The Muslim cleric who hopes to build an Islamic center near the World Trade Center site said Friday that he’ll tour the country in an effort “to inspire interfaith understanding” for a project that has ignited explosive faceoffs between supporters and opponents.
“The major purpose is to make people aware of what America means as a country that protects the right to freedom of religion,” Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf told The Associated Press. American Muslims like himself, he said, “can play an important role as interlocutors between the United States and the Muslim world.”
Rauf’s first appearance is scheduled for Detroit on Jan. 15. The city has North America’s largest Muslim population. The imam said he’ll continue on to Chicago, Washington, San Antonio and college campuses including Harvard, Georgetown, Yale and the University of North Carolina. He did not release specific dates for his speeches.