Jihad Watch
Rauf's tax-exempt mosque on W. 85th Street in Manhattan doesn't exist
More duplicity and deception from this vaunted "moderate." "Questions Raised About Rauf's Nonexistent Mosque," from IPT News, September 1:
The federal government considers the Muslim group founded by Ground Zero Mosque leader Feisal Abdul Rauf to be a tax-exempt church. But federal records show the group obtained that status by claiming to hold prayer services for up to 500 people in a Manhattan apartment building that has no space to hold that many people. The application for tax exempt status from the American Sufi Muslim Association (ASMA) in 1998 claimed the group had an established place of worship at 201 W. 85th St. in New York. That is a 17-floor apartment building.
The 1998 tax filing, called a 1023 form, is required for any institution that wants to be considered a religious house of worship and therefore exempt from taxation. In the filing, Rauf is identified as ASMA's founder. The application said the group was already operating as a prayer center for between 450 and 500 daily worshipers.
However, a review of the building and real estate records indicates there is nowhere in the building to house that many congregants. ASMA lists its office address as 201 W. 85th St., Apt. 10E on the tax form, while it cites only the building address as its location for prayer services.
The building has apartments only and no public spaces, such as a conference or a board room, to accommodate 450 people. Apartment 10E, building records show, is a one-bedroom apartment with about 800 square feet of living space. In the 1997 incorporation records filed with the state of New York, Rauf's wife, Daisy Khan, was named as an ASMA director living at that address.
But when ASMA filed for its church status with the IRS, Khan was no longer listed as a director. Instead, Rauf signed the form that said ASMA's address was the same as Khan's apartment - 201 W. 85th St., Apt. 10E.
Rauf was traveling in the Middle East on a State Department-sponsored tour and could not be reached for comment. In an email late Wednesday, Khan claimed the IPT story was inaccurate, but did not specify what she thought was wrong:
"I have received your enquiry, and notice that it includes inaccurate and outdated information. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you can appreciate, we are extremely busy right now and will not be able to provide you with answers by the time of your deadline. I look forward to communicating with you in the future, so that all the facts can be known."
Khan did not respond to a subsequent telephone call seeking details of what she thought was inaccurate.
Since ASMA's creation in 1997, its organizers have listed three separate addresses in their filings with state and local governments, records show.
When Rauf and Khan first filed their incorporation papers with the state of New York in July 1997, the group was called the American Sufi Muslim Association (ASMA). Its address was 227 78th St., North Bergen, N.J. That was Rauf's home...
Read more at: http://www.investigativeproject.org/2150/questions-raised-about-raufs-nonexistent-mosque
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