Yet another truly moderate muslim speaks out against the mosque

[AllieBaba]

"Farzana Hassan is an astonishingly brave woman who has written three books since 9/11, putting Islam into perspective. She, along with Tarek Fatah, founder of the Canadian Muslim Congress (MCC), are among the few Muslims who speak out loudly and clearly against extremism.


Both have had death threats, and both soldier on fearlessly and honestly.

They are proof that not all Muslims go along with what's happening in the world today, although relatively few have spoken up about jihadist extremism which is what the war on terrorism is all about.

Considering the sort of reprisals extremists have taken against dissenters, one can hardly fault "moderate" Muslims for shutting up. The proposed $100 million, 13-storey Islamic Centre in the immediate area of New York's Ground Zero is a case in point.

To most, it is an inappropriate site for a mosque, and if built will send the wrong message to the world. Not a message of tolerance and reconciliation, but one of Islamic triumph for extremists.

It is one thing for people like me to rant against it, another for someone of the Islamic faith to speak up. That takes both courage and integrity.

Farzana Hassan is also on the board of the MCC, and has issued a press release that puts the Ground Zero Islamic Centre into perspective. She says the "traditional response" from the U.S. Muslim community has been "belligerence and arrogance."

Moderate Muslims have courage to speak against mosque - The Sudbury Star - Ontario, CA

"She calls the proposed Islamic Centre "a Trojan Horse" in the heart of America that would constitute a cover for "formidable and hostile forces to gain credibility, respectability and influence."

She argues: "Goodwill, compassion and empathy demand that (Imam Rauf) withdraw his plans to construct an Islamic centre near Ground Zero."

It would too easily -- perhaps inevitably -- become a public platform for radical Islamists.

"These goons will use the venue to propagate their hate-filled agenda," she says."

 

[AllieBaba]

And more:

"For example, Akbar Ahmed, Professor of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, says he sympathizes with those who object to the mosque’s planned proximity to Ground Zero. “For most Americans, 9/11 remains as an open wound, and anything associated with Islam, even for Americans who want to understand Islam – to have an Islamic center with so much publicity is like rubbing salt in open wounds,” Ahmed told AP.

The current Miss USA, Rami Fakih, who is the first Arab-American to wear the crown and is a practicing Muslim, agrees with the critics. She told CBS Inside Edition, “It shouldn’t be so close to the World Trade Center. We should be more concerned with the tragedy than religion.”

Zuhdi Jasser, President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, told The Daily Caller that the Ground Zero mosque “is not a humble Islamic statement. A mosque such as this is actually a political structure that casts a shadow over a cemetery, over hallowed ground. 9/11 was the beginning of a kinetic war, it is not an opportunity for cultural exchange. It was the beginning of a conflict with those who want to destroy our way of life.” Jasser added, “I am in no way looking to infringe on First Amendment issues. I approach this as a Muslim that is dedicated to reform.”

Shi’ite Muslim Stephen Schwartz, executive director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism, wrote an article called “A Muslim Case Against the Mosque” on his blog. In it, he argued that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s plan to build the Ground Zero center was not to promote reconciliation and understanding. Instead, says Schwartz, “the plan is obviously provocative and confrontational – and it’s hard to imagine that Rauf didn’t know that long before it became public.”

“That’s one big reason why American Muslims, like other Americans, should reject the project – particularly if they really want to adhere to traditional Islamic principles. I say that as a Muslim convert since 1997,” Schwartz wrote on August 3. “Traditional, moderate Islam teaches Muslims living in non-Muslim-majority societies to obey the laws and customs of the countries in which they reside. They must avoid conflict with their non-Muslim neighbors whenever possible.”

More Muslims Speak Out Against Ground Zero Mosque

 

[AllieBaba]

"Muslims from other countries are chiming in their support for the critics. “Building a mosque there will increase hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims in the West,” Gamal Awad, a professor at Cairo’s Al Azhar University, told the Los Angeles Times. “It will further connect Islam with a horrible event.”

On August 9, more than a week before the controversial GOP letter defending the plan to build the mosque as planned, the Muslim Canadian Congress posted an article that questioned Rauf’s motives and demanded that he not proceed with the project.

In an official letter to Rauf, the Muslim Canadian Congress stated, “Many Muslims suspect that the idea behind the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation, to thumb our noses at the ‘infidel.’ We believe the proposal has been made in bad faith and, in Islamic parlance, is creating ‘fitna,’ meaning ‘mischief-making,’ an act clearly forbidden in the Qur’an.”
More Muslims Speak Out Against Ground Zero Mosque

 

[AllieBaba]

A threat from the "moderate" developer....

"On Monday, back in Toronto, Raza says she received a call on her cellphone from a man who identified as Sharif El Gamal. “His tone was intimidating,” said Raza. “He accused me of 'jumping into’ the meeting he called and then said 'May Allah protect you.’ I was shocked and hung up.”

Raza says she took the phone call as a clear threat against her.

“Why would I need Allah’s protection?” asked Raza.

Raza says El Gamal's tone was threatening and she took the phone call as a clear threat against her, and not as it is sometimes used, as a casual phrase meaning goodbye. Contacted at his New York office El Gamal initially didn’t have much to say. “I’m confused by your phone call,” he said before hanging up.

Contacted a second time El Gamal said “There was no phone call made by anybody” before again hanging up the phone to abruptly end the call.

Raza insists there was a call, “I saved the number on my cell.” The number on Raza’s cellphone matches that of El Gamal’s Soho Properties offices in New York."

"Moderate" Ground Zero Developer Sharif El Gamal Threatens Muslim who Opposes the Mosque - Atlas Shrugs

 

[bodecea]

We had some christians here speak out against the big box mega church they build in a residential neighborhood in my town....does that mean that they shouldn't have built it?

 

[Mr Natural]

I thought you people hated moderates.

 

[Segfault]

Maybe more stuff like this will compel people who lump all muslims into the same jihadist mold to reconsider their opinion and give a generic muslim the benefit of the doubt?

 

[Shogun]

It's funny how they are only "moderate" as long as they agree with Baba's opinion...


go figure.

 

[bodecea]

We had some "moderate" christians speak out against Prop H8 in 2008. Does that mean it shouldn't have gone for a vote?