Arun Venugopal

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.

Separated by just a couple of blocks and a vigilant police force, supporters and opponents of the proposed Park51 development rallied simultaneously on Sunday in hopes of influencing ...

Most of the coverage of today's Siena poll has focused on the large majority of New York voters -- 63%-- that opposes the mosque near Ground Zero. That's even higher than last week's Marist poll, which showed 53% opposition.

But even more interesting than that first question is the follow-up, focusing on constitutionality.

Regardless of whether you personally support or oppose the proposal to build the Cordoba House, do you believe the developers of the Cordoba House have a Constitutional right to proceed with the construction of the mosque and Muslim cultural center or not?

The answers to that question were eye-opening: 64% of voters overall said the developers have the right to build there. That includes 67% of Dems and 56% of Republicans.

When I asked him to reconcile that dichotomy, Steve Greenberg, the Siena pollster, said, "The majority of New Yorkers are saying 'I don't want to see it built there, but they have the right to build it there.' I sort of think it's analogous to the old saying, 'I don't like what you're saying, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.'"

Asked about the project by local reporters in California, Pelosi said the mosque is a local issue, and added that she thinks the funding of the mosque opposition needs to be investigated.

Ten years after they were last allowed to march, members of the LGBT community re-joined New York City's India Day parade on Sunday. Led by openly gay City Councilman Danny Dromm and Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a small contingent of gay and lesbian marchers made their way down Madison Avenue, past tens of thousands of spectators.

City officials are hoping a new asthma center in East Harlem will improve health in a neighborhood that has some of the highest rates for the respiratory disease. The $3.5 million facility on East 110th street will offer free treatment to asthmatic children. 

I caught Fareed Zakaria on Charlie Rose Tuesday night.

CHARLIE ROSE: Your parents are Muslim?

FAREED ZAKARIA: Yes, and I was brought up that way. I am just not a particularly religious person. I think I sealed my fate when I became the wine critic for "Slate" magazine.

CHARLIE ROSE: That will do it.

I found that exchange pretty funny, but also illuminating, given that Zakaria could be considered one of the most famous Muslims in America, and by his own account, he's a MINO: Muslim in Name Only.

Federal investigators arrested 11 people, including seven city employees, after discovering what they say is a widespread corruption scheme. At a press conference, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says four day care operators, who call themselves "The Congregation," bribed officials at three city agencies to approve vouchers for childcare services that were never provided.