Ground Zero Mosque

Candor on funding needed from Ground Zero mosque--Editorial - NYPOST.com 

Yesterday's unanimous vote by the city Landmarks Preservation Com mission cleared the last municipal impediment to construction of a 13-story mosque and community center just blocks from Ground Zero.

But important questions linger.

The vote, which denied landmark protection for a building that must be demolished to make way for the mosque, was hailed by Mayor Bloomberg and others as an affirmation of religious liberty of a peculiarly American sort.

As, of course, it was.

Just imagine the city fathers of, say, Riyadh so graciously clearing the way for construction of a 13-story cathedral in the Saudi capital.

Feisal Abdul Rauf

As if.

Indeed, such a notion renders risible criticism of the sort leveled by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, among others, before the vote.

CAIR had denounced opponents of the projects as "bigots and extremists."

That's pretty rich, coming from an organization that in 2007 was named an unindicted co-conspirator in connection with a plot to support the terrorists of Hamas -- and that has seen several of its former officials and staffers convicted on terror-related charges.

Fact is, the project has drawn opposition from a lot of level-headed folks -- most particularly families of 9/11 victims.

Let's be clear: Muslim Americans have a right to worship where they please. And that includes a site in the shadow of Ground Zero, if they so insist.

Clearly, though, this is a complicated issue.

The 9/11 mass murder, after all, was committed in the name of Islam.

Moreover, as Dan Senor of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote in The Wall Street Journal, whatever the project's stated goals, "in the minds of many who are swayed by the most radical interpretations of Islam . . . it will be celebrated as a Muslim monument erected on the site of a great Muslim 'military' victory."

And that's why the question of who precisely will pay to build the $100 million project is so compelling.

At first, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf insisted the funds would be raised entirely from the Muslim-American community.

But then he told an Arabic-language newspaper in Britain that funding would also come from Arab countries.

And it should be noted that Rauf's father was the long-time director of the Islamic Center of New York, which built the mosque on Third Avenue and 96th Street -- a project funded primarily by the governments of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations.

Now, the Saudis openly fund mosques abroad, spreading the radical Wahhabi strain of Islam, as a means of pacifying their own home-grown radicals.

So it would be particularly troubling if Rauf's funding comes from abroad -- particularly from Riyadh.

Especially given his own disturbing ties to figures like Hossein Mahallati, Iran's former UN ambassador and an unabashed supporter of Hamas.

Not to mention Rauf's own pointed refusal to label Hamas a terrorist organization -- and his statement, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, that "United States policies were an accessory to the crime that happened."

Which is why he and those behind the mosque project owe it to all New Yorkers to make their plans and -- especially -- their finances fully transparent, now that they've effectively been given a green light to build.

If, as he says, he means to be a force for reconciliation, Rauf must begin by demonstrating to New Yorkers that he has no ties to those who support global terrorism -- either ideologically or financially.

It is a place of sacrifice. A place of mourning. A place people pass by on their way to grab lunch. It’s a place where tourists crane their necks to snatch a glimpse around barriers walling off an enormous construction site — which is also what it is.

Ground zero.

Depending on whom you talk to, it’s a scar on this city where horror still lingers, a bustling hive symbolizing the resilience of a nation, or simply, for those who live and work nearby, a place where life goes on.

In recent weeks, as debate has raged over the placement of a planned Islamic cultural center and mosque a couple of blocks from the construction, Americans have been reminded of just how many people lay claim to this place, the focal point for all those who have a stake in the legacy of Sept. 11.

Almost everyone has a stake.

1

Visitors to downtown Manhattan take pictures of a cross made of steel beams from the World Trade Center in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

2

Construction continues at the World Trade Center site in New York. Ground zero - depending on whom you talk to, it's a scar on this city where horror still lingers, a bustling hive symbolizing the resilience of a nation, or simply, for those who live and work nearby, a place where life goes on. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) #

3

A street vendor, left, selling photo albums with images from Sept. 11, 2001 points to the site of one of the photographs in the book to a family visiting the World Trade Center site Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

4

Pedestrians walk past a building reflecting the World Financial Center and construction at the World Trade Center site in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

5

People talk on cell phones on Nassau St. in New York on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

6

With a large photograph of the area posted in the background, people make their way down escalators at the World Trade Center Path train station in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

7

A double decker tourist bus makes it's way down Broadway as a Century 21 shopper places her shopping bags into a taxi on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010 in New York. Ground zero - depending on whom you talk to, it's a scar on this city where horror still lingers, a bustling hive symbolizing the resilience of a nation, or simply, for those who live and work nearby, a place where life goes on. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

8

A visitor to the World Trade Center site looks through the fence surrounding the construction. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

9

Construction workers take their lunch break on Washington St. in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

10

Pedestrians make their way across Church St. at Vessey St., Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 in New York. Ground zero - depending on whom you talk to, it's a scar on this city where horror still lingers, a bustling hive symbolizing the resilience of a nation, or simply, for those who live and work nearby, a place where life goes on. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

11

Laborers hoping to help rebuild the World Trade Center site hold a rally in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file) #

12

Timothy Leonard, left, explains to a group of students why his is in favor of the proposed Islamic cultural center two blocks from the World Trade Center site, Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

