N.Y. Muslim cleric says Islam shouldn't be 'wedge issue' in U.S. politics
Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News
Detroit — A New York Muslim cleric who wants to build an Islamic center near Ground Zero said Saturday night he does not want to see Islam become a "wedge" issue in American politics.
"Our role right now is to depoliticize our faith not make it a wedge issue," Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf told a crowd of 400 people gathered for a Muslim diversity conference at the Detroit DoubleTree Hotel on Southfield Freeway service drive near Ford Road.
"We do not want our faith to be a wedge issue between Republicans and Democrats in this country. It must be a unifying aspect," said Rauf during the first stop of his national speaking tour.
The eventwas sponsored by the Islamic Society of North America and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan.
Rauf said "what we need now is a discourse about Islam and Muslims in America."
He said Muslims in America need to "shift the discourse" and need to work on becoming a "recipe for healing."
"How do we create this unity umbrella," said Rauf. "This is the challenge we have today."
He also urged Muslims to embrace the "oneness" of their faith even as they acknowledge their own racial, ethnic and faith differences.
Rauf's proposal for the new Islamic center in Manhattan has stirred controversy across the country. Opponents to the plan say Ground Zero is sacred and the mosque should not be built there.
Park51, the nonprofit group controlled by the developer of the Islamic center, announced Friday that Shaykh Abdallah Adhami would serve as a new senior adviser to lead religious programming in Rauf's absence.
Hours before his speech, some critics of Rauf held a screening of a film featuring interviews with survivors and relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Christian Action Network screened the "Sacrificed Survivors: The Untold Story of the Ground Zero Mega Mosque" at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn.
About 80 people packed a small room at the center to see the 45-minute film and hear some of the victims' relatives and survivors of the attacks speak after the movie's screening.
Michael Burke, the brother New York Fire Department Capt. William F. Burke Jr. who was killed when he went to the 27th floor of the North tower of the Wall Trade Center twin towers to rescue trapped people, attended the screening.
Burke said he does not want to see the Islamic center built near Ground Zero.
"It just seems inappropriate …insensitive," an emotional Burke said in aninterview. "It's almost seems intentionally insensitive."
"(The proposed center) imposes upon the sanctity of the site," said Burke.
Rauf's tour itinerary also includes stops in Chicago, Washington and San Antonio, and Rauf plans to speak at Harvard, Georgetown, Yale and the University of North Carolina. He said the tour will likely end in April.
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Asadullah Syed
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