Excerpt:
Ground Zero mosque imam Feisal Abdul Rauf began a national speaking tour last night by urging Muslims to play a role in shaping relationships with America.
Rauf gave a speech in Detroit, saying Islam should be seen as an American religion "not an alien religion."
The imam, who last week was given a smaller role in the Islamic center project, told about 400 people at a diversity forum that a backlash against Islam that arose from the New York City mosque plan was "triggered by a mix of race, religion and politics in America."