No matter what you are being told, the building at 45 Park Place is a Mosque. How do I know? I went inside last night and attended a service. Me. Carl Clark. Right Wing, Veteran, Wall Street Fatcat, Episcopalian, Knights Templar wannabe was deep inside the Mosque where others would scarce be found.
It all began when I was walking by the location, and a man in a fez with a cloak was outside of the Mosque taking questions and debating some of the larger issues regarding the placement of such a facility so close to Ground Zero. When the questions became too much for him, and he was unwilling to answer, he jumped in a taxicab and sped away - I was certainly expecting him to go back into the building, but he did not.
I was perplexed enough by this that I myself went in the front door of the Mosque, and I showed the security guards there the man's picture, to which they replied: "He is not associated with this facility, but we have seen him here for a couple of days. Imam Rauf is in the Mideast, but there will be a substitute Imam here at about 9:30 should you wish to speak to him." As I was already inside the facility, I thought I would push things a little, so I agreed to return to speak with the acting Imam.
I was there at 9:30 precisely, and the Imam was said by the security to be unavailable, but there was a service in progress should I wish to attend. I quickly removed my shoes, and went into a space that was clearly once the main floor gallery of the Burlington Coat Factory, only bare of any equipment, with an industrial rug vacuumed clean. At the far end of the room a group of men in Western Clothing were observing the rights of the Muslim Faith, and to the far left, as distant as possible from the men, a group of women in Burkas were also participating.
I selected a spot equidistant from both groups and participated as best I could so as not to offend anyone: the ritual was exceedingly lengthy, involved repeated kneelings and bowings, and of course I could not understand a word of what was said. After an hour and a half of this, during what appeared to be a small break in the service, I exited the space, put my shoes back on, and promised to the friendly security guards that I would return again tonight.
The takeaways are simple. This is most certainly a MOSQUE, and not a Cultural Center as has been described in the media, services are underway right now, and there is a regular 'parish'. Those who would want to stop such activity are clearly too late. I found the people there to be rather friendly, but do not let this lead you to believe that I will be taking my young sons there, or turning my back on the Anglican Church any time soon.
There is nothing to distinguish the building at 45 Park Place from any other empty shell in New York City, except that very devout Moslem activities are no doubt taking place there even as you read this.
Naturally, I will be going again tonight to see what else I can learn. The photo attached is of the bogus Imam. Anyone with further questions may feel free to contact me at 347-777-6351