Park51: Information from the Source

"The People Behind The Mosque." Sixty Minutes. CBS. CBSNews.com. CBS Interactive Inc., 25 July 2010. Web. 9 November 2010.

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In the video, “The People behind the Mosque,” 60 minutes Scott Pelley interviews Sharif El-Gamal, the man responsible for Park51, or the Ground Zero Mosque. El-Gamal takes Pelly to the proposed lot for Park51, an abandoned building, a former Burlington Coat Factory store. El-Gamal plans to tear down the former building and build a 16-story Islamic community center. Two floors of the building will be used for Islamic prayer rooms, only 10% of the building. The mayor, the borough president, and the community board all endorsed the Park51 project in the Spring of 2009. Pelly also talked to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the spiritual leader of the Park51 project. Pelly asks Rauf, “Why did you do it?” Rauf answers, “To prevent another 9-11.” Rauf is very sensitive to the events on 9-11, and has condemned 9-11. He wants to tell America that Muslims are here for America, and they are not here to attack us.

This video is very important because it gets information from the source, the leaders behind Park51. Scott Pelly’s interview goes in depth with each of the leaders of the project and asks many questions the community wants to know. The video is also important because it gives you a back round of the proposed Park51 and the amenities that are planned to be inside of the community center as well. The point of the video is to get the side of the story that not many people get to hear. This is because El-Gammal has managed to stay out of the news, not doing many interviews. El-Gammal also released photos of the proposed building plans of Park51, which prior to the video have not been seen. This new point of view helps see why El-Gamma and Rauf wanted the mosque two-and-a-half blocks away from Ground Zero. This video helps the reader make a more unbiased opinion because of the presence of the “other sides” opinion. Because of the privacy help by El-Gamma and Rauf, their point of views is readily available, so the reader should take full advantage of this article to make their opinion more educated.