The proposed Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero will have a new leader, the organization behind the project announced Friday, according to an article yesterday at DNAinfo by Ben Fractenberg.

The previous spiritual leader, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, will take a reduced role to focus on other projects, including a national speaking tour promoting tolerance between faiths, the article said.

"Due to the fact that Imam Feisal is focusing most of his energies and passion on launching this new and separate initiative, it is important that the needs of Park51, the Islamic community center in lower Manhattan, take precedence," the organization said in a statement Friday.

"Our focus is and must remain the residents of Lower Manhattan and the Muslim American community in the Greater New York area," it said, adding that it now has a new Imam acting as senior adviser, Abdullah Adhami.

Adhami has reportedly preformed guest lectures at the proposed center site and said in a statement that "This is an extraordinary opportunity to be a key advisor on a project going forward that has enormous creative and healing potential for the collective good in New York City and in our nation."

An article by Paul Vitello in today's edition of The New York Times said that "long-simmering tensions between co-founders of the proposed Islamic center and mosque led to a parting of the ways" and "the break-up sent ripples of uncertainty through a community of religious and political leaders who rallied last summer at the side of Mr. Abdul Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan, when opponents assailed the plan to build near the site of the 9/11 attacks."

The article said that the announcement of the split by Sharif el-Gamal, the real estate investor who owns the building at 51 Park Place, took Mr. Abdul Rauf by surprise."

The proposed center became a national controversy over the summer after critics said it was insensitive to build an Islamic center so close to Ground Zero.

"We are very excited about the next phase of Park51 and the challenging work ahead," Mr. El-Gamal, the Trustee and President of Park51 said. "It is an honor for me personally to welcome Imam Adhami to our team. I look forward to his leadership and assistance in the development of Park51."

An Associated Press article today said that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf will be playing a reduced role in the facility, adding that he "announced late this fall that he would be starting a global movement that would fight extremism and promote better relations between people of different faiths and cultures" and that "he is set to start a national speaking tour Saturday in Detroit.

The backers of the community center and mosque are planning on replacing a defunct clothing store two blocks from ground zero with a 13- to 16-story building that would hold athletic facilities, a day care center, art galleries, an auditorium for cultural events, a 9/11 memorial and a prayer space with room for a congregation of about 1,000, the article said.