'Ground Zero Mosque' Developers in Talks With NY Gov. Paterson
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
The developers behind the Islamic center planned for a site near Ground Zero won't rule out accepting financing from the Mideast -- including from Saudi Arabia and Iran -- as they begin searching for $100 million needed to build the project.
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie says the president is playing "political football."
The religious organization and the development company behind the center declined to say how much of the $100 million needed to build the facility has already been raised.
"We are in the planning stages," said Oz Sultan, spokesman for the center now called Park51. "We have just started the process of fundraising planning."
Sultan said it would take three to six months to establish a plan on how to raise the needed capital. He said any fundraising campaign would begin domestically, but he would not comment on whether it would extend overseas or to foreign governments.