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An advocacy group fighting the so-called Ground Zero Mosque has called on the State Department to back off plans to sponsor the imam of that controversial mosque on an upcoming trip to the Middle East.
The State Department confirmed Tuesday that the administration is sponsoring Feisal Abdul Rauf's trip to Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which is described as part of a program to send Muslims abroad to educate other countries about the role of religion in the United States. Rauf made similar trips during the Bush administration.
Rauf and his partners are preparing to build a $100 million Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero, the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that left nearly 3,000 dead.
The American Center for Law and Justice objected after learning about the plans to sponsor Rauf's upcoming trip. The group said it will file a protest letter with the State Department demanding the government halt its sponsorship of the trip.