Is the GZ Imam Reconsidering Mosque Plans?

During a speech and question-and-answer session at the Council on Foreign Relations today, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf (the imam behind the proposed mosque at Ground Zero) said that if he had to do it all over again he might enlist "different stakeholders" and "maybe not even do it at all."

He also claimed that those involved with the project "are exploring all options as we speak" when asked if he would be willing to do things differently from this point forward and consider a compromise.

The admission starts at about 1:00 in the video below:

In that question-and-answer session, Rauf suggested the possibility of compromise: "We are exploring all options as we speak right now, and we are working to what will be a solution, God willing, that will resolve this crisis, diffuse it and not create any unforeseen or untoward circumstances that we do not want to see happen."

Yet in the speech preceding his answer, he didn't give the impression that compromise is immient:

"Is there really a need for an Islamic community center in lower Manhattan?" he said. "Is it worth all this firestorm? The answer, ladies and gentlemen, is a categorical 'Yes.' Why? Because this center will be a place for all faiths to come together as partners, as stakeholders, in mutual respect. It will bring honor to the city of New York."

During the same session he also emphatically stated that it is "absolutely disingenuous" to suggest that Ground Zero is "hallowed ground," considering the close proximity of a strip club and betting facilities.