Free Republic

A leading critic of Islam isn't surprised there has been virtually no coverage or action taken against a Muslim group that has been running an illegal "get out the vote" campaign in swing-state mosques. The group, Muslim Americans for Obama [MAFO], insists that all of its voter registration activity is non-partisan, despite the fact that its mission statement says it was launched in August 2008 "to provide a vehicle for Muslim-American supporters of Barack Obama to organize and mobilize our fellow citizens to get out the vote to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States." Continuing, the...

Muslim vote is powerful, group told Examples are cited in Dearborn BY ZACHARY GORCHOW FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER December 24, 2006 Muslims played a critical role in some key elections this year. But elected officials won't take them seriously if they don't continue to organize and turn out Muslim voters, two politically active Muslims said Saturday at a convention in Dearborn. If there are efforts to register Muslims to vote, educate them about the candidates and get them to the polls to vote for one candidate, politicians will court their support, Jameel Johnson, an aide to U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks,...

A leading critic of Islam isn't surprised there has been virtually no coverage or action taken against a Muslim group that has been running an illegal "get out the vote" campaign in swing-state mosques. The group, Muslim Americans for Obama [MAFO], insists that all of its voter registration activity is non-partisan, despite the fact that its mission statement says it was launched in August 2008 "to provide a vehicle for Muslim-American supporters of Barack Obama to organize and mobilize our fellow citizens to get out the vote to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States." Continuing, the...

The Board of Election for Franklin County, Ohio opened the first election precinct in an Islamic Center in the state this year during the primaries and will do so again during the upcoming general election. Yet, this same Islamic center sponsored an appearance of an avowed supporter of the terrorist group Hamas and a group cited as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land terror financing plot. The Noor Islamic Cultural Center at Wilcox Rd., Dublin, Ohio, featured a visit by Hamas terror supporter Salam Al-Marayati who spoke in conjunction with an event put on by the Muslim Public Affairs...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In Election 08, first time in the Columbus history, voters have been gathering in an Islamic Center to vote for America’s next president. Noor Islamic Cultural Center at Wilcox Rd., Dublin, OH, is the first-ever Islamic Center of the Central Ohio that has been used as an election precinct too. The administration of NICC has wide opened the doors of this beautiful center for its neighbors and community. “They are more than generous,” appreciates Maureen Dow of the election team, “they are not required to, but they have been serving food and taking extra care of the...

DAYTON — Baboucarr Njie was preparing for his prayer session Friday night, Sept. 26, when he heard children in the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton coughing. Soon, Njie himself was overcome with fits of coughing and, like the rest of those in the building, headed for the doors. "I would stay outside for a minute, then go back in, there were a lot of kids," Njie said. "My throat is still itchy, I need to get some milk." Njie was one of several affected when a suspected chemical irritant was sprayed into the mosque at 26 Josie St., bringing Dayton...

After months of work by The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), guide dog Vargo has become the first guide dog in the UK to enter a mosque after the Islamic Shari’ah Council issued a historic fatwa11 stating “a blind person, in the light of Shariah Law, will be allowed to keep a guide dog to help him and if required to take him to the mosque for his prayers2”. In this momentous event today (on Wednesday 24 September), Vargo accompanied his 18-year-old owner Mahomed-Abraar Khatri to his local mosque in Leicester, seen...

to report that there's a nice view to be had of the crescent-topped mosque dome silhouetted against the distant skyline, but not high enough to tell you what it would be like if you were the muezzin who had to go up there five times a day to chant the call to prayer. Of course, the muezzin can't tell you either -- he's no fool -- they're going to broadcast the prayer summons (which will only happen during the day out of respect for the neighbors) by loudspeaker. --Michael Paulson That they're going to broadcast the call to prayer at...

