The man behind the mosque near ground zero:  Who is Feisal Abdul Rauf?

New York – A week after 9/11, Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam of a mosque close to the still-smoldering World Trade Center ruins, invited other religious leaders to his regular prayer service. He was trying to show that Islam is a welcoming faith, not an angry one.

“It was his attempt to show hospitality to New York,” recalls Matthew Weiner, who is Jewish and was at the service that day. “That vision is kind of what led to Cordoba House - the idea of creating a space for Muslims that showed hospitality to others,” says Mr. Weiner, who is the director of programs at the Interfaith Center of New York.

But Mr. Rauf’s vision has not been received as warmly in all corners. The plans of the Cordoba Initiative, for an Islamic community center and mosque 2-1/2 blocks from ground zero, have attracted plenty of detractors. They’ve focused on a “60 Minutes” interview from late that fateful September in which Rauf said, “US policies were accessory to the crime that happened.” He added, “In the most direct sense, Osama bin Laden is made in the USA.”  Read Article

By Ron Scherer