The morning of September 11, 2001 dawned clear and crisp over New York City, as tens of thousands of commuters made their way to work. Around mid-morning, this mundane scene was marred by the unbelievable sight of a huge airliner flying into one of the World Trade Center towers, followed shortly thereafter by another airliner flying into the second tower. The wrenching scenes that followed — of people jumping out of the burning buildings to their deaths a thousand feet below, of a huge smoke cloud obscuring the World Trade Center, of the twin towers burning and collapsing in pancake fashion to the ground — will never leave us.

Many terrorist attacks on the U.S. have been attempted since 9/11; nearly all have been thwarted. Yet less than 9 years later, less than 600 feet from where 19 radical Islamists flew two airliners into the World Trade Center, killing 3,000 innocent Americans, the Islamic assault on America is being ratcheted up. The American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA), and its sister organization, The Cordoba Initiative, purchased the old Burlington Coat Factory building at Park Place and Broadway last December for $4.85 million. ASMA was founded, and is led by, New York City Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. The Cordoba Initiave was founded by Rauf and former Aspen, Colorado Mayor and Aspen Institute CEO, John S. Bennet. Their goal is to raze the building, replace it with a 15 story mosque to look down on the site of Ground Zero and to hold the grand opening on September 11, 2011, 9/11′s 10th anniversary.

ASMA and the Cordoba Initiative presented the strangely named Cordoba House Project (after the supposed Golden Age in medieval Cordoba, Spain where Jews and Christians allegedly lived harmoniously with their oppressive Muslim rulers) on May 5th at a public meeting to the Community Board of Lower Manhattan (CB1) whose 12 members unanimously approved it. Committee Chairman Ro Sheffe summed up the bizarre thinking of CB1′s members stating, “I think [the Cordoba House] will be a wonderful asset to the community.” Even more troubling, it was reported that “not one person from the community [who] came to the meeting was in opposition….”  Daisy Khan, Cordoba Initiative board member and Rauf’s wife, has stated that the project has received little opposition. The project is expected to cost about $100 million. [1]

However, support for the Cordoba House goes well beyond CB1, right to the office of New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Strangely, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs supports the project. What’s the connection between “Immigrant Affairs” and the project? It’s also been reported that there have already been numerous illegal construction complaints at the site which have been ignored. Nevertheless, the site already serves as a mosque; every Friday afternoon, an Imam leads prayers in the building. Should the project be completed, between 1,000 and 2,000 Muslims are expected for prayer every Friday. [2]

The funding for the project is the key element in the mystery. Where is the money to construct a $100 million mosque going to come from? On the ASMA web site, under “Financial statements–Year Ending 06/30/09,” under the category “Temporarily Restricted Net Assets,” various organizational donors are listed. They are: the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) — $53,664, Millennium Development Goals (MDG3) –$481,942, Hunt Alternatives Fund — $15,000, Carnegie Corp. of New York — $122,000, Rockefeller Brothers Fund — $50,000 and Qatar Government Fund — $576,312 for total donations of $1,298,918. On the MGD3 Fund website, it states, “The MGD3 Fund invests in equality and in improving rights and opportunities for women and girls” and “on property and inheritance rights for women; gender equality in employment and equal opportunities on the labour market; participation and representation of women in national parliaments and political bodies; and combating violence against women.” Given these goals, why is the MGD3 Fund supporting a project designed to strengthen a religion that offers very few rights to women?

In addition, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund is listed as supporting the project to the tune of $50,000. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund was begun in 1940, by David, Winthrop, Nelson, Laurance, and John D. Rockefeller III, and it has a long history of supporting the leftist agenda. At the beginning of WWII, Nelson Rockefeller leased naval fueling stations in Venezuela to the Nazis; in 1942 his actions were described as treasonous by Senator Harry Truman.

However, the funding listed above is only about 1.3% of the project’s total cost. Where is the remaining $98-$99 million going to come from? Neither ASMA nor the Cordoba Initiative has divulged this information. Nevertheless, “…a significant percentage of the mosques built in the USA in the past two decades are receiving a disproportionate amount of their funds not only from the Saudis, but from the UAE, Qatar, and Iran.” The Qatar Government Fund is listed above as a contributor, and its likely that Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Malaysia (with a large Muslim population where a Cordoba Initiative office is located) are contributing substantial amounts. [3]

The driving force behind the project is Feisal Abdul Rauf. In a calm and reassuring voice, Rauf has stated that all religions are welcome at Cordoba House, and that interfaith understanding and tolerance are, and will be fostered. Don’t believe it.

