N.Y. mosque imam begins 'tolerance' tour

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MANAMA, Bahrain, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The imam behind the proposed Islamic center near Ground Zero has begun a three-country, U.S.-backed tour to build religious tolerance, officials say.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf arrived in Bahrain Thursday to begin the Persian Gulf tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department, department officials said.

U.S. officials refused to provide details Thursday on Rauf's schedule of speeches and meetings, The New York Times reported.

Local journalists were invited to meet with Rauf but were told the State Department wanted to keep the foreign press away from the imam, Mansoor al-Jamri, editor of the Bahraini newspaper Al Wasat told the Times.

"I think they are worried that whatever he says will be taken out of context," said al-Jamri, whose newspaper has an interview scheduled with Rauf during his Bahrain stop.

Bahraini television is to broadcast lectures by Rauf, who also will speak at mosques and community meetings, typically in private homes, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

"He'll be involved in direct discussions to help people in the countries he'll visit understand the role of religion in our society -- how American-Muslims celebrate Ramadan, how we emphasize religious tolerance in our society," Crowley said.

Rauf also is to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The proposed mosque and Islamic Center, which would be built about two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers that killed nearly 3,000 people, has encountered stiff opposition in the United States.

President Barack Obama stepped into the center of the debate when he expressed support for the right to build the $100 million Cordoba House. But he qualified the statement the next day, saying he had not been commenting on "the wisdom" of the Ground Zero project, only the right to build it.