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US sends Ground Zero mosque imam to Middle East

The Obama administration has been criticised for sending to the imam behind controversial plans for a mosque next to the site of the September 11 attacks to the Middle East.

Ground Zero mosque: too close for comfort?
Linda Rivera holds up a sign in opposition to the proposed mosque Credit: Photo: AP

"Imam Feisal (Abdul Rauf) will be travelling to Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) on a US government-sponsored trip to the Middle East," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.

"He will discuss Muslim life in America and religious tolerance."

Imam Feisal is behind plans for an Islamic centre that includes a mosque, sports facilities, a theatre and restaurant that would be open to all visitors to demonstrate that Muslims are part of their New York community, planners say.

But the proposed location, two blocks from the gaping Ground Zero hole, where the Twin Towers were destroyed by Al-Qaeda terrorists on September 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people, has touched raw nerves.

And the imam's trip under the auspices of the State Department is being criticised by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Peter King, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee.

"It is unacceptable that US taxpayers are being forced to fund Feisal Abdul Rauf&£8217;s trip to the Middle East," the pair said in a joint statement.

"Abdul Rauf has cast blame for 9/11 on the US, and even refuses to call Hamas what it is - a foreign terrorist organization," they said.

"This radical is a terrible choice to be one of the faces of our country overseas. The US should be using public diplomacy programs to combat extremism, not endorse it," they said.

"The State Department's selection of Feisal Abdul Rauf to represent the American people through this program further calls into question the administration's policy and funding priorities," they added.

When Mr Crowley announced the trip at the daily State Department briefing, he described Imam Feisal as a moderate who has already made two similar government-sponsored trips to Arab and Muslim countries.