NYC mosque Imam begins nationwide speaking tour

The imam behind the controversial Islamic community center and mosque planned near the site of the September 11 attacks in New York will begin a nationwide speaking tour next month to promote the project and encourage interfaith dialogue, a spokeswoman said Friday.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has been at the center of a national firestorm over his proposal to build a high-rise community center and mosque two blocks north of ground zero, when the World Trade Center's twin towers stood before the 2001 airliner attacks.

"His speaking tour commences on January 15 in Detroit, and he will continue speaking throughout the year in about 12 different markets," Leyla Turkkan, the imam's spokeswoman, told CNN.