MUST NOT HAVE SEEN THE ROOM WHERE THEY TURN CHRISTIAN BABIES INTO FALAFEL:

Inside America's Mosques: From tie-dyed hippies to hard-line radicals, they're not all the same -- and they're not what you think. (AKBAR AHMED | SEPTEMBER 9, 2010, Foreign Policy)

5. Masjid Al-Farah

New York, N.Y.

In New York City, we spent an evening at Masjid Al-Farah, a mosque in the mystic tradition where Feisal Abdul Rauf is currently imam. The mosque is situated in an unassuming building sandwiched between two bars 12 blocks from Ground Zero -- but it leapt into the spotlight recently because of Abdul Rauf's part in the plans to build the Park51 Muslim community center a few blocks away from the 9/11 site. Currently, overflow congregants from Al-Farah pray in the abandoned Burlington Coat Factory where the proposed new mosque would be built.

Although some media outlets have attempted to portray Abdul Rauf as an extremist with links to terrorists, he is, in fact, very much a mystic imam. Mystics have a unifying view of faith and believe that Muslims, Christians, and Jews all pray to the same God. Modernists and literalists frequently complain that mystics "innovate," or place human figures between man and God, which they say challenges monotheism. The mystic reverence of saints, as well as their use of music and dance to connect with the divine, causes conflicts with other Muslims.

It is a safe bet that opponents of Park51 would be surprised by the scene at Masjid Al-Farah's weekly dhikr, or recitation of the names of God. Every Thursday night, some 40 people gather, men and women, including some visiting Zen Buddhists, Jews, and Christians.