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Imam Behind ‘Cordoba House’ Controversy to Speak at Duke March 17

Feisal Abdul Rauf

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, whose proposed Cordoba House community center and mosque two blocks north of Ground Zero sparked controversy last summer, will take part in a conversation at Duke University on Thursday, March 17. The event begins at noon in Duke Chapel; it is free and open to the public.

The conversation, sponsored by the Duke Faith Council, will feature Abdul Rauf and Sam Wells, dean of Duke Chapel, responding to questions from Duke's Muslim chaplain, Abdullah Antepli, and Christy Lohr Sapp, associate dean for religious life.

Abdul Rauf will be at Duke as part of a national speaking tour. According his group The Cordoba Initiative, his public talks are intended "to create a forum for open and peaceful dialogue while helping spread the message that all moderate, fair-minded people of faith must stand together to build greater understanding and curb the rising tide of extremism."

Since its formation in 2007, the Faith Council at Duke has worked to foster and model conversations across faith traditions.

"This conversation will help to shed light on the good interreligious cooperation taking place on this campus," said Lohr Sapp.