I heard an interesting interview with Michel Abboud, the architect for the proposed Islamic cultural center known at Park 51.  (I suppose we could also call it “the Islamic cultural center formerly known as the Cordoba House and incorrectly called the World Trade Center mosque.”)

Here are 5 little known facts about the proposed center:

1)  it would be 16 floors, but less than 10% of the entire space will be used for prayer. The new building would have a mosque in the basement beneath public facilities including a swimming pool, basketball court, theater, restaurant, offices and a child care center.

2) the architect is Catholic

3) the theme of the Islamic center is cultural, rather than religious

4) the design which features a lattice of Islamic-inspired patterns which allows light to flood into the interior

5) the plan still needs funding and planning – it is not a “done deal” at this time.

If you’d reside in the New York metropolitan area, you’ll be happy to know that Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq, from the 30mosques.com project, will be speaking at SUNY’s Purchase College (Purchase, NY – Westchester County) on Wednesday, November 17th at 7 pm.  The event is FREE and open to the public, so be sure to mark your calendar!