Atlas Shrugs
Last week, the finance committee, composed of 12 people, voted unanimously in support the mosque after Imam Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan, made a presentation, no one knew about it, no announcement was The matter will now go to the full committee (more than 40 people). The full committee will be meeting on May 25. WE NEED YOU ALL TO ATTEND TO VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION.
CB1 has no legal authority. Their "approval" or disapproval is in no way binding on the matter, but the media will be there and we need to send a message to Rauf, Khan and Mayor Bloomberg: This is wrong. This will do terrible harm to the 9/11 family community.
CB1 has no legal authority. Their "approval" or disapproval is in no way binding on the matter, but the media will be there and we need to send a message to Rauf, Khan and Mayor Bloomberg: This is wrong. This will do terrible harm to the 9/11 family community.
5/25 CB #1 Monthly Meeting - 6:00 PMLocation: Three Legged Dog Art and Technology Center
80 Greenwich Street (at Rector Street)
Bill Doyle, 911 family member and father of the beloved Joey Doyle, 80 Greenwich Street (at Rector Street)
Plans have been announced to build a mega-mosque and cultural center at 45 Park Avenue, just 600 feet from the footprint of the north tower at the World Trade Center site. The building housed the Burlington Coat Factory, which was reportedly damaged in the attacks and which has stood vacant all these years. It's owners sold the building to Soho Properties for $4.85 million dollars in cash. Yes, CASH. Soho properties CEO Sharif Al-Gamal has not identified the company's other investors, but we know that one of them is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, founder of the Cordoba Initiative www.cordobainitiative.org. Rauf has ties to Gulf money and has received funding from the Malaysian government, the location of the largest Muslim population in the world. Malaysia embraces shariah law and has separate shariah courts. In January, three Christian churches were fire-bombed after a Catholic newspaper referred to the Christian God as "Allah." Rauf wrote that while this might have been legal, it was "socially inappropriate" because it upset the Muslim community, 60% of the population. He also maintains that the Prophet Mohammed was "the world's first feminist" and that the two biggest myths about Islam was that it promotes terrorism and that it oppresses women. He says the prophet Mohammed was "the world's first feminist." He embraces shariah law and says that it is a benign set of pious rules which are completely compatible with the U.S. Constitution.Rauf is the imam of the Masjid Al-Farah mosque, a storefront mosque in Tribeca. He and his wife, Daisy Khan, (executive director of the American Society for Muslim Advancement--founded by Rauf) have told the media that the mosque is needed in this location to meet the needs of the Muslim population there. They hope to "grow the Muslim community" in lower Manhattan. They specifically chose this site because of its proximity to ground zero. They want to change the narrative about 9/11. They contend that the 19 hijackers "were not Muslims." They believe building a mosque there would amount to "something positive" coming out of 9/11.
911 Mosque Facts Sheet: Arm Yourself with Facts:
Rauf has stated that the U.S. was complicit in the attacks because of its foreign policy which victimized Muslims. He maintains that terrorism will not end until the U.S. brokers a peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israel and the U.S. stops humiliating Muslims.
Rauf and Khan are saying that:
--the National September 11 Memorial and Museum Foundation has endorsed the plan. ABSOLUTELY FALSE
--Daisy Khan is an "advisor" to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum Foundation. FALSE. There is no formal relationship.
--300 Muslims were killed on 9/11. FALSE; around 20 have been identified. The victims were never identified anywhere by religion unless families did so. There is no evidence that 300 victims were Muslims.
--they are not building a mosque, just a prayer space and a cultural center. FALSE (see the description of Cordoba House here www.cordobainitiative.org; "...the mosque...")
The media incorrectly reported that Community Board 1 "approved" the plan at a meeting on May 5th. In fact, the finance committee, composed of 12 people, voted unanimously in support after Rauf and Khan made a presentation. The matter will now go to the full committee (more than 40 people). The full committee will be meeting on May 25. WE NEED YOU ALL TO ATTEND TO VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION. CB1 has no legal authority. Their "approval" or disapproval is in no way binding on the matter, but the media will be there and we need to send a message to Rauf, Khan and Mayor Bloomberg: this is wrong. This will do terrible harm to the 9/11 family community.
5/25 CB #1 Monthly Meeting - 6:00 PMLocation: Three Legged Dog Art and Technology Center
80 Greenwich Street (at Rector Street)
80 Greenwich Street (at Rector Street)
There will be a rally on June 6 at Ground Zero, specific location to be announced. Please send this info to everyone you know. Updates can be found at www.soia.com
Meanwhile, please write to Mayor Bloomberg to voice your objection. I would remind you that he is Chairman of the National September 11 Memorial Foundation and has donated some $15 million of his own money to the project. The Cordoba House will completely under the effort to preserve the history of 9/11 for future generations.
Contact -- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, City Hall. Write him every day:
PHONE 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)
FAX (212) 788-8123 The 12-member Financial District Committee who unanimously approved this abomination: GO HERE, BE POLITE.
And Community Board 1 Members who gave them the authority to do so: GO HERE, BE POLITE.
Email: man01@cb.nyc.gov
Telephone:
Fax: (212) 442-5055
Address:
49-51 Chambers Street Room 715
New York, NY 10007-1209
Staff
Noah Pfefferblit, District Manager
Michael Levine, Director of Planning and Land Use
Yume Kitasei, Community Liaison
Lucy Acevedo, Community Coordinator
Telephone:
Fax: (212) 442-5055
Address:
49-51 Chambers Street Room 715
New York, NY 10007-1209
Staff
Noah Pfefferblit, District Manager
Michael Levine, Director of Planning and Land Use
Yume Kitasei, Community Liaison
Lucy Acevedo, Community Coordinator
Media:
Rally Press Release Facebook Group Opposed at 20,000 and counting 
