Who is Feisal Abdul Rauf, Imam of the Park51 Mosque?

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - The name Feisal Abdul Rauf has been talked about a lot lately, since it was announced that he is trying to build a mosque near ground zero. But, who is he?

The New York Times reported that Rauf was born to an Egyptian family in Kuwait in 1948 and moved to the United States in the '60s when he was a teenager.

He founded the American Society for Muslim Advancement in 1997, which has both Muslim and non-Muslim members. ASMA describes him as a man who has "dedicated his life to building bridges between Muslims and the West."

According to PBS.org , Rauf holds a degree in physics from Columbia University in New York and a master's degree in plasma physics from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. The well-educated imam also attended schools in England, Egypt and Malaysia.

The 61-year-old and his wife, Daisy Khan, are attempting to build Park51, a controversial large Muslim community center in Lower Manhattan near ground zero.

During the controversy surrounding the plan to build the mosque blocks from Ground Zero, Rauf has been quiet, speaking mostly with foreign media while on a State Department-financed goodwill tour of Gulf countries.

The Associated Press reported that Rauf told the daily Bahrain newspaper Akhbar Al-Khaleej on Aug. 24 that he blamed the news media, in part, for strained relations between Muslims and Americans. Rauf said the media "has succeeded in portraying stereotypical images, focusing on the negative and criticizing the other."

As the imam ’ or spiritual leader ’ of the Masjid Al-Farah center Park51 in Manhattan, he said he has always instilled a message of peace and understanding between Muslims, Christians and Jews.

A member of the National Inter-religious Initiative For Peace in Washington, D.C., the religious scholar has voiced his desire for peace in the Middle East.

Also a published author, his most recent book titled "What's Right With Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West" appeared on the Christian Science Monitor's list of the top books on religion.