re: #164 davesax

Does this really sound like a radical Islamist to you? On Faith Panelists Blog: Center an attempt to prevent the next 9/11 - Feisal Abdul Rauf

The center will be open to everyone, not just Muslims. That is our mission - to provide common ground for people of all faiths.

Freedom of religion is something we hold dear. It is the core of what America is all about, and it is what people worldwide respect about our country. The Qur’an itself says compulsion in religion is wrong.

One of our goals is to encourage all countries that now shut out religions to understand this.

American Muslims want to be both good Americans and good Muslims. They can be the best assets the US has in combating extremism. They know that many American values — freedom of religion, human dignity and opportunity for prosperity — are Muslim values too.

We believe that people of good faith can use the common core of their religions to find solutions to problems that will let them live together. The genius of America has been to overcome fear and bigotry against newcomers with different religions to welcome the energy of the immigrant. I am confident that will happen again.

I have been the imam at a mosque in this same neighborhood in New York for 27 years. I am as much a part of this community as anyone. That is why I enjoy local support of my neighbors who wonder why outsiders are twisting my record. My work is precisely to make sure mosques are not recruiting grounds for radicals.