American Muslims Worry in Worship
Imam Siraj Wahhaj & Yusuf Estes
What Happens When Muslims Don't Share Islam?
We found this article by Rick McCrabb very interesting, especially since Rick is not even a Muslim.
But he does have a voice and he uses it.
The real question is "When are we going to support our voice - GUIDE US TV?
Allah Orders the Believers to Call to Good and Forbid the Evil!
So, what will happen if we don't?
READ . . .
By Rick McCrabb
Staff Writer
These are unsettling times at the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati. It’s difficult for the members to worship when they’re looking over their shoulders.
Last week, a gunman shot and killed six Sikhs at their Wisconsin temple. The following day, fire razed a Missouri mosque. It was the second fire at the mosque this summer, after a July blaze that investigators have determined was arson. Meanwhile, a Tennessee mosque is struggling to open amid protests from critics across the nation.
Now that senseless violence — committed hundreds of miles away from here — is impacting worshipers at the West Chester Islamic Center, one of the largest in the Midwest, said Dr. Inayat Malik, a Cincinnati urologist and president of the center. He said there’s “a lot of concern about security” at the mosque on Plantation Drive, especially in August, the holiest month of the year.
“What place is next?” he asked Friday afternoon about the potential for additional violence.
He said the West Chester police department has been alerted and patrols have been added. The administration is considering hiring additional security to monitor the facility around the clock. On Friday nights, Malik said, about 1,000 people worship there, making it a potential target for violence.
“We are concerned for the safety of the place and safety of the people,” Malik said minutes before the Friday afternoon service.
He said the security there is the highest since the Sept. 11 attacks when it was common to see West Chester police officers in the parking and in the Interstate 75 median.
“But security can only go so far,” he said.
Malik, 72, blamed some of the hatred toward Muslims on “baseless accusations” being made by politicians who say, "The majority of the violence in the United States is caused by Radical Muslims."
“That just stirs up the fear and hatred toward the Muslim community,” he said. “They don’t know them. They only know what they see on TV, or read in the newspapers or blogs. They’re painted a certain stereotype and we need to change the opinion.”
These violent reports are “deeply disturbing” and should be a cause of “great concern” to all Americans regardless of their faith, he said.
“Ensuring the sanctity of places of worship and safety of those who frequent these, is an essential component of the basic right of freedom of religion, guaranteed by our constitution,” he said. “Our diversity has been a source of strength and vibrancy for our nation and we need to safeguard that for the future. We need to make every effort to get to know those around us with whom we may not be familiar. We are bound to find that despite our diversity we all have a lot more in common than we realize.”
He said Americans fear what they don’t understand. As part of its Talks and Tour outreach program, the Islamic Center opens its doors to the public every Saturday for a lesson on their beliefs. Representatives frequently speak to groups outside the church.
The temple opened 17 years ago and draws the majority of its worshipers from Dayton to Cincinnati, but also some from Kentucky and Indiana, he said. He said there are between 3 million to 6 million Muslims living in the United States.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, a group of interfaith leaders exhorted Americans to do more than pray for better times. Representing seven faith traditions, many advocated a period of public mourning after a violent week.
“It is my hope that this is more than a time to express personal sorrows,” said Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “Our most concrete rejection of violence occurs when we engage the neighbor, the neighbor who is new in our community, the neighbor who worships differently than we.”
One day, Malik hopes, when motorists drive by the mosque that faces I-75, they "won’t blink, won’t look twice".
OK - Now take a look at other current events facing Muslims in America -
- Remember the so-called "Paint Ball" Muslims in Northern Virginia? Everyone of them was investigated for playing paint ball out in the woods prior to September 11, 2001. And almost all of them were sent to Federal Prison for a long time - just because they were shooting paint balls - AT EACH OTHER.
- Now today C.A.I.R. had to call upon the state and Federal authorities to check out a PAINTBALL ATTACK against Muslims in the Oklahoma mosque, as a 'Hate Crime'.
- Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney is consulting with the key figure of the "IslamOphob" movement, a retired General, William "Jerry" Boykin.
- Last Saturday, C.A.I.R. tells us their Chicago office reported 2 rifle shots fired at Muslim Education Center (MEC) mosque downtown Morton Grove, IL.
- Chicago man arrested for shooting at a mosque filled with Muslims while they pray.
- Mosque in Missouri, was previously targeted, now burned to the ground by arsonist.
- California mosque: 4 teenagers dumped pig's legs at mosque in Southern California.
- Mosque in Tennessee burned while under construction, then as it was completed a local judge forbid them to open.
America promises many rights to people who live there. One of those rights is the freedom of worship. Yet, this very fundamental and sound principle can no longer be practiced in the very country that was founded on this principle.
Why? Why is this happenning to us Muslims living here in America?
- Because Muslims have not worked to keep the true message out in front of the people.
Simple as that.
I would like to quote from my dear resepected imam and friend, Imam Siraj Wahaj. This is what he had to say about Guide US TV back when we were still trying to raise the funds to get where we are today - All Over America - on GUIDE US TV.
He said, "When people know better, they do better. And with Guide US TV, people will know better. And inshallah, they will do better."