El-Gamal launches fundraising campaign for project formerly known as Park51

Though clear of legal entanglement, Park51 is still in need of more than $17 million in construction financing. Towards that end, Sharif El-Gamal, the developer behind the project, at a fundraiser dinner last Friday launched a campaign to raise $7 million for the community center near Ground Zero by Sept. 10, WNYC reported. El-Gamal said it was a “motivational deadline” for supporters of the project, who want to take back the identity that was “stolen” from Muslims by the 9/11 terrorists.

Though less than 75 people attended the fundraiser where El-Gamal spoke, Imam Feisal Rauf, the original spokesperson for the project, was not one of them, as El-Gamal has repeatedly insisted he’s no longer associated with the planned community center. The project’s name has also been changed to “PrayerSpace,” WNYC said. [WNYC]