Excerpt:
For a man whom one would hope has nothing to hide, the imam behind the Ground Zero mosque project sure has dropped out of sight. Having triggered an uproar in the U.S., Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf ducked out of the country weeks ago and, apart from a potted statement last week praising his own project, has pretty much clammed up.
In New York Rauf has become a sort of phantom celebrity. His name is plastered all over the public debate, but Rauf himself has been absent and oddly unavailable, even by phone or e-mail, to answer questions. From his New York colleagues, the refrain has been that he is in Malaysia, and "unavailable."
If this behavior is any guide to how Rauf might handle matters of disclosure and American sensitivities should he go ahead with his planned high-rise $100 million Islamic Center and mosque near the site of the former Twin Towers, it does not bode well.