Free Republic

No wonder the guys who want to build that Islamic center near Ground Zero are quiet as mosque mice about financing: Turns out, as The Post first reported, their own financial records are, well, a bit short of blue chip. Indeed, Sharif El-Gamal, who owns the site -- as The Post's Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein reported Sunday -- owes nearly a quarter of a million dollars to the city in back payments. His firm, 45 Park Place Partners, simply skipped its property-tax bills in January and July, according to the Finance Department. Gamal's folks say he delayed payments while...

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave remarks last night at an Iftar dinner he hosted at Gracie Mansion, with Daisy Khan, wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, and Ground Zero mosque developer Sharif el-Gamal in attendance. In part, Bloomberg said this: "If we say that a mosque and community center should not be built near the perimeter of the World Trade Center site ... we would undercut the values and principles that so many heroes died protecting. We would send a signal around the world that Muslim-Americans may be equal in the eyes of the law, but separate in the...

Park51 developer Sharif El-Gamal, accidental protagonist of the most politicized real estate story in recent memory, sat behind the blond-wood desk in his office six floors above the lower Broadway mall, and, meaty hands clasped before him, held forth on what it takes to make it in real estate. After all, it is real estate—not fanning national anti-Muslim hysteria—that is Mr. El-Gamal's actual business. "You know, the real estate business is a very tough business, and you have to be patient and persistent, and aggressive, and thank God I have all those qualities," said Mr. El-Gamal, who looks something like...

Sponsors of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero are not slamming the door on Gov. Paterson's idea to build the center someplace else. "We are open to a conversation to find out more on what the governor has in mind," the center, Park51, said in a Twitter post yesterday. SNIP Mosque developer Sharif El-Gamal has said the group is interested in hearing from Paterson but added that "this has always been about serving lower Manhattan." He did not return calls and emails yesterday. SNIP

Mysterious Group Buys Building Next to Ground Zero For Mosque Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Jim Hoft A mysterous Muslim group with unknown sponsors has purchased a building steps away from Ground Zero. Hudson New York reported: An identified group with unknown sponsors has purchased building steps away from where the WorldTrade Center once stood — to turn it into potentially one of the largest New York City mosques. At the moment the building, the old Burlington Coat Factory, already serves as a mini-mosque: an iron grill lifts every Friday afternoon for a little known Imam leading prayers a few yards...

An Egyptian delegation led by President Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal and foreign policy adviser Osama el-Baz traveled to Houston Monday to meet with former president George Bush. The trip is part of a visit aimed at improving US-Egyptian ties and lobbying for a US-Egypt free trade agreement. The delegation is also paving the way for an expected US visit by Hosni Mubarak this spring. On Wednesday, the delegation is scheduled to meet Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State William Burns, congressmen, and senators. Thursday, the delegation will participate in an all-day conference on Egypt-US relations,...