Mosque Considered a Long Shot

All this controversy over the mosque proposed to be built near ground zero in Manhattan may be over nothing—the Cordoba House hasn’t come close to meeting its fundraising goal of $100 million. The last fundraising report, filed with the New York state attorney general’s office in late 2008, shows the group had brought in just $18,255, not even enough for a down payment on the site. Cordoba House doesn’t have blueprints or an architect, lobbyist, or engineer yet. Now, getting those people on board could be difficult because of the bad press. And the group's public-relations man has stumbled, replying a bit too impolitely at times to critics on Twitter. Cordoba House hasn’t ruled out leaning on foreign money, but would prefer donations to come from within the U.S.