And why not? If the infidels are willing to let someone with Imam Rauf's background build a mosque at Ground Zero, why not ask them to pay jirzya for it?
Earlier this month, Sharif El-Gamal, the waiter-turned-developer for the Ground Zero Mosque applied for around $5 million in federal grant money set aside for the redevelopment of lower Manhattan after the 9/11 attacks.
(note: the article linked to is by The Daily Beast’s John Avlon, who's sympathy and approval of the Ground Zero Mosque are apparent)
The application was submitted under a “community and cultural enhancement” grant program administered by the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation (LMDC), which oversaw $20 billion in federal aid allocated in the wake of 9/11 and is still currently doling out millions in remaining taxpayer funds for 'community development'.
While Imam Rauf and the Ground Zero Mosque's developers had a right to apply according to the grant guidelines - religious organizations can apply “as long as the request is for a facility or portion of a facility that is dedicated to non-religious activities or uses”- I doubt very many non-Mulsims are going to be allowed freely into the facility unless they're prospective reverts. Non-Muslims are ordinarily only allowed into mosques by invitation.
And the question remains...if the Ground Zero Mosque is supposed to be dedicated to healing wounds and building interfaith bridges, why needlessly antagonize people not only by building a mega-mosque at Ground Zero but by making them pay for the privilege?
The answer of course is that the Ground Zero Mosque was never intended to 'build bridges' but to be a symbol of Islamist triumphalism, especialy given Imam Rauf's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Will they get the grant? Hard to say.
The normal range for these grants is between $100,000 and $1 million, so a $5 million request suggests that Imam Rauf and his friends are pushing the envelope just to see what they can get.
And also, the grant criteria requires a demonstration of the project's financial feasibility. The Ground Zero Mosque is projected to cost $100 million to build, and unless Imam Rauf's recent trip to the Muslim world at the State Department's expense was very successful and he can show concrete proof of that, the mosque won't meet HUD guidelines, which are based on project completion rather than start-up.
On the other hand, we have a president who favors the Ground Zero Mosque ( depending on what week it is) and who has said that he considers one of his main jobs while in office to defend Islam.
Some strings might very well end up being pulled.
Stay tuned..
The textbook definition of Chutzpah!
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