Rauf’s father, Dr. Muhammad Adbul Rauf, was a contemporary of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna and was a radical Islamist. He became the head of the Islamic Cultural Center in Washington DC and founded three Malaysian Islamic Studies programs, including the International Islamic University of Malaysia. Feisal has followed his father’s plan for Islamic expansion in the United States. He is currently the Imam at Masjid Al-Farah Mosque at 245 W. Broadway, New York City, a scant 12 blocks from Ground Zero. Masjid Al-Farah is located between two bars. Why? Recently, the New York State Liquor Authority has notified three businesses on W. Broadway that it will revoke their liquor licenses based on the state’s alcohol beverage control law. After local residents told the State Liquor Authority of the existence of Masjid Al-Farah last May, the SLA began investigating local bars. One bar owner’s bid for a liquor license has been denied and he has claimed a loss of $13,000 per month as a result. Rauf is also the Imam of the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury, New York which includes the Crescent School at 835 Brush Hollow Road. Anti-Christian and anti-Semitic textbooks were used at the school. When pressured about their hateful content, Rauf stated that the use of the books would be discontinued. As of 2007, the books were still in use.  [4]

Presently, Rauf has written a slick, disingenuous book, What’s Right with Islam: A New Vision of Muslims and the West, in which he blames the West for the Islamic assault on America and has also stated that the West must act to end jihad. He tries to equate the freedom that Americans have in the United States with life under Sharia law. For example, he calls America ”a Sharia compliant state,” and says that “the American Constitution and system of governance uphold the core principles of Islamic law” and that “for America to score even higher on the ‘Shariah Compliance” scale, America would need to…allow religious communities more leeway to judge among themselves according to their own laws.” [5]

However, America is in no way ”a Shariah compliant state.” Sharia law has always denied the rights of women and non-Muslim minorities, while non-believers are given a choice of death or conversion and Jews and Christians are treated as dhimmis — second classs citizens. In the so-called ”Golden Age” of Muslim-ruled Spain, Jews and Christians were required to pay jizya – a poll tax — often collected in a humiliating manner for the right to live and worship behind closed doors. In stark contrast, in 1790, George Washington told the congregation of the Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI that every man and woman in America has the right to worship under their own “vine and fig tree” free from the fear of persecution. America ended slavery in 1865; Islam still allows it. In addition, Rauf conveniently fails to mention that in 1805, President Thomas Jefferson sent an American Naval squadron to the Mediterranean to protect American merchant ships from Muslim pirates sailing from North Africa.

Under Sharia law, individuals are not at liberty to think for themselves. Women are inferior to men to the point of being counted as half a man in matters of evidence and inheritance. As dhimmis, non-Muslims “must wear distinctive clothing, and must mark their houses, which must not be built higher than those of the Muslims…they must yield the way to Muslims; they must not scandalize the Muslims by openly performing their worship or their distinctive customs, such as drinking wine; they must not build new churches, synagogues, and hermitages, they must pay the poll tax under humiliating conditions….” [6]

In What’s Right with Islam, Rauf doesn’t acknowledge the cruel conditions Islam imposes on dhimmis and further states, “Core Islamic values overlap with core American values.” No, they don’t. He also criticizes America for not always living up to its ideals. Okay, America isn’t perfect — but when has Islam ever changed?

Rauf further betrays his hostile intentions towards America when he states, as quoted above, “America would need…to allow religious communities more leeway to judge among themselves according to their own laws.” Is Rauf implying that American Muslims be allowed to change U.S. law to suit themselves or be allowed to ignore it entirely? Thoughtful readers will conclude that he is.

Building a mosque close to Ground Zero is entirely in keeping with the Islamic ideals of conquest, domination, and humiliation. It is also entirely unacceptable and unnecessary. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg needs to withdraw his support for the project, and respect those who were murdered, those who lost loved ones, and all those who suffered and sacrificed at Ground Zero on 9/11. Not surprisingly, some 9/11 families are offended by the proposed mosque. As Rosemary Cain of Massapequa, Long Island, whose son, firefighter George Cain, was killed on 9/11, stated, “I think its despicable. That’s sacred ground. How could anyone give them permission to build a mosque there? It tarnishes the area.” [7]

Footnotes

1. Jackson, Joe & Hutchinson, Bill. “Plan for mosque near World Trade Center site moves ahead.” New York Daily News. May 6, 2010.

2. Ibid.

3. “Pittsburgh’s Key Role in Israel’s Birth,” article by author, Jewish Chronicle, April 30, 1998; “Exclusive: Spitting in the Face of Everyone Murdered on 9/11,” by Gadi Adelman

4. Rauf, Feisal Abdul. “What’s Right with Islam: A New Vision of Muslims and the West.” Harper Collins, 2004.

5. Schacht, Joseph. “An Introduction to Islamic Law.” Oxford University Press, 1983.

6. Wariq, Ibn. “Why I am Not a Muslim.” Prometheus Books, 2003.

7. Jackson, Joe & Hutchinson, Bill. “Plan for mosque near World Trade Center site moves ahead.” New York Daily News. May 6, 2010.

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