Arun Venugopal

Yesterday, during a press conference held by Muslim leaders, voicing support for Park51, one of the organizers, Zaheer Uddin, noted that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf hadn't attended their one-day summit on the project. Security concerns, according to Uddin, had kept Rauf away. According to CNN, he's now avoiding New York City and is getting protection from the NYPD.

National and local Muslim leaders held a one-day summit on Park 51 Monday, voicing support for the proposed mosque and Islamic community center. The group released a statement, saying its signatories "stand for the constitutional right of Muslims, and Americans of all faiths, to build houses of worship anywhere in our nation as allowed by local laws and regulations."

There was a time when the immigration policies of various European countries might have seemed well outside the purview of a humble blog such as this, but Park 51 has changed all that. After all, the star of the September 11 rally opposing Park 51 was Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician whose Freedom Party has rapidly gained power on the basis of his anti-Islamic proposals, including taxing headscarves and banning the Koran. The prime organizer against Park 51, Pam Geller, also helps run Stop Islamization of America, part of a network of groups that includes Stop Islamization of Europe, Stop Islamization of Denmark (and England, and France, etc.).

So Americans are now participating in a much broader debate on the integration of Muslims into Western society.

Think your train's crowded? Try standing in line for five days just to board a train -- that's how bad the crowds are in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year for the 120 million-odd migrant workers who want to travel home for the holidays each year.

The Anti-Defamation League caused a firestorm when it came out in opposition to the Islamic Center near Ground Zero. It claimed, with a rationale that has become common among critics, that while the developers had the right to build there, it was not right to build there. Many people in the interfaith community felt ADL had betrayed its core values.

Last week, the ADL surprised a few more people by announcing creation of an Interfaith Coalition on Mosques. From the release:

More problems for Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam behind the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero: He's being sued by Union City, New Jersey, for failing to maintain a 16-unit apartment building he owns there. Union City spokesman Mark Albiez says Rauf would qualify as one of the city's three worst landlords.

I've only recently started eating at Shake Shack, and have fallen hard for their frozen custard (the blueberry, so very creamy). And after generally avoiding beef for years, I've made return trips for their cheeseburgers, which I've concluded are superior to those of Five Guys — certainly less unwieldy.

The imam spoke before a crowd for the first time since returning from a two-month trip abroad. He addressed members of the media and the Council on Foreign Relations, but he left plenty of questions unanswered.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf did admit that if he had known the planned development would result in such a furor, he wouldn't have chosen to build at that site and might have had different stakeholders in this project.

At about 11:05 this lazy Sunday morning, I had a sudden, seizing revelation: Fall for Dance tickets had gone on sale, just 5 minutes earlier. I tossed my almond croissant down on the table and ran to my computer. A few seconds later, I was on New York City Center's Web site, only to discover that I was Number 2,578 on the waiting list.

Who had the bigger turnout?

That's the issue I'm grappling with right now -- whether there were more people at the rally and march supporting Park 51, or the rally just a couple blocks away opposing it. A few weeks ago, there was no question that opponents outnumbered supporters, perhaps two (or even three) to one, and had a far more sophisticated setup: a proper stage and soundsystem from which rock music blared, and a crowd armed with eye-catching signs. The supporters, on the other hand, had just a handheld megaphone and a stool that speakers stood on, to address the crowd.

Just in case you missed it, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf emerged from his two-month silence on Park 51 with this op-ed in the NYT:

We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community, government at all levels and leaders from across the religious spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right thing to do for many reasons.

 

A day before classes begin, dozens of students rallied outside the Department of Education to protest against the behavior of school safety officers. Tenth-grader Angie Hernandez was one of several speakers who say officers talk down to students, and assume the worst.

Regardless of one's politics, among the most arresting images from the whole Park51 furor was the sign that proclaimed "SHARIA." Waved about by many opponents of Park51, its dripping, blood red letters made clear that for some, this controversy has little to do with real estate or proximity to Ground Zero. The larger fear is that radical Islam is plotting a stealth invasion of this country.

But this time, signs are a no-no.

A group known as the Majlis Ash-Shura of Metropolitan New York, aka the Islamic Leadership Council, braved the furious heat (remember, observant Muslims aren't even drinking water the...

I'm not sure whether the author of this piece  -- on the lack of American Muslim leadership over Park 51 -- was going for irony, but I must admit, it amused. From The American Muslim magazine:

Who speaks for American Muslims? So far, the bravest and strongest and most regularly heard voices on behalf of Muslims in this crisis have been Mayor Bloomberg and Jon Stewart who are both Jewish.

Christians, Jews and Muslims joined on the north end of Staten Island on Sunday for the 7th annual Interfaith Walk, organized by the Building Bridges Coalition.

Are hate crimes against Muslims preventing them from taking to the streets in support of Park51, the Islamic cultural center and mosque near the World Trade Center site? According to activists and demonstrators, violence and hate speech are among several reasons Muslims have not been as visible in their support for the project.

Groups backing Park51, the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near the World Trade Center site, have formed a coalition they're calling New York Neighbors for American Values.

At this weekend's dueling rallies over the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero, this much was clear: The opposition to the project is larger and much better organized. In addition to having at least double the turnout of supporters, opponents had a stage and soundsystem and proper, printed signs that conveyed something to people watching on their TV sets, anywhere in the world.