner."
Now, he claims those discussions are taking place. And he's set to hit the lecture circuit at Harvard, Yale, the University of North Carolina and other institutions. At the same time, his wife, Daisy Khan, has been speaking in public. Last week, she addressed Rabbis for Human Rights about what she sees as a nationwide campaign against Islam.
"We are inviting people who consider themselves to be moderates and progressives," she told the audience, "and they can be people of all beliefs and no beliefs, against the extremists who tend to dominate the discourse."
Organizers are vague about how much money has been raised for Park51. Some claim nothing has been raised, others, like Daisy Khan, simply say it's very early in the fundraising process. But the ultimate goal remains $100 million, of which they hope to have $8 million in hand by June. They say the project's eventual nonprofit status means all financing will be completely transparent.
The plan calls for a 15 or 16 story building, with two separate sections, one with the mosque, the other containing a community center with a swimming pool, wellness center, culinary school and restaurant and a 500 seat auditorium. Park51 supporters say these services are primarily aimed at the lower Manhattan community, rather than Muslims. But there's also talk of partnering with a Muslim domestic violence group and offering programming that draws secular Muslims as well as more devout ones. The mosque and community center would not only have separate entrances, say supporters, but separate sets of board members as well.
While the people behind Park51 have consciously avoided the media these last few months, opponents have been frustrated by the absence of coverage. And have tried to renew interest in the subject.
Today, in a midtown theater, a group of opponents is premiering a 45-minute documentary, "Sacrificed Survivors: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega-Mosque." The movie is being distributed by the Christian Action Network. While many scenes relive the events of September 11, 2001, others depict, over an ominous score, a number of prominent mosques around the world that had been -- according to the producers -- Christian or Jewish houses of worship at an earlier time.
"Islam builds on what it conquers," says one man. "And this has happened for, I guess, hundreds of years."
One of the people promoting the movie is Andy Sullivan, a former professional karate fighter who's worked in the construction business for 30 years. He's even helped build two mosques, he said.
"I got plenty of Muslim friends," he said. "My kids grow up half a block from a mosque in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. That's a very, very huge populace of Muslims, in Bay Ridge. As a matter of fact, they call it Bay-root, now," he said, with a laugh.
But he was outraged at the proposed location for Park51 and said many Muslims he knows are also against the project. In recent months he organized a boycott by construction workers, who said they wouldn't work on the site. He also organized a boycott of celebrities who've endorsed the project, including John Cusack, Mayor Bloomberg, Stephen Colbert and Justin Bieber, who Sullivan claims gave the go-ahead to Park 51 in an interview with Tiger Beat magazine. Sullivan sayid regardless of Bieber's not-so-advanced age, his children will no longer attend Bieber's concerts.
"Are my two kids going to derail the Bieber machine?" asked Sullivan. "I don't think so. But it hurts. He said something that clearly hurt my kids, and hurt me. So, if you're gonna say statements that hurt, be prepared. There's gonna be fallout."
While the people behind Park51 say they've been engaging with 9/11 family members, others dispute that. Rosaleen Tallon is the sister of Sean Patrick Tallon, a firefighter who died on 9/11. She said the vast majority of family members oppose the project.
"Imam Rauf went on CNN and stated that they'd met with family members. And maybe they were a token group of people who supported the mosque. But there was never a major outreach to 9/11 family members. But of course, you wouldn't reach out to a group that you already knew the feelings of."
Although they haven't been out demonstrating, opponents of the project have been seething over news that Park51 has applied for funding from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is taxpayer supported.
"So we are supposed to supply the seed money for a Ground Zero mosque?" said Pamela Geller, a leading opponent of the mosque. "You can't make this stuff up."
Geller had planned the first anti-Park51 protest in months, for Tuesday. But, in a shift from earlier protests, which drew thousands of people to Ground Zero, this one was going to be smaller, at a committee hearing on Wal-Mart held by the City Council. Geller said she wants to highlight the hypocrisy, as she sees it, of council members failing to oppose Park 51, but continuing to place roadblocks before Wal-Mart.
"That you would keep [Wal-Mart] out, ban them, and yet, the very idea of a Ground Zero Mega Mosque is extolled, and those who suffer -- not only the 9/11 families, but all Americans who were attacked that day, and all of America was attacked that day -- are derided, and called racist, Islamophobic, anti-Muslim bigots, because of the pain that they're suffering, it's outrageous."
As it turns out, the Wal-Mart hearing was postponed until next month, so the protest will have to wait.
"Whenever it is," she promised, "we'll be there."
But last week, the imam returned to the spotlight with a press release announcing a project known as the Cordoba Movement. The announcement, he said, was directed at supporters of Park 51, "to expand upon the birth of a movement which happened this summer, with the thousands of people who rallied around us from all 50 states of the union and as many countries across the world and all six [sic] continents."
Echoing the thoughts of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others, the imam thinks the furor over Park51 had more to do with pre-election hype that flared before November's midterm elections and a campaign of misinformation by opponents and less to do with genuine grassroots opposition.
