well, wolf, people watching this situation closely are are wondering just that because the project s developers are wondering just that. reporter: the development in new york says that there is much conflict around the proposed islamic center in ground zero that el sharif gamel is very confused. reporter: this woman says that her group muslim for peace was approached by el gamal asking her organization to raise money for his project which is park 51 seeking its own nonprofit status. one of the developers in the project, sharif alga mall wanted to use the 501-c status for muslims for peace to raise funds for this islamic center. i thought that was a little bit
inappropriate. reporter: she says that he raised a few thousand dollars. today, the donation link on the park 51 website sis inactive. a spokesman says that the nonprofit fund-raising effort has yet to be launched, but el gamal has asked for donations at prayer services held at the existing building. already the developer is at odds with one of the major investors who tells cnn he has a controlling interest in the project, and might sell-off his portion for a profit. he would not speak on camera, but his attorney did. well, he does have the majority control, and according to the agreements, he is the person who is going to decide how that who is going to make decisions with respect to the property. reporter: el gamal says that is dead wrong say heg has control. meanwhile el gamal, and fizal abdul rauf, the visionary of the project are presenting different
concepts to the public. imam refers to it as cordova house after his nonprofit institution, but el gamal refers to it as park 51 saying it is the mosque within the larger center, ap while the developer has described a community center hope for all, but a prayer service for just muslims, the imam said something different. there is a prayer space for christians and jews. reporter: there is even conflict within the muslim community. islamic leaders who said they have never been consulted last week peppered el gamal with questions as to whether park 51 would be for elite wealthy muslims. nunl of our organizations is capable or putting money into this. reporter: money is now the critical issue. we have not raised any money for it yet. reporter: while seeking money from banks and other private individuals, el gamal is determined to carry the project
through. we have the building, and we are are doing it there god willing. if el gamal is unable to raise money domestically, he may have to turn to foreign sours in t foreign sources in the islamic community, and that is further controversy. there was a statement sent to cnn saying that there are planning to include a interfaith prayer space at the center. wolf. and you mean, saudi arabia, and united emirates in the oil-rich countries? yes. we will see how he does in the u.s.? okay. thank you, allan. stein colbert is up at capitol hill appearing before congress. we will hear about the serious subject, and the comedian s testimony. mills big g cereals. they put a white check on the top of every box to let people know that their cereals have healthy whole grain, and they re the right choice.
testimony. the tv comic put the spotlight, though, on a serious issue. where the lawmakers are in on the joke. i m wolf blitzer, you re in the situation room. but, we begin with a breaking news. a remarkable face-to-face meeting today between the president of iran and the american hiker who was jailed in his country for over a year. mary snow has the details for us. she s joining us from new york. what happened, mary? that meeting took place today here in new york. we re told that sarah shourd and her mother, nora, met with ahmadinejad, that s according to a spokeswoman representing the families of the hikers who had been jailed in iran since july of 2009. at this point, we don t have details of that meeting. sarah shourd was released on september 14 and has been speaking out since then in an effort to gain the release of her fiance, shane bauer, and friend, josh fat tell. i asked if she could make a direct deal with the president, what would she say? what did she tell