Reuters reports that Imam Feisal Rauf will no longer be heading up the Ground-Zero mosque project:

“Imam Feisal and Daisy Khan will not be speaking on behalf of Park51, nor will they be raising funds for the project,” Park51 said in a statement. Rauf will remain on the center’s board of directors, it said.

Many of the project’s supporters had hitched themselves to Rauf as a passionate moderate who would ensure that the undertaking  would be a thoughtful monument to bridge-building. It’s pointless and irresponsible to speculate on why he’s stepping down, but it will certainly reignite debate. Especially when the project’s next No. 1 comes to the public eye.