Ground Zero Mosque Developers Apply For $5 Million Federal Grant

An artist rendering shows an exterior view of the proposed Park51 community center and mosque.

Looming over the remains of the WTC, this mosque will certainly “enhance” the victory of the world-wide Muslim culture.

The many-storied structure will be sure to attract millions of Allah’s international community to make an annual haj-like visit to the mammoth observation windows that peer haughtily down onto the battleground of the defeated: Ground Zero.

Ground Zero mosque developers apply for federal grant
New York Post
Developers of the controversial Park51 Islamic community center and mosque located two blocks from Ground Zero earlier this month applied for roughly $5 million in federal grant money set aside for the redevelopment of lower Manhattan after the attacks of September 11th, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The audacious move stands to reignite the embers of a divisive debate that dominated headlines surrounding the ninth anniversary of the attacks this fall, say people vested in the issue.
The application was submitted under a “community and cultural enhancement” grant program administered by the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation (LMDC), which oversaw the $20 billion in federal aid allocated in the wake of 9/11 and is currently doling out millions in remaining taxpayer funds for community development. The redevelopment board declined to comment on the application (as did officials from Park51), citing the still ongoing and confidential process of determining the grant winners.
While news of the application has not previously been made public, developer Sharif El-Gamal outlined it in closed-door meetings, according to two individuals he spoke with directly.
Developer Sharif El-Gamal discussed the grant proposal in recent closed-door meetings, according to The Daily Beast.
The revelation that the developers have asked for this grant could reignite outrage about the mosque’s proposed location.

“If Imam Feisal and his retinue want know why they’re not trusted, here’s yet another reason,” Irshad Manji, author of “The Trouble with Islam” and director of the Moral Courage Project at NYU, told The Daily Beast. “The New Yorkers I speak with have questions about Park51. Requesting money from public coffers without engaging the public shows a staggering lack of empathy—especially from a man who says he’s all about dialogue.”

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Wild Thing’s comment……..
OMG Great! So we get to pay for their VICTORY mosque! Sheesh! Wow, Muslims destroy the World Trade Center and then use our own money to build a Mosque in honor of the destruction. Unbelievable!!!!
Of course if the Greek church St. Nicholas applied for the same money it would be rejected on “church-state-separation” grounds. Apparently it is OK to combine mosque and state.
Talk about adding salt to the wound. Holy cow!!!