Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf appeared on CNN last night, on the Larry King Show. Interviewed by Soledad O’Brien, he spoke of how he has served his community. The video is below.
Strangely – considering how the president had argued at an iftar dinner on Friday August 13 that it was Rauf’s right to build a mosque, and considering he has been a paid emissary of the State Department, the imam spoke of the Separation of Church and State. Around 3.23 in the video, while discussing the media interest in the “Ground Zero Mosque”, the following exchange took place.
Soledad O’Brien: [Referring to the reactions to the ground Zero Mosque proposal] Do you think it’s been politicized?
Feisal Abdul Rauf: Absolutely! This is very dangerous and tragic for two reasons. Reason number one is that it goes against the fundamental American principle the Separation of Church and State. This concept of separation of religion and politics, or church and state, has a wisdom behind it, and the purpose behind it is not to politicize religion, because when you politicize religion it is dangerous.
Soledad O’Brien: But ultimately, when you look at the polls, something like seventy one percent of Americans think that, even though there’s a right to build there, a center that will include a mosque and other things which we’ll talk about in a minute, the wisdom of it may not be there. Is that political, or is that just people saying that sensitivity-wise, it’s the wrong thing to do?
Feisal Abdul Rauf: I am extremely concerned about sensitivity. But I am also concerned about responsibility. If we move from that location, the story will be….. that the radicals have taken over the discourse. The headlines in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack. And I’m less concerned about the radicals in America than I am about the radicals in the Muslim world.
Soledad O’Brien: But isn’t that also saying you’re less concerned about the voices of opposition here?
Feisal Abdul Rauf: No – I don’t mean it that way. I meant it that – the danger from the radicals in the Muslim world than our national security, to the national security of our troops. I have a niece who works in the army in southern Iraq. The concern for American citizens who live and work and travel overseas will increasingly be compromised if the radicals are strengthened and if we do, it will strengthen the argument of the radicals to recruit, politically to recruit, and their increasing aggression and violence against our country.
Soledad O’Brien: There are Ground Zero families that I’ve spoken to, who are on all sides of the debate, I mean they’re not all of one voice, as I’m sure you know, and they’ve said: “And what about me? I can’t find my son’s body, and they want to build a mosque on the spot where he might be.”
Feisal Abdul Rauf: Well first of all, this is not that spot – this is not Ground Zero proper. This is outside that. No-one’s body is in that location. I am very sensitive to those feelings. As an imam, as any religious person does, we have to minister to the pain and hurt to our congregations and our ministry and our communities. And it is part of our intention – which is why we are reaching out more to 9/11 families, which is why we would like to have a memorial in this center for 9/11 families, we have not finalized all our plans yet. We are willing to sit down and engage and do something, that will help us heal. You cannot heal a trauma by walking away from it. We have to sit down and talk about it, have a dialog about it, find a way to move through and beyond it.
As pointed out by Big Peace, the suggestion that his words about the radicals in the Muslim world: “his words can have only one meaning: Build this mosque or face the wrath of radical Islamists.”
At the start of his CNN interview (1.00), Rauf referred to how the location of the proposed mosque was chosen. He said:
“What happened was that Sharif el-Gamal, the owner of SoHo Properties, a member of my congregation, had noticed how the need for prayer space had been expanded. He felt a commitment to do something for his community and he found this particular building, and he negotiated it, acquired it, and offered it for us to use and to establish a center that would be the space for a vision that I’ve had for over a decade of over fifteen and almost twenty years, which is to establish a space which embodies the fundamental beliefs that we have as Jews, Christians, Muslims, which is to love our God and to love our neighbor.”
Sharif El-Gamal did not raise the money for the former coat factory’s $39 million mortgage on his own. He relied upon the backing of an Egyptian-born inhabitant of New York, called Hisham Elzanaty. As reported on New York’s Fox 5 News, Elzanaty, who owns a string of medical companies, made a $6,000 contribution to the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) charity in 1999. In 2001, HFL was designated as a terrorist entity, and in 2008, five members of HLF were convicted of funding terrorism. HLF had been one of many front groups used to fund-raise for the terrorist group Hamas.
Elzanaty (pictured) claims that when he made his donation, he was not aware that the charity channeled funds to Hamas.
(Imam Rauf would gain more trust if he finally comes clean and condemns Hamas as a terror organization. His failure to do so will always confirm suspicions that he is a supporter of a more radical Islamist agenda than he admits to.)
Meanwhile, according to Associated Press, Hisham Elzanaty appears to be deciding that his commercial interests come above defending the existence of a mosque near Ground Zero. He is now prepared to sell his main share in the property, if he gets a higher offer. He has already had offers three times the £4.8 million that he paid. He said:
“I'm a businessman. This was a mere business transaction for me. Develop it, raze it, sell it. If someone wants to give me 18 or 20 million dollars today, it's all theirs.”
Sharif el-Gamal has apparently presented himself as the driving force of the mosque plans, and as the leading investor and the person responsible for decisions concerning the development of the former Burlington Coat Factory (Park 51). On CNN last night, Imam Rauf appeared to confirm that impression. Hisham Elzanaty has also given that impression. However, Associated Press approached el-Gamal’s spokesman Larry Kopp to find out what el-Gamal’s position is. Kopp claimed el-Gamal would not comment over the ownership.
If Elzanaty does sell his share of the investment, there is always the concern about who would buy him out. Already, as I wrote here, potential investors from Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia have been involved with a group (“Related Companies”) that has made a bid for control of the proposed 1,776 foot “One World Trade Center” or “Freedom Tower”, to be built on the site of Ground Zero.