The issue, he said, "was not really our location."
"What happened this summer was really the rise of Islamophobia in America," he said. "Because there were three, four, five other centers at the same time -- real mosques that were planned, that were also attacked at the same time."
Still, the imam thinks he could've managed the controversy more skillfully, primarily by engaging with 9/11 families earlier, "and in a much more robust manner."
Now, he claims those discussions are taking place. And he's set to hit the lecture circuit at Harvard, Yale, the University of North Carolina and other institutions. At the same time, his wife, Daisy Khan, has been speaking in public. Last week, she addressed Rabbis for Human Rights about what she sees as a nationwide campaign against Islam.
"We are inviting people who consider themselves to be moderates and progressives," she told the audience, "and they can be people of all beliefs and no beliefs, against the extremists who tend to dominate the discourse."
Organizers are vague about how much money has been raised for Park51. Some claim nothing has been raised, others, like Daisy Khan, simply say it's very early in the fundraising process. But the ultimate goal remains $100 million, of which they hope to have $8 million in hand by June. They say the project's eventual nonprofit status means all financing will be completely transparent.
The plan calls for a 15 or 16 story building, with two separate sections, one with the mosque, the other containing a community center with a swimming pool, wellness center, culinary school and restaurant and a 500 seat auditorium. Park51 supporters say these services are primarily aimed at the lower Manhattan community, rather than Muslims. But there's also talk of partnering with a Muslim domestic violence group and offering programming that draws secular Muslims as well as more devout ones. The mosque and community center would not only have separate entrances, say supporters, but separate sets of board members as well.
While the people behind Park51 have consciously avoided the media these last few months, opponents have been frustrated by the absence of coverage. And have tried to renew interest in the subject.
Today, in a midtown theater, a group of opponents is premiering a 45-minute documentary, "Sacrificed Survivors: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega-Mosque." The movie is being distributed by the Christian Action Network. While many scenes relive the events of September 11, 2001, others depict, over an ominous score, a number of prominent mosques around the world that had been -- according to the producers -- Christian or Jewish houses of worship at an earlier time.
"Islam builds on what it conquers," says one man. "And this has happened for, I guess, hundreds of years."
One of the people promoting the movie is Andy Sullivan, a former professional karate fighter who's worked in the construction business for 30 years. He's even helped build two mosques, he said.
"I got plenty of Muslim friends," he said. "My kids grow up half a block from a mosque in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. That's a very, very huge populace of Muslims, in Bay Ridge. As a matter of fact, they call it Bay-root, now," he said, with a laugh.
But he was outraged at the proposed location for Park51 and said many Muslims he knows are also against the project. In recent months he organized a boycott by construction workers, who said they wouldn't work on the site. He also organized a boycott of celebrities who've endorsed the project, including John Cusack, Mayor Bloomberg, Stephen Colbert and Justin Bieber, who Sullivan claims gave the go-ahead to Park 51 in an interview with Tiger Beat magazine. Sullivan sayid regardless of Bieber's not-so-advanced age, his children will no longer attend Bieber's concerts.
"Are my two kids going to derail the Bieber machine?" asked Sullivan. "I don't think so. But it hurts. He said something that clearly hurt my kids, and hurt me. So, if you're gonna say statements that hurt, be prepared. There's gonna be fallout."
While the people behind Park51 say they've been engaging with 9/11 family members, others dispute that. Rosaleen Tallon is the sister of Sean Patrick Tallon, a firefighter who died on 9/11. She said the vast majority of family members oppose the project.
"Imam Rauf went on CNN and stated that they'd met with family members. And maybe they were a token group of people who supported the mosque. But there was never a major outreach to 9/11 family members. But of course, you wouldn't reach out to a group that you already knew the feelings of."
Although they haven't been out demonstrating, opponents of the project have been seething over news that Park51 has applied for funding from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is taxpayer supported.
"So we are supposed to supply the seed money for a Ground Zero mosque?" said Pamela Geller, a leading opponent of the mosque. "You can't make this stuff up."
Geller had planned the first anti-Park51 protest in months, for Tuesday. But, in a shift from earlier protests, which drew thousands of people to Ground Zero, this one was going to be smaller, at a committee hearing on Wal-Mart held by the City Council. Geller said she wants to highlight the hypocrisy, as she sees it, of council members failing to oppose Park 51, but continuing to place roadblocks before Wal-Mart.
"That you would keep [Wal-Mart] out, ban them, and yet, the very idea of a Ground Zero Mega Mosque is extolled, and those who suffer -- not only the 9/11 families, but all Americans who were attacked that day, and all of America was attacked that day -- are derided, and called racist, Islamophobic, anti-Muslim bigots, because of the pain that they're suffering, it's outrageous."
As it turns out, the Wal-Mart hearing was postponed until next month, so the protest will have to wait.
"Whenever it is," she promised, "we'll be there."
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