Who is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf? Part I

[witness23]

Link: Who is Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf? | Media Matters for America

Throughout the debate over the Islamic community center set to be built near ground zero, conservative media have repeatedly conflated all Muslims with violent extremists. Moreover, they have explicitly smeared Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is spearheading the project, as a radical Muslim who supports terrorists, when in fact, Rauf has a long history of condemning terrorism, promoting pluralism, and arguing that the true meaning of Islam involves democracy, religious freedom and women's rights.


Rauf is known for moderate, pluralistic views
Rauf is pluralistic adherent of Sufism, which is frequently attacked by extremists. Historian William Dalrymple wrote in an August 16 New York Times op-ed that "Feisal Abdul Rauf of the Cordoba Initiative is one of America's leading thinkers of Sufism, the mystical form of Islam, which in terms of goals and outlook couldn't be farther from the violent Wahhabism of the jihadists." Dalrymple further stated that "such moderate, pluralistic Sufi imams are the front line against the most violent forms of Islam." Dalrymple added that "Sufi leaders risk their lives for their tolerant beliefs" and went on to list several recent attacks on Sufis by the Pakistani Taliban.

Rauf: "I am a supporter of the State of Israel." The New York Times noted on August 21 that Rauf "is often described as having refused to call Hamas" a "terrorist organization." When asked about the Hamas designation in a radio interview, Rauf stated:

Well, I'm not a politician. ... The issue of terrorism is a very complex question. ... I am a bridge builder. My work is ... I do not want to be placed nor will I accept a position where I am the target of one side or another. My attempt is to see a peace in Israel. ... Targeting of civilians is wrong. It's a sin in our religion, whoever does it. ... I am a supporter of the State of Israel.

Rauf's Cordoba Initiative states on its website: "Hamas is both a political movement and a terrorist organization. Hamas commits atrocious acts of terror. Imam Feisal has forcefully and consistently condemned all forms of terrorism, including those committed by Hamas, as un-Islamic."

NY Times: Rauf is "pro-American within the Muslim world." The New York Times reported on August 21 that Rauf "consistently denounces violence. Some of his views on the interplay between terrorism and American foreign policy -- or his search for commonalities between Islamic law and this country's Constitution -- have proved jarring to some American ears, but still place him as pro-American within the Muslim world. He devotes himself to befriending Christians and Jews -- so much, some Muslim Americans say, that he has lost touch with their own concerns."

Bush administration sent Rauf on State Department trip in 2007. In an August 10 press briefing, Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley addressed the State Department travel program in which Rauf is participating, noting that its purpose is to promote "religious tolerance" and provide Muslim countries with a "moderate perspective" of being "Muslim in the United States." Crowley noted:

For Imam Feisal, this will be his third trip under this program. In 2007, he visited Bahrain, Morocco, the UAE and Qatar. And earlier this year in January, he also visited Egypt. So we have a long-term relationship with him. His work on tolerance and religious diversity is well-known and he brings a moderate perspective to foreign audiences on what it's like to be a practicing Muslim in the United States. And our discussions with him about taking this trip preceded the current debate in New York over the center.

Rauf worked with FBI agents in 2003. The New York Daily News reported on March 11, 2003, (accessed via Nexis) that Rauf spoke to FBI agents "as part of an FBI effort to present agents who are the ground troops in the war against terrorism with a view of Islam that avoids stereotypes." From the Daily News article:

In an office in lower Manhattan yesterday blocks from Ground Zero, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf talked about his Muslim beliefs to an unusual audience -- a roomful of FBI agents.

"Islamic extremism for the majority of Muslims is an oxymoron," he explained to the agents. "It is a fundamental contradiction in terms."

Rauf -- imam of the Masjid al-Farah mosque of Tribeca -- was speaking as part of an FBI effort to present agents who are the ground troops in the war against terrorism with a view of Islam that avoids stereotypes.

[...]

Rauf made clear Islam's image has been distorted by radical fundamentalists who insist on strict adherence to their interpretation of the Koran and impose a fascistic order on certain countries.

"It can happen under any religion," he noted.

He insisted Islam has a historic kinship with both Judaism and Christianity, a relationship of which not only Americans but many Muslims are unaware.

Rauf said "strict prohibition on charging interest" has caused Muslim world to lag behind. Rauf wrote in his book, What's Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West:

It is ironic that enormous good has come from the inventions of banking and the corporation -- two practices that were once major sins in all the Abrahamic faith traditions: charging interest for moneylending and eliminating the obligation to fully repay one's debt. But these two institutions combined with the emergence of modern liberal democracy to radically improve the fortunes of the Western world. The beginnings of modern capitalism -- made possible by the limited liability company and its ability to borrow money and invest it in highly profitable but risky ventures without completely wiping out its owners' assets -- led to the creation of enormous wealth and fueled the rise of the West to economic dominance, which continues to this day. Not being able to accept these ideas is one of the primary reasons the Muslim world lagged behind the West and the Asian Pacific nations, which did not have to contend with the religious compunctions that held the Muslim world back. The problem was that Muslim jurists equated any amount of interest, no matter how small, with usury, which the Quran absolutely forbids. This strict prohibition on charging interest still prevails in the Muslim world and has largely prevented it from robustly developing the financial market's institutions of banking, capital markets, and stock exchanges -- the foundations of capitalism. [Pages 3-4]

Rauf's view of true Islam: Democracy, religious freedom, gender equality. In a June 5, 2009, Washington Post op-ed, Rauf praised Obama's Cairo speech and wrote: "The question now is whether Muslim governments and warring factions can embrace the true meaning of Islam." Rauf further stated that "[a]dherence to Islam would end indiscriminate firing of missiles from Gaza into Israel that kill innocents" and that "Islam supports democracy with government run by consent of the people":

Religious freedom is at the core of Islam. The Quran expressly and unambiguously prohibits the coercion of faith because that violates a fundamental human right -- the right to a free conscience. The Quran says in one place "There shall be no compulsion in religion." And in another it says, "To you your beliefs and to me, mine."

The Prophet Muhammad has been known as the first feminist. "The best of you are those who are best to their women," he said. Gender equality is an intrinsic part of Islamic belief. The Quran makes no difference in the religious obligations of men and women and set the stage for women's rights. Many of the limits placed on women in Muslim societies are due to local custom more than to Islamic teaching.

Rauf: We need to stop "the utilization of government policy and power to forward a particular religious agenda." During a 2006 appearance on ABC News' Good Morning America, Rauf stated that "when political issues or -- government policy becomes a -- means of fulfilling a religious agenda, that's where the danger lies." Rauf added:

RAUF: We have to do this both in the West as well as in the Islamic world. There is too much of the linkage. When we talk about separation of church and state, for instance, it is not that there should be no state religion, because Britain has a state religion. There is a state, an English state religion. The issue is the de-linking of the utilization of government policy and power to forward a particular religious agenda. And that is the issue which needs to be dealing with.