Imam Rauf

9/11, Cordoba House, El-Gamal, Ground Zero, Imam Rauf, mosque

Ground Zero Mosque Property Developer Comes Out

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Over at The Weekly Standard, Stephen Schwartz has the video of Ground Zero mosque promoter and building owner Sharif El-Gamal being interviewed yesterday by CNN. In part, Schwartz had this to say about it:

“Nearly every statement El-Gamal made in this video can be rebutted.”

I’ll add two points to those of Stephen Schwartz.

From June 21 – 28, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,183 New York City registered voters over the proposal to build a Cordoba House “Muslim mosque and cultural center two blocks from Ground Zero” They were asked, “Do you support or oppose this proposal?” The Quinnipiac University Poll found New York City voters opposed the mosque there 52 – 31 percent.

Why should anyone now believe Mr. El-Gamal about the financing of the mosque and cultural center? He said yesterday, “We will do extreme due diligence … and, ah, we plan on being very transparent.” When El-Gamal was offered an opportunity to be “very transparent” about the Cordoba House * back on May 17, 2010, he hid behind his lawyers. In addition, a recent news report stated (paraphrasing here yet I will find the link) the group will establish a not-for-profit group that will protect its donors.

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* 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.

9/11, Cordoba House, Ground Zero, Imam Rauf, ISNA, Michael Bloomberg, mosque, Muslim Brotherhood, Sarah Palin, Tim Brown

Ground Zero imam tied to ‘un-indicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial’

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The New York Daily News reports that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended his aide’s response to former governor Sarah Palin weighing in on the proposed Ground Zero mosque:

Andrea Batista Schlesinger, a former head of the left-leaning Drum Major Institute who is now a policy aide to Bloomberg, fired back on her Twitter page. “Mind your business,” Schlesinger wrote, followed a moment later with, “Whose hearts? Racist hearts?” She later deleted the tweets, saying she regretted her “curt response,” but stuck up for the proposed Islamic cultural center — just like her boss. Bloomberg said he didn’t agree with Batista Schlesinger that Palin was baiting racists, “But I certainly agree that freedom of speech is just as important as freedom of religion,” he added.

When Mayor Bloomberg is right, he’s right.

Last night, on Fox 5 TV in New York City, retired FDNY firefighter and 9/11 survivor Tim Brown of theBravest.com and 64th District Leader Paul Newell discussed the Cordoba House * mosque:

In case you did not fully catch Paul Newell’s filibuster, he asked, “You are calling Imam Rauf a Muslim terrorist?”

Tim Brown replied, “I did not.”

Mr. Brown added:

“Today, we tied Imam Rauf to the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Society of North America … the ISNA is an un-indicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial.”

Yet instead of taking Mayor Bloomberg’s sage advice to allow freedom of speech, Mr. Newell tried to drown Mr. Brown out with Islamophobe-baiting. You would think Mr. Newell would be at least curious about how Rauf is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and the ISNA.

Are you curious?

If so, stay tuned for the answer.

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* 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.