In too many cases throughout the world, money for high-profile mosques has come from Saudi Arabia. Some of these mosques – such as the East London Mosque – has welcomed Saudi imams, such as Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, who supports Hamas and has condemnedJews as “monkeys and pigs”, “rats of the world” and the “offspring of apes and pigs.” The East London Mosque was also where one individual worshipped who would threaten America. On Christmas Day 2009, this individual, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, tried to detonate his explosive-laden underwear on a plane bound for Detroit.
If Hisham Elzanaty does sell his share in the property, the identity of the bidder who buys that share must be known.
So far, many people in the American establishment seem to believe whatever Imam Rauf tells them. If Imam Rauf cannot bring himself to condemn Hamas, he cannot be regarded as trustworthy promoter of “interfaith” harmony, and certainly he should not be paid to act as America’s emissary abroad.
Feisal Abdul Rauf was the son of Egyptian Imam and Sunni scholar Muhammad Abdul Rauf (1917–2004) who was related to Muslim Brotherhood jihadi Abdul Munim Abdul Rauf who attempted to assassinate Nasser in 1954. As a result the Brotherhood was made illegal in Egypt. Following this Rauf and five other Brothers were executed, and four thousand Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested. President Nasser would be exposed to three more assassination attempts before he died of a heart attack on September 28, 1970.
posted by: ajweberman Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 09:29 AM
How could anyone but an idiot trust ANYBODY involved with the muslims? How much proof do we need to know they are our ENEMY? Just knowing how they treat women would be enough for me to keep them out of our country but our whores in congress and other high offices are rooting for them or don't have the GUTS to resist!
posted by: Bud Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 10:04 AM
I wrote the following to CNN's Soledad Obrien:
Soledad O’Brien was a wonderful interviewer of Imam Rauf, allowed us to "see" him. However, I would have liked her to ask the following questions, as well as questions that might have been asked by an apostate, such as Walid Shoebat or Nonie Darwish.
• “Why have you chosen the name ‘Cordoba Initiative’ and ‘Cordoba Mosque?’†Here’s what the world should have heard in reply: "Spain was ruled by the Visigoth King Roderigo when Muslims (Moors) conquered Spain. Muhammad ibn Abhallah feigned agreement to peace (taqiyyah mandated in the Koran) during the conflict and then killed and beheaded the king, parading his head on a pole for all to see, and sent it to the Caliph of Damascus. A compulsive murderer, he killed 800 Jews. He was also a lecherous bandit and pedophile with 16 wives, the youngest being age 9. It was then that the Spanish learned their lesson – more quickly than the Persians, Byzantines, and Jews – and set to reconquering (La Reconquista) their country, but didn’t succeed until 1492. "In the meantime, Christians and Jews were made to pay the jizya tax, and were drafted for slave labor to demolish churches and build mosques. This included demolishing the Visigoth church and replacing it with the Cordoba Mosque, after which Imam Rauf wants to name the Ground Zero mosque, both symbols of triumph. The conquered people were forbidden from carrying weapons, riding horses, wearing shoes, ringing church bells, wearing green, proclaiming the divinity of Jesus, holding public office, testifying in court, and marrying Muslim women., "It is Muslim law to never have peace with Jew or Christian for more than 10 years, and to use that time to prepare for the next onslaught in a never-ending jihad against infidels. This was also the first time that Jews were forced to wear yellow badges for identification, the precursor to the Nazi rule during the Holocaust."
• Is this "Golden Era of Islam" what you are hoping to restore - but in America? • Are you as eager to bring churches and synagogues to the Middle East as you are to bring this mosque to NYC? And did you not once call it a caliphate? • You are threatening America with another terrorist attack if we don’t acquiesce to an Islamic mosque on Ground Zero; isn’t that what Sharia law is all about? • You called Americans Sharia-compliant. Wouldn’t your coercing us to give up this land be a form of Sharia-compliance? • You once said you will install Sharia law. Will that include stoning, beheading, amputation, honor killing, genital mutilation? These are NOT in the US Constitution, so how will you accomplish this? • American did nothing to “earn†the first terrorist attack, and what reasons do you have for the 16,000 jihad attacks worldwide (against 5 religions) since 9/11? • You speak about the Florida pastor burning the Koran, but do you speak out when Muslims burn the American and Israeli flags or bibles in celebration? • If you truly have in mind an interfaith edifice, why would you continue to call it a mosque and why fashion it in typical Islamic architecture?
posted by: Tabitha Korol Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 10:59 AM
Considering that the koran instructs muslims to lie to infidels to further the aims of islam, can ANY imam be trusted?
posted by: Dick Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 01:46 PM
Great questions, Ms.Korol. I'd love to hear the Imam answer them too. Would I trust this man? Yeah...about as far as I could throw him.
posted by: June Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 02:21 PM
Sadly, there are only a very few muslims you can trust, so beware!!!
posted by: The Legend Friday, September 10, 2010 at 03:19 AM
DO NOT TRUST ANY MUSLIM , AND DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING THEY SAY .They are commanded by the q;ran to lie to non muslims and to pretend friendship and peace. This is known as taquia , and the ground zero mosque is a FITNA . or direct provocation ,as posted by Nancy kennan on this forum .
posted by: ARNOLD CARL TAPP Friday, September 10, 2010 at 12:16 AM
I wouldn't go as far as to say, "Do not trust any Muslims". Some of them really are peaceful and just want to live a normal life in America. I think anyone who has authority to purchase land to build mosques should have their motives looked into as these mosques could be issues of National Security. I just wish liberals weren't so blind to what is really going on here.
posted by: Cat Friday, September 10, 2010 at 03:30 PM
I'm afraid the Muslims will attack us regardless of whether they build the mosque or not.
posted by: Roy Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 09:43 AM
