Cordoba House

Ground Zero mosque imam tied to co-conspirator in terror-funding trial

The Council on American-Islamic Relations wants you to believe those who oppose a Cordoba House * at Ground Zero are bigots. It is CAIR’s modus operandi to cry “bigot” and then release a statement to the press:

Why is all this bigotry and hatred being employed to stop the construction of a community center that will house recreational and banquet facilities, meeting rooms, an auditorium — and yes, a prayer space for Muslims and people of other faiths? … The constitutional rights of American Muslims must not be left in the hands of those who exploit and promote fear of the “other” and use the same divisive tactics that have harmed so many other societies throughout history. — Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, July 22, 2010

Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf heads the Cordoba Initiative that seeks to build a 15-story mosque, “cultural center,” and Islamic “fun center” overlooking Ground Zero. He advocates for replacing our Constitution with sharia law, to take away religious freedom from all non-believers in Islam. His Cordoba House is an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to plant sharia’s flag over where genocide was committed and brave American heroes fell.

Among those individuals and organizations named as un-indicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation case were: Jamal Badawi (“Founding incorporator of the Muslim American Society“); Islamic Society of North America, aka ISNA; North American Islamic Trust, aka NAIT; Islamic Association for Palestine in North America, aka IAP; and Council on American Islamic Relations, aka CAIR.

The ISNA and IIIT funded and privately distributed Imam Rauf’s book, with his permission, to Islamic centers around the country:

Click here to view and download the two-page pdf

The Holy Land Foundation:

After more than 15 years of investigation and two trials, the Holy Land Foundation and five of its former organizers were found guilty of illegally funneling more than $12 million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Hamas was spawned by the Muslim Brotherhood; Imam Rauf repeatedly refused to denounce either of those terrorist organizations.

In part, here is why CAIR and the ISNA were designated co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation trial:

Documents posted at the Counterrorism Blog confirm that Nihad Awad, a leader of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), was present during an infamous 1993 meeting held in Philadelphia by senior leaders of Hamas, the Holy Land Foundation, and the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP). The Holy Land Foundation is currently on trial on charges of providing financial support for Hamas and the IAP is generally considered to have represented the Hamas infrastructure in the U.S. A widely reported FBI memo based on wiretaps of the meeting indicated that its purpose was “to develop a strategy to defeat the Israeli/Palestinian peace accord, and to continue and improve their [HAMAS] fund-raising and political activities in the United States.” Mr. Nihad was an employee of the IAP at the time of the meeting and until now, FBI documents only referred to Nihad LNU (last name unknown). As the CT blog notes, Awad had been asked about his attendance at the meeting during a civil lawsuit and said the didn’t think that he had but that he didn’t remember. The next summer, he was videotaped stating ‘I am in support of the HAMAS movement’ during a seminar at Miami’ Barry University. The impact of these revelations on CAIR is not clear but it the origins of the organization in the U.S. Hamas infrastructure has been known for some time and it is doubtful whether this additional piece of evidence will be enough to unseat the organization in the eyes of many as a prominent organization representing U.S. Muslims that has been engaged by parts of the U.S. government.

We will not be silenced by those who seek to impose religious discrimination — sharia law — here in America: Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, the Muslim Brotherhood, and an Islamist mouthpiece at CAIR.

——

* Note — While it has been announced the proposed Cordoba House mosque and Islamic Cultural Center has changed its name to ’51 Park Place’, they have yet to figure out what to rename the 7-year old Cordoba Initiative.

Sarah Palin on Facebook about Ground Zero mosque: An Intolerable Mistake on Hallowed Ground

Last night on her Facebook page [see note below], former governor Sarah Palin wrote this:

Earlier today, Mayor Bloomberg responded to my comments about the planned mosque at Ground Zero by suggesting that a decision not to allow the building of a mosque at that sacred place would somehow violate American principles of tolerance and openness.

No one is disputing that America stands for – and should stand for – religious tolerance. It is a foundation of our republic. This is not an issue of religious tolerance but of common moral sense. To build a mosque at Ground Zero is a stab in the heart of the families of the innocent victims of those horrific attacks. Just days after 9/11, the spiritual leader of the organization that wants to build the mosque, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf, suggested that blame be placed on the innocents when he stated that the “United States’ policies were an accessory to the crime that happened” and that “in the most direct sense, Osama bin Laden is made in the USA.” Rauf refuses to recognize that Hamas is a terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of our ally, Israel, and refuses to provide information about the sources of funding for the $100 million mosque. Rauf also plays a key role in a group behind the flotilla designed to provoke Israel in its justifiable blockade of Gaza. These are just a few of the points Americans are realizing as New York considers the proposed mosque just a stone’s throw away from 9/11’s sacred ground.

I agree with the sister of one of the 9/11 victims (and a New York resident) who said: “This is a place which is 600 feet from where almost 3,000 people were torn to pieces by Islamic extremists. I think that it is incredibly insensitive and audacious really for them to build a mosque, not only on that site, but to do it specifically so that they could be in proximity to where that atrocity happened.”

Many Americans, myself included, feel it would be an intolerable and tragic mistake to allow such a project sponsored by such an individual to go forward on such hallowed ground. This is nothing close to “religious intolerance,” it’s just common decency.

We thank Governor Palin.

America was attacked on 9/11, not “merely” Manhattan, some planes, a few big buildings, or Ground Zero.

Yes, we the families of 2,976 people bore the brunt, buried our dead, and memorialized the hundreds and hundreds that to this day have not been found to lay to rest. Yet we had our Nation right there with us as we endured and felt millions and millions of hands helping us to our feet.

We did not choose that day — September 11, 2001.

We will never forget, back down, or stand alone in defense of America’s sacred ground.

——-

Note — July 22, 2010: Facebook is investigating what may very well turn out to have been a concerted effort to trigger the take-down of Sarah Palin’s original Facebook post. She has re-posted it there and added this note at the end of it:

“The original post of this statement (on July 20, 2010) was somehow unintentionally deleted by mistake or technical glitch.”

Politico reports, “Neither Facebook nor Palin’s camp was immediately sure what happened, but automated systems for reporting abuse have been used effectively in the past to take aim at political speech.”