13

A tourist from India photographs her family standing in front of building construction at the World Trade Center site, Friday, Aug. 27, 2010 in New York. Ground zero - depending on whom you talk to, it's a scar on this city where horror still lingers, a bustling hive symbolizing the resilience of a nation, or simply, for those who live and work nearby, a place where life goes on. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) #

14

Tommy Gillilans, left, of Madison, N.J., points out landmarks to Dyana Reynaga, center, and Mercedes Berrios as they walk down Broadway.(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

15

Commuters wait for a bus on Church St. in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

16

A child rides his bicycle on the waterfront promenade at the World Financial Center Plaza in New York on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010. Ground zero - depending on whom you talk to, it's a scar on this city where horror still lingers, a bustling hive symbolizing the resilience of a nation, or simply, for those who live and work nearby, a place where life goes on. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) #

 

Backlash of Debate on Ground Zero Mosque: Clash of Cultures On a crisp November day in 2009, the cemetery on the hill received its first guest — a 28-year-old stonemason killed in a car accident two days earlier. Solemnly his Sufi Muslim brethren buried him beneath a vibrant green headstone — the color of the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani order, which runs a 50-acre farm and mosque here in Sidney Center, N.Y. They prayed for him to rest in peace. But that was not to be. Instead of peace, the burial ignited a war — one that would erupt nine months later, hurling Sidney into the national spotlight, bitterly dividing some residents while transforming others who say things will never be the same. It began quietly enough last summer, after a second burial in the cemetery. At the height of a national debate about a mosque near ground zero, the town Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to investigate the Sufi graves on Wheat Hill Road. The Sufis had followed proper procedures. But that didn’t deter town Supervisor Robert McCarthy from calling the graves illegal and suggesting the bodies might have to be disinterred. “You can’t just bury Grandma in the backyard under the picnic table,” he said. With that, McCarthy, a 70-year-old retired businessman, became a poster child for Muslim-bashing everywhere. MSNBC host Keith Olbermann denounced him as “worst person in the world.” Locals watched in horror as Sidney was branded as Islamophobic, backward and ignorant. “I felt so ashamed of my town,” said jeweler Richard Cooley. And then those feelings changed. For in the days and weeks that followed, a spirited sense of mission seemed to surge through Sidney, 150 miles north of New York City. People reached out, not only to Sufis, but to each other. They set up websites, bonded on Facebook, launched petitions to investigate town government. Though the board hastily dropped the cemetery issue, people packed into the civic center for a chaotic meeting where — as more than a dozen Sufis looked on — they yelled at town leaders, demanding an apology.

1

Hans Hass, spokesperson for the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani order, looks out onto their land in Sidney Center, N.Y. The town was thrust into the spotlight in Summer 2010 after a controversy over Muslim gravesites, bitterly dividing some residents while transforming others who say their lives and their town will never be the same. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

2

Hans Hass pauses at the grave of Yunus Tanveer Iqubal at the Sufi cemetery on the grounds of the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani dergah (Sufi center) in Sidney Center, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

3

Sufi Muslim Erkan poses for a photograph at the farm on the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani property in Sidney Center, N.Y. The town was thrust into the spotlight in Summer 2010 after a controversy over Muslim gravesites, bitterly dividing some residents while transforming others who say their lives and their town will never be the same. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

4

Jamaal Reyes tends to a Jersey cow at the farm at the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani property in Sidney Center, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

5

A customer exits Trackside Dining, a popular diner in Sidney, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

6

A Muezzin sings as Sufi Muslims participate in a Friday prayer service at the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani dergah (Sufi center) in Sidney Center, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

7

Sheik Abdul Kerim al-Kibrisi, center, is surrounded by his followers during a Friday prayer service at the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani dergah (Sufi center) in Sidney Center, N.Y. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

8

Sheik Abdul Kerim al-Kibrisi, 54, participates in a Friday prayer service at the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani dergah. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

9

Sufi Muslims participate in a Friday prayer service at the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani dergah (Sufi center) in Sidney Center, N.Y. The town was thrust into the spotlight in Summer 2010 after a controversy over Muslim gravesites, bitterly dividing some residents while transforming others who say their lives and their town will never be the same. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

10

Tom Schimmerling, an attorney representing the local Sufi Muslim community, yells "McCarthy must go!" at the end of a heated Town Hall meeting where residents and members of the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani order, asked for an apology from the Town Board, led by McCarthy, after an injunction was ordered for their cemetery. The town was thrust into the spotlight in Summer 2010 after a controversy over Muslim gravesites, bitterly dividing some residents while transforming others who say their lives and their town will never be the same. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

11

Residents attend a Town Hall meeting in which the Sufi cemetery injunction was addressed. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

12

Meryem Brawley, a Sufi Muslim resident of the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani dergah (Sufi center), addresses the Sidney Town Board during a town hall meeting. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

13

Town Supervisor Robert McCarthy, left, looks on at a Town Hall meeting where an injunction against a nearby Sufi cemetery was addressed. At right is Town Clerk, Lisa French. The town was thrust into the spotlight in Summer 2010 after a controversy over the Muslim gravesites, bitterly dividing some residents while transforming others who say their lives and their town will never be the same. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

14

A bridge leading to Sidney, N.Y., where an injunction against a nearby Sufi cemetery was ordered and debated at a Town Hall meeting that evening. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth) #

Candor on funding needed from Ground Zero mosque--Editorial - NYPOST.com