http://tinyurl.com/3a2ddwt
US spending $16,000 for imam's Mideast tour By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee, Associated Press Writer - 32 mins ago WASHINGTON - American taxpayers will pay the imam behind plans for a mosque near the Manhattan site of the Sept. 11 attacks $3,000 in fees for a three-nation outreach trip to the Middle East that will cost roughly $16,000, the State Department said Wednesday. The department said Imam <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_ground_zero_mosque_imam;_ylt=AugEoLtVGsQ3IgVe NaduQT2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN1Z3UyOTltBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwODE4L3VzX2dyb3VuZF96ZX JvX21vc3F1ZV9pbWFtBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNARwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2 UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA3Vzc3BlbmRpbmcxNg--> Feisal Abdul Rauf will get a daily $200 honorarium for the 15-day tour to Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which is intended to promote religious tolerance. Airfare is included, as well as the standard federal government per diem for expenses and lodging in each of the cities he will visit, spokesman P.J. Crowley said. Those per diem rates range from nearly $400 to nearly $500, according to official documents. The imam's organization, The <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_ground_zero_mosque_imam;_ylt=AugEoLtVGsQ3IgVe NaduQT2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN1Z3UyOTltBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwODE4L3VzX2dyb3VuZF96ZX JvX21vc3F1ZV9pbWFtBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNARwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2 UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA3Vzc3BlbmRpbmcxNg--> Cordoba Initiative, referred questions on the matter to the State Department. Rauf starts his tour Thursday in Bahrain and ends it in the United Arab Emirates Sept. 2. At each stop he is expected to discuss Muslim life in America and promote <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_ground_zero_mosque_imam;_ylt=AugEoLtVGsQ3IgVe NaduQT2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN1Z3UyOTltBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwODE4L3VzX2dyb3VuZF96ZX JvX21vc3F1ZV9pbWFtBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNARwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2 UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA3Vzc3BlbmRpbmcxNg--> religious tolerance. He will not be allowed to raise funds for the mosque on the trip, Crowley said. "We have had conversations with the imam to make sure he understands that during these kinds of trips, he's not to engage in any personal business," Crowley told reporters. "He understands that completely." "We value his participation as a religious figure here in the United States who can help people overseas understand the role that religion plays in our society," he said. Rauf's tour has drawn attention because of his plans to build an <http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_ground_zero_mosque_imam;_ylt=AugEoLtVGsQ3IgVe NaduQT2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN1Z3UyOTltBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwODE4L3VzX2dyb3VuZF96ZX JvX21vc3F1ZV9pbWFtBGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNARwb3MDMQRwdANob21lX2Nva2 UEc2VjA3luX2hlYWRsaW5lX2xpc3QEc2xrA3Vzc3BlbmRpbmcxNg--> Islamic center in lower Manhattan near ground zero. Foes of the project say it is insensitive and disrespectful to the victims of 9/11 and their families. The debate has become politicized ahead of November's midterm congressional elections. Crowley said this will be Rauf's fourth U.S.-government sponsored trip under a program run by the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs. Earlier, the State Department had said it was his third trip. Crowley said Rauf had traveled twice to the Middle East in 2007 during the Bush administration and once earlier this year. On his upcoming trip, Rauf will be in Manama, Bahrain, from Thursday until Monday; Doha, Qatar, from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27 and in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2. The published maximum per diem rate for U.S. government employees in Manama is $396, in Doha it is $341, and in Abu Dhabi it is $496. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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