Developer of Lower Manhattan Islamic community center opens up about the project

Sharif El-Gamal

From the New York October issue: Sharif El-Gamal is the chairman and CEO of Manhattan-based real estate investment firm Soho Properties. But he’s now internationally known as the developer of Park51, a community center and Islamic prayer space planned two blocks from the World Trade Center site. The building — labeled the “ground zero mosque” by critics, a name that El-Gamal says is incorrect — has sparked a worldwide firestorm. In this month’s edition of “The Closing,” El-Gamal opens up about the Park51 controversy, receiving death threats and how he met his wife. (El-Gamal will be a special guest at The Real Deal’s sixth annual forum, “The Road to Recovery,” Wed., Oct. 13, 2010. Click here for more information.) [more]