American Values-Gary Bauer-MOSQUE MONEY

Perhaps the most important unanswered question about the Ground Zero mosque just got answered. ABC News reported yesterday that Oz Sultan, a spokesman for the Ground Zero mosque, refused to rule out funding from Saudi Arabia or Iran to build the planned $100 million mega-mosque. That ought to raise red flags – even for those who support the mosque.

As I have outlined in this daily report, there is a lot of concern about just how moderate Imam Feisal Rauf truly is. He refuses to condemn the terrorist group Hamas. He blamed America for the 9/11 attacks, saying, “Osama bin Laden is made in the U.S.A.” And there’s more.

The New York Post reported this week that Rauf’s late father, Mohammed Rauf, raised millions of dollars from “individuals and governments in 46 nations” to build New York’s first mosque. What was taught in that mosque? Consider this from the Post’s report:


“In October 2001, the mosque’s imam, Sheik Muhammad Gemeaha, blamed the 9/11 attacks on Jews. He then immediately resigned and returned to his native Egypt. The next month, his replacement, Imam Omar Saleem Abu-Namous, said he needed proof that Islamic extremists were behind the attack.”

Feisal Rauf, who leads a mosque 12 blocks away from Ground Zero, has served on the board of his father’s mosque for years. His spokesman won’t categorically reject money from the extremists in Saudi Arabia or the Holocaust-denying regime in Iran.

The Left insists this debate is about tolerance and religious freedom. But should America’s freedom of religion tolerate a foreign power building religious sites at places of honor? For most Americans, the instinctive answer is “NO!”


The Bi-Partisan Opposition Grows

Speaker Nancy Pelosi can add two more names to her list of mosque critics to investigate. Yesterday, Governor Pat Quinn (D-IL) was asked about the Ground Zero mosque. He said:


“I’ve been to Pearl Harbor. I laid a wreath at Pearl Harbor. I’ve been to Auschwitz. I laid a wreath at Auschwitz. I’ve been to Ground Zero, and I laid a wreath there. I do believe that there are special places on Earth that should have a zone of solemnity around them. I would strongly urge those who are thinking of putting a mosque within that zone to rethink their position.”

Quinn was joined in his opposition by former Democrat National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who told WABC Radio, “We have to understand that [the mosque] is a real affront to people who lost [loved ones]… I think another site would be a better idea.”