Last year, his plans to build an Islamic center two blocks from ground zero put New York Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf at the center of a national controversy. This weekend, the Sufi Muslim is in Charlotte to speak to a national gathering of Unitarian Universalists.
The firestorm over Cordoba House at Park 51 - the official name for the center - has subsided. His efforts to build it continue, though.
In an interview with the Observer Thursday, Rauf said the project is still in the money-raising phase; plans call for a community center that could rise 13 stories and cost $150 million. The important thing, Rauf said, is "the dream is still alive. Whether it happens there, whether it happens at another place, it's going to happen."
A moderate imam who has worked with leaders of other faiths, Rauf, 63, has condemned terrorism, but also criticized American foreign policy. He was born in Kuwait and came to America at age 17 in 1965.
A sampling of what he said.
On his plans for the Cordoba House: "My vision, which I've had for the last 20 years, is to establish a kind of YMCA-type center which is open to everybody. Just like the Christians started the YMCA and the Jews started the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. ... These centers are very important in establishing interfaith relations between faith communities. We felt our time has come to establish a community center that speaks not only to issues of American Muslims who are in the process of finding their American legs but also in establishing the kind of relationships between the American Islamic community and the American non-Muslim faith communities, where there are a lot of shared values."
On the charge that moderate Muslims aren't speaking out to condemn terrorist acts: "Our acts of condemnation aren't newsworthy. And they don't get the same coverage as the actions of those we condemn."
On what Muslims can do to address fears about them: "Meet non-Muslims, explain to non-Muslims what our faith is all about. Be friendly. Dress in an American way. Don't do things that, even if allowable, are likely to arouse hostility. The Prophet (Muhammad), for example, at the very beginning of his mission, did not perform the noon and afternoon prayers in a loud voice because this would offend the sensitivities of the people against him in Mecca."
On Islamic or 'Sharia' law: "Just like many aspects of the Bible are practiced, many aspects of Sharia law are practiced. ... Sharia law is quite specific in that it requires Muslim minorities to obey the law of the land."
On his hopes for the democracy movement in Arab countries: "My conviction - and my experience, having lived in different parts of the Arab world as well - is that people (there) want to live the way we live in this country. Basically, they want a government that serves the people ... rather than belonging to the elite."
On his belief that Muslim women will soon emerge with enhanced roles: "What's happening in the Arab and Muslim world today is like what happened in American and Western developed countries, say, 50 years ago. As countries become more prosperous ... women get empowered, economically and in terms of education. You see that shift happening. Look at the Gulf States and Iran. Two-thirds of the college students are women. Within another half generation to a generation, you're going to see major shifts in the role of (Muslim) women."
