The controversial remarks made by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in 2005, has been taken out of context, a US official has said. During a 2005 conference in Australia's Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Rauf had said, "We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than Al Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims."
Amid the widespread opposition against the planned mosque near Ground Zero in the United States, the cleric leading the effort to build an Islamic centre in New York may consider shifting its location from the controversial spot.
A controversial cleric, who is pushing for the construction of a multi-million dollar mosque near the site of fallen Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, is making an "outreach" trip to Arab countries to promote a deeper understanding about Islam.
The dispute over the mosque near Ground Zero in New York is not a battle over "real estate" but it will have an impact on Islam in America, according to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is the main developer of the controversial Islamic Centre.
"We tend to forget, in the West, that the United States has more Muslim blood on its hands than al-Qaeda has on its hands of innocent non-Muslims," Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf said in a question-and-answer session at Australia's Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre in 2005.
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