Imam Rauf Is Being Sued

As it turns out, Imam Rauf is also a landlord--and not a very good one at that:

The suit, filed today in state Superior Court in Jersey City, identifies Rauf as the sole officer of Sage Development LLC, a company based at his home address in North Bergen and listed as the owner of the two buildings. The suit also alleges that Sage’s corporate status was revoked by the state in March 2005, for its failure to file annual reports.

The buildings occupy the same lot at 226 Central Ave., one containing 32 apartments and the other 16. The larger building has been vacant since Feb. 8, 2008, when a fire broke out there, one year after the city says it issued 12 separate fire code violations that Rauf ignored.


Rather than addressing the violations after the fire, the city says Rauf boarded up the building, barring residents from their apartments. A spokesman for Mayor Brian Stack said he could not immediately say what had become of the displaced families.

"He’s a terrible landlord who’s unresponsive to the residents who live in his building," said the spokesman, Mark Albiez. "City officials and inspectors have reached out to him to express the urgency in correcting problems in his buildings, and it’s unfortunate that it’s gotten to this point, but it’s our responsibility to insure that residents receive the care that is needed."

...The Record also reported that Rauf had ties to local waterfront developer Fred Daibes, and was sued by a Daibes associate who had charged the imam with mortgage fraud in 2008, a suit that was settled in June.

I've read about this particular issue before. As I recall, Rauf's wife said that this issue was not relevant to the Ground Zero mosque.

And she's right that the two issues are independent.
But that does not mean the issue is irrelevant.

As long as Rauf uses his title as imam--religious leader--as part of his marketing for building that mosque right near Ground Zero, then it is relevant to know just what kind of religious leader he is, what kind of role model he is to his followers.

Putting aside whether he is really a moderate or not, we are dealing with a religious leader who pays little heed to the emotional pain of non-Muslims whose loved ones were murdered by Islamists.

And now there may be further indications of Rauf's insensitivities not only for the law, but also for the needs and safety of others.

Depending on the validity of the charges, not only is there reason here for Rauf to have nothing to do with the Ground Zero mosque altogether--there is reason here for his followers to fire imam Rauf altogether.

Technorati Tag: Ground Zero Mosque and Feisal Abdul Rauf .