(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf made an appearance at the Double Tree Hotel to talk unity and diversity. The cleric who became the public face of efforts to build an Islamic center near ground zero in New York began a national speaking tour Saturday night by urging Muslims to help "depoliticize" their faith and play a role in shaping relationships with America.
Feisal Abdul Rauf began his tour to inspire "interfaith understanding" in Detroit, saying Islam should be seen as an American religion "not an alien religion." The Detroit area is home to the largest Muslim population in North America.
The imam told about 400 people at a diversity forum sponsored by the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan and the Islamic Society of North America that the backlash against Islam that arose from the New York City mosque plan was "triggered by a mix of race, religion and politics in America."
"Our role now is to depoliticize our faith," he said, adding that Islam must not be used as a wedge between Democrats and Republicans or political ideals anywhere in the world.
"What we do here in America, brothers and sisters, is watched by the world," Rauf said. "We have to find ways to make sure who we are and what we represent becomes a recipe for healing."
“As we look outward and try to build our coalitions, which is absolutely necessary for us to do, we also have a need to look inwards,” Rauf said.
“2010 and the story that we all lived last year – also brought about another combustible mix of race, religion and politics in the United States around the issue of our community as Muslims,” Rauf said.
Rauf’s speech is part of a lecture circuit organized by the Islamic Society of North America.
“We have multiple identities. We’re a cross section of the world. We’re of every ethnic type. We come from different cultures, different languages. And we have different varieties,” Rauf said.
The cleric who until this week had been helping lead an effort to build an Islamic center near ground zero in New York says Muslims have an important role in shaping relationships with America.
Feisal Abdul Rauf gave the keynote address at a diversity forum in Detroit. It's his first stop on a national speaking tour he says is aimed at inspiring "interfaith understanding."
Rauf is viewed as a moderate Muslim and has spent much of his life preaching religious tolerance and the need for people of different faiths to work together.
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