Judge: Ground Zero Imam Is a Slum Lord

The imam behind the Ground Zero Muslim prayer center has been ordered by a judge to fix decrepit conditions in a New Jersey tenement he owns, which has no hot water, faulty hallway lights, no working fire alarms, and bedbug and cockroach infestations. Union City officials charged Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf with ignoring the dangerous conditions and filed court action as a first step to take over the 4-story, 16-apartment building.

The city has assigned cops to a 24-hour fire watch at the building because of the lack of fire alarms. "There are human beings living in this building, not animals," a student who lives in the building told the New York Daily News. "We have nothing against Muslims, but he should fix this building first" before he becomes involved with the Ground Zero mosque, she added. An attorney for the imam said he's fixing the problems. For more on Rauf, click here.
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