Feisal Abdul Rauf (Arabic: فيصل عبد الرؤوف, born October 23, 1948)[1] is a Kuwaiti-born Egyptian-American Sufi[2][3] imam, author, and activist whose stated goal is to improve relations between the Muslim world and the West.

He has condemned the 9/11 attacks as un-Islamic and called on the U.S. government to reduce the threat of terrorism by altering its Middle Eastern foreign policy.

[9] In 2010, Sufi Imam Rauf received national attention for his plans to build Park51, an Islamic Community Center, two blocks from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.

[4] Rauf is a friend of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order, and in 1983, he was appointed prayer leader at their Masjid al-Farah mosque.

[4] He is a member of the Council of 100 Leaders (C-100) on West-Islamic World Dialogue at the World Economic Forum (WEF)[17][18] and has received both the Alliance for International Conflict Prevention and Resolution's[19] annual Alliance Peacebuilder Award and The Interfaith Center of New York's annual James Parks Morton Interfaith Award (2006).

As CEO of Cordoba Initiative, Rauf coordinates projects that emphasize the bonds that connect the Muslim world and the West.

[12] However, some U.S. politicians have voiced concerns about his views,[23][24][25][26] referring to comments Rauf made when interviewed by Ed Bradley on CBS 60 Minutes on September 30, 2001.

"[8][29] Although this CIA-Osama bin Laden controversy has been brought up by many others, Rudy Giuliani, Peter T. King, Rick Lazio, and Sarah Palin expressed concern about these remarks when discussing Rauf as the driving force behind the Park51 project.

[32] Responding to a question during an interview on New York WABC radio in June 2010 regarding the U.S. State Department's designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization, Rauf said, "I'm not a politician.

[39] Rauf owns several apartment buildings in Hudson County, New Jersey, including four in Union City, and one in North Bergen in which he lives.

[42] On November 9, Judge Olivieri placed the Central Avenue property into temporary custodial receivership, with $7,000 in rent payments held in escrow from Rauf's attorney set aside to pay for the repairs.

Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan, made payments to Cockinos for 11 years, but ceased after a fire damaged the property.

[12] Fareed Zakaria praised Rauf for speaking of "the need for Muslims to live peacefully with all other religions", for emphasizing the commonalities among all faiths, for advocating equal rights for women and opposing laws that in any way punish non-Muslims.

"[46] During an interview on New York WABC radio in June 2010, Rauf declined to say whether he agreed with the U.S. State Department's designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

"[47] Sarah Palin and Lazio criticized his refusal to agree with the assessment of the United States that Hamas is a terrorist organization, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani alleged that Rauf had supported radical causes that sympathized with Islamic terrorism.

[10] Khan, a native of Kashmir, is a professional interior architect, but since 2005 has worked full-time for the two non-profit organizations founded by Rauf,[52] and at times functions as his spokesperson.