Sep. 10, 2008 At least 20 killed in attack on Pakistan mosque: official - Yahoo ...At least 20 worshippers were killed and 30 wounded when suspected militants hurled grenades and fired into a mosque in northern Pakistan during Wednesday http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080910/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanunrestattackstoll

Islamic bigotry is still bigotry Last Updated: 12:01am BST 31/08/2008 In January 2007, Channel 4 broadcast Undercover Mosque, an investigation into what was being preached in mainstream mosques in Britain. The results were shocking: imams were shown praising the murder of British soldiers, attacking democracy, and condemning attempts to integrate Muslims into British society. The reaction to that programme proved the widespread reluctance to accept the reality of what takes place under the blanket of religion: Undercover Mosque was condemned for "damaging community relations" by West Midlands Police, who wanted to prosecute the programme makers and Channel 4 under racial...

Muslim beliefs are barely understood in the United States, if not intentionally distorted. It can also be hard for outsiders to know who speaks for Muslims, a diverse and complex group still finding its footing in America. **snip** Leaders hope that someday they will create a statewide body, a coalition for what may be the largest Muslim population in the nation.

Revealed: Saudi women preaching hate in the British mosque that promised to clean up its act 18 months ago Last updated at 00:41am on 31.08.08   Hardline female ‘preachers of hate’ are radicalising Muslim women at one of Britain’s top mosques.The Saudi Arabian preachers were secretly filmed ordering women to murder gays and ex-Muslims. Undercover reporters from Channel 4’s Dispatches recorded the lectures in the women’s section of Regent’s Park Mosque in London.An unnamed Saudi woman is seen mocking other religions – labelling Christianity ‘vile’ and an ‘abomination’. Another, known as ‘Angelique’, claims Britain is a ‘land of evil’....

Women preachers are urging followers at one of Britain’s most influential mosques to kill homosexuals and view all non-Muslims as “vile”, according to a television documentary. The London Central Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre, known as the Regent’s Park Mosque, is one of the most respected centres for moderate Islam in western Europe. However, an undercover investigation by the Channel 4 Dispatches programme has found extremist preachers have held study circles there and are teaching followers a hardline version of the faith followed in Saudi Arabia, known as Wahhabism. The documentary, to be broadcast tomorrow, is a follow-up to Undercover...

ANTIOCH — A year after a suspected arson fire destroyed the Islamic Center of the East Bay, Mohammad Chaudhry stood in an asphalt parking lot and gestured toward a new building rising on the same spot. "Beauty will emerge from the ashes," said Chaudhry, founding president of the Islamic Center. On Wednesday night, close to 50 people gathered at the Islamic Center's West 18th Street site for a prayer service and vigil to mark the anniversary of the fire and to mark the unity that somehow came out of the incident. The new mosque, still under construction, is set to...

A disagreement over religious views at the Khadeeja Islamic Center in West Valley City Friday afternoon escalated into a 100-person melee, police said. The fight started about 2:30 p.m. after the midday prayer, which routinely draws large crowds to the mosque, located at 1019 W. Parkway Ave., said West Valley City Police Lt. Bill Merritt. Two different groups whose "religious views vary a little bit" attend the mosque, Merritt said, and sometimes get into verbal spats. As the crowded parking lot emptied Friday, one such disagreement between a 26-year-old man and a juvenile turned violent when the man pulled out...

There are those who still delude themselves by preferring to believe that Islam has not made as many inroads into the United States as it has in other parts of the world, such as Europe. Facts prove otherwise. According to a National Portrait, a survey released in April 2001, there were at least 1,209 mosques in the US. According to the latest report, this number has sky-rocketed to as many as 6,000 mosques in 2008 Two years ago, the Islamobil debuted in Germany to teach the German people what a peaceful religion Islam really is. The concept of Islamobil appears...

(IsraelNN.com) A brief Chabad-sponsored course on the Temple, to be held in Israel this week and the next, has angered Islamic organizations, who call it a threat to the Al-Aksa Mosque compound. "We view this as a serious and drastic move toward the fruition of extremist organizations to establish a temple in place of al-Aksa Mosque," said Zahi Nujidat of the Islamic Movement. "This represents a real danger to al-Aksa." The Aksa Foundation issued a similar statement. The course, offered at roughly 200 locations throughout Israel, comes during the two weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av, the fast day that...

Mosques are multiplying across the country and their inspiration may come as a bit of a surprise – Christian megachurches. Similar to many megachurches, new mosques are popping up as extension campuses to a main mosque with the stated goal of making it more convenient for Muslims in an area to worship. These extended mosque sites are sometimes referred to as “mosque chains” and tend to be adopted by more progressive Muslim congregations. "Because of how streamlined we are, you can get off the highway from anywhere and find a mosque that is well-maintained, well-structured and that will always be...

MUSLIM SUBWAY ADS LINKED TO TERROR PLOTS - New York Post Jul 21, 2008 ... An Islamic group plans to blitz 1000 subway cars with advertisements this September in a campaign being promoted by a Brooklyn imam whom ...

URL only posted..... 2008 © Copyright by The Times Examiner.

This now available from the U.S. State Department: "2009 Mosques of America Wall Calendar: Limited Edition for Ramadan." "Yep, you read that correctly. It's 'perfect for Muslim outreach efforts," according to a commentary at the Gates of Vienna blog. "Where's the ACLU on this one?" The product was being advertised by "Global Publishing Solutions," a division of the U.S. State Department, until bloggers started talking about the product. Officials then apparently hid the page behind the security of a password-protected wall. However, a number of sources said the "offering" still was available in a Google cache of the website. According...

The planned construction of over 180 mosques in Germany is mobilizing right-wing xenophobes but also an increasing number of leftist critics. They fear the Muslim places of worship will facilitate the establishment of a completely parallel society. ... the media reported "turmoil" and an "enraged" audience in a school auditorium in Ehrenfeld, a district of the German city of Cologne. The mood was almost comparable to that of the protest gatherings once held against nuclear missiles or reactors. Instead the outrage was directed at a huge mosque planned for the area. Still, the words used by the project's opponents called...

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have replaced top police and security officials in the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province, which is the hotbed of separatism and political violence. They have also closed down 41 "illegal" places of worship.These places of worship were used as training ground for conducting a "holy war", Chen Zhuangwei Chen, the police chief of Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province, said. Xinjiang, which borders central Asia and Pakistan, has been the scene of a pro-independence movement by a section of the eight million Uighurs living there for a long time. The authorities also announced they have detained 82 "suspected terrorists"...

A prominent Muslim leader of Scotland is facing jail after being found guilty of sexually abusing teenage girls. Farooq Hussain, who owned a string of restaurants and held high-profile charity events, was convicted after a weeklong trial at Perth Sheriff Court. The jury found that Hussain, 56, had sexually assaulted a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old girl. Sentence was deferred for background reports. Hussain's name was added to the sex offenders' register, the BBC reported. The married restaurant owner, who held high-profile charity events with politicians, attacked a 15-year-old girl in 2002 and twice assaulted a 14-year-old girl last year. Outside...

A controversial mosque in the Italian city of Milan is to be shut down, the country's right-wing government says. The Jenner mosque attracts about 4,000 Muslims each week, with Friday prayers often spilling out on to the street. Now, after years of complaints from local residents, Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni has said he will close the mosque by August. A leading Roman Catholic has accused Mr Maroni of behaving like a fascist. He has rejected that charge. Rendition The Jenner mosque is based in a converted garage. Since it opened as an Islamic cultural centre in 1988, it has...

WALKERSVILLE, Md. (AP) - Officials of a rural Maryland town illegally discriminated against a Muslim group by barring them from building a mosque and holding annual conventions on land zoned for farming, the property's owner claims in a federal lawsuit. Developer David Moxley and his father had planned to sell 224 acres in Walkersville to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA for about $6 million. The Silver Spring-based religious group canceled the deal earlier this year after the town's three-member Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to reject their request for a special exception to land-use restrictions. (snip) David and Robert...

As the global war on terror approaches the start of its eighth year, the NYPD says it has never been more prepared - but also warns that the city can never let its guard down. In a two-part series, Daily News reporter Patrice O'Shaughnessy looks at the terror threat in New York - and around the world. Sunday's installment focuses on an NYPD undercover officer who dug deep into the potential terrorists in our midst. A young undercover city detective spent four years in the shadowy world of terrorist wanna-bes - taking part in jihadist discussions and training in parks...

CALGARY, July 2, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will unveil Canada's largest Mosque Complex and a stunning architectural landmark in Calgary on Saturday, July 5th, 2008. With a total area of approximately 48,000 sq. ft. the new Mosque will be a symbol of peace and social harmony. The Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad will inaugurate the new mosque. The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper - Leader of National Liberal Party, Stephene Dion - His Worship Dave Bronconnier, Mayor of Calgary, together with other senior community and political figures and the...

BEIJING – Chinese authorities in the restive far western region of Xinjiang have demolished a mosque for refusing to put up signs in support of this August’s Beijing Olympics, an exiled group said on Monday. The mosque was in Kalpin county near Aksu city in Xinjiang’s rugged southwest, the World Uyghur Congress said. The spokesman’s office of the Xinjiang government said it had no immediate comment, while telephone calls to the county government went unanswered. “China is forcing mosques in East Turkistan to publicise the Beijing Olympics to get the Uighur people to support the Games (but) this has been...

BEIJING: Chinese authorities in Xinjiang have demolished a mosque for refusing to put up signs in support of this August's Beijing Olympics, an exiled group said on Monday. The mosque was in Kalpin county near Aksu city in Xinjiang's rugged southwest, the World Uyghur Congress said. "China is forcing mosques in East Turkistan to publicise the Beijing Olympics to get the Uighur people to support the Games (but) this has been resisted by the Uighurs," World Uyghur Congress spokesman Dilxat Raxit said in an email. Beijing says al-Qaida is working with militants in Xinjiang to use terror to establish an...

As Senator Barack Obama courted voters in Iowa last December, Representative Keith Ellison, the country’s first Muslim congressman, stepped forward eagerly to help. Mr. Ellison ...volunteered to speak on Mr. Obama’s behalf at a mosque in Cedar Rapids, one of the nation’s oldest Muslim enclaves. But before the rally could take place, aides to Mr. Obama asked Mr. Ellison to cancel the trip because it might stir controversy. Another aide appeared at Mr. Ellison’s Washington office to explain. “I will never forget the quote,” Mr. Ellison said, leaning forward in his chair as he recalled the aide’s words. “He said,...

- Top Islamic Proselytizer As soon as I heard about the Muslim women in hijabs being excluded from sitting behind Barack Obama at a Michigan rally, I knew what you probably knew: that CAIR and ADC and MPAC and ISNA, the alphabet soup of terrorist-sympathizing, pan-HAMAS/Hezbollah Islamofascist grievance theater, would milk the story like there's no tomorrow. It was ripe fodder for their PR branch of the jihad against America and the West. Now, I've come to learn that one of the hijab-encrusted, rejected whiners, Hebba Aref, was an official of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), in charge of proselytizing....

Sunni Group Claims Bombing of Iran Mosque June 19, 2008 Reuters DUBAI -- A little-known Iranian Sunni dissident group says it was behind a deadly mosque bombing in southern Iran, which Tehran blames on the United States, Britain, and Israel, according to an Internet statement. "This is the very first operation and the signal to the criminal (Shi'ite) regime of Iran ... to stop its oppression, cruelty and injustice towards ... Sunnis," the Jihadi Movement of the Sunna People of Iran said. The group said it carried out the attack, which killed 14 people in the southern city of Shiraz...

The historic flooding of the Cedar River last week sent water into the Mother Mosque of America, likely destroying nearly a century's worth of records, documents and artifacts, officials said Monday. Imam Taha Tawil, executive director of the mosque, 1335 Ninth St. SW, said no one expected the floodwaters to come as far as the building, the oldest surviving mosque in the United States. "I couldn't even believe that this would happen or that it would come close to us," Tawil said Monday. "In 1993 I was there, and it didn't reach even Second or Third Street." Tawil said he...

For years, the Dar al Hijrah mosque was an isolated, slightly mysterious presence in Falls Church -- a stark stone building hidden behind a row of trees, rarely visited by non-Muslims in the multi-ethnic Culmore neighborhood, and known mostly for traffic jams on Leesburg Pike as worshipers arrived for Friday prayers. These days, the mosque bustles with visitors chattering in Spanish and Vietnamese as well as Persian and Urdu. Immigrants from a dozen countries gather there each Thursday, many with toddlers and baby strollers, to pick up donated chicken, bread, fruit and vegetables. On weekends, the doors are thrown open...

Belgium's dwindling churches to be converted into mosques By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels Last Updated: 12:38AM BST 09/06/2008 Churches in Belgium are to be turned into mosques as Christian congregations decline while Muslims demand more places to worship. Philip Heylen, Antwerp's deputy mayor, has called on the city to "break the taboo" over the many empty and unused churches. "It's a looming issue yet it seems impossible to have a debate about this," he said. "Churches were built as places of worship and they should not be used as shopping malls. We've had a positive response from members of the...

The City of Miami says it plans to give $150,000 to a civilian patrol group known as the Peacemakers, to be run by the Progressive Land Development International, an organization that shares a mailing address with the Nation of Islam in Miami. ... While the Peacemakers say they are not officially affiliated with the Nation of Islam, the group is headed by Rasul Muhammad, a prominent Nation of Islam member and the son of former leader Elijah Muhammad, and its corporate offices are at the group's Miami mosque

The government of Oppenao (Verona), Italy, refused to build a mosque and is about to build instead a plaza in honor of author Oriana Fallaci, Italy's La Republicca reports. On May 17, bulldozers destroyed the little building that was used as a preach room and which was thought by Oppenao's muslims to become a mosque. The Oppenao mayor told journalists his citizens didn't want the mosque and they supported the idea of honoring Fallaci instead. Oriana Fallaci is known for her fight against islam. She died of cancer in 2006.

[translation thanks to Gates of Vienna] Oriana Fallaci Square in place of the mosque VERONA — Goodbye mosque. In its place, Oriana Fallaci Square. This decision was taken by the committee of Oppeano (Verona, Italy), where yesterday morning a building used by Muslims for prayer was bulldozed. In its place, the Municipality will create a public square named after the writer of The Rage and the Pride, which promoted a bitter campaign against Islam. The decision to raze the structure which had been opened by ONLUS [translator’s note: Organizzazione Non Lucrativa di Utilita’ Sociale, a non-profit registered Italian charity] “For...

"Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, front right, wearing a head scarf, listens as an Imam reads verses from the quran during her visit to the Ottoman era Green mosque in Bursa, western Turkey, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II began her first visit to Turkey in 37 years on Tuesday, praising the predominantly Muslim country's role as a bridge.""Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is helped on with her shoes as she exits the Green Mosque in Bursa, Turkey."

Unless you live in a rural area, there is probably a mosque (or more than one) in your town, and most people -- including local law enforcement officials -- regard them with the complete indifference shown the local churches. It is the height of political incorrectness to even suggest that possibly, just possibly, it might be worth checking into the local mosque’s sources of funding, and what they’re teaching there. As a Las Vegas city councilor exclaimed when some people objected to a proposal to build a mosque right beyond the fence of the international airport, “What’s the big deal?...

The leadership of the Germantown Masjid has refused to conduct funeral services for Howard Cain, the bank robber who killed Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski with a Chinese-made semi-automatic rifle. "No, we will not bury him at Germantown Masjid," said Tariq El Shabazz, managing director of the mosque. "We don't want one slight scintilla hinting that we condone his behavior."

Gallup says only 7 percent of the world's Muslims are political radicals. Yet 36 percent think the 9/11 attacks were in some way justified.On the inside back cover of books published by Gallup Press there is the following breathtaking statement: Gallup Press exists to educate and inform the people who govern, manage, teach and lead the world's six billion citizens. Each book meets Gallup's requirements of integrity, trust and independence and is based on a Gallup-approved science and research. Don't be distracted by the bad grammar. Focus instead on Gallup's "requirements of integrity, trust and independence." Thanks to a remarkable...

ZOETERMEER, 03/05/08 - The controversial imam Fawaz Jneid is to focus on the Islamisation of young children. A new institution working together with his radical As-Soennah mosque in The Hague is organising strict religious classes for children aged 5 to 14 years in the suburb of Zoetermeer, as De Telegraaf reports. According to the newspaper, the classes are taking place in a sports hall which is rented from the municipality. The classes are given by 'brethren' of the foundation Al-Ichlaas (purity of