Daisy Kahn, the founder with her husband, Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf, of the proposed Islamic cultural and community center and mosque at 45 Park Place, two blocks away from Ground Zero, vowed to go ahead with the project and called it a "history making moment" in the fight against "Islamophobia," according to an article by Jennifer Fermino in today's edition of The New York Post.
The article said that she said in an interview with Sally Quinn in The Washington Post that that the increased opposition, "which she blamed on Republicans, has only caused organizers to become more committed." The controversy has "only strengthened our supports," the article continued, adding that she said that "None of them have caved. They are circling the wagons around us. They know they could be next. We have too important a moment to back down. We have to take our opponents and transform them. We have to convince people that not all Muslims are extremists."
She said that she and her husband have received death threats and said that the organizers "will have a dialogue with the families of 9/11 victims, adding that "this whole thing has turned into the opposite of what we have envisioned."
In a separate article in the same edition, Tom Topousis reported that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, calling the Ground Zero mosque plan "divisive," called on the iman behind it to drop it or move to another location. In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Mr. Giuliani said that "the reality is that right now, if you are a healer, you do not go forward with this project."
An article in yesterday's edition of The New York Times by Javier C. Hernandez said that "Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in New York, said Wednesday that he would gladly help mediate the proponents and critics of an Islamic center and mosque planned for a site two blocks from Ground Zero." He said it was his "major prayer" that a compromise could be reached, "and that while he had no strong feelings about the project, he might support finding a new location for the center."
An article from Cairo in today's edition of The Times by Thanassis Cambanis said that Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf, the organizer of the planned center arrived in Bahrain to begin a three-country tour of the Persian Gulf sponsored by the United States State Department, but the department "refused to divulge details of his schedule of speeches and meetings, which are part of a program to promote interfaith tolerance."
The article said that the trip will cost the State Department about $16,000 and that the department sends about 50 religious figures each year to lecture about tolerance and interfaith dialogue as part of its speaker program.
The department, the article continues, "distributes copies of Iman Feisal's book 'What's Right With Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West" translated into Arabic.
The article said that she said in an interview with Sally Quinn in The Washington Post that that the increased opposition, "which she blamed on Republicans, has only caused organizers to become more committed." The controversy has "only strengthened our supports," the article continued, adding that she said that "None of them have caved. They are circling the wagons around us. They know they could be next. We have too important a moment to back down. We have to take our opponents and transform them. We have to convince people that not all Muslims are extremists."
She said that she and her husband have received death threats and said that the organizers "will have a dialogue with the families of 9/11 victims, adding that "this whole thing has turned into the opposite of what we have envisioned."
In a separate article in the same edition, Tom Topousis reported that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, calling the Ground Zero mosque plan "divisive," called on the iman behind it to drop it or move to another location. In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Mr. Giuliani said that "the reality is that right now, if you are a healer, you do not go forward with this project."
An article in yesterday's edition of The New York Times by Javier C. Hernandez said that "Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in New York, said Wednesday that he would gladly help mediate the proponents and critics of an Islamic center and mosque planned for a site two blocks from Ground Zero." He said it was his "major prayer" that a compromise could be reached, "and that while he had no strong feelings about the project, he might support finding a new location for the center."
An article from Cairo in today's edition of The Times by Thanassis Cambanis said that Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf, the organizer of the planned center arrived in Bahrain to begin a three-country tour of the Persian Gulf sponsored by the United States State Department, but the department "refused to divulge details of his schedule of speeches and meetings, which are part of a program to promote interfaith tolerance."
The article said that the trip will cost the State Department about $16,000 and that the department sends about 50 religious figures each year to lecture about tolerance and interfaith dialogue as part of its speaker program.
The department, the article continues, "distributes copies of Iman Feisal's book 'What's Right With Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West" translated into Arabic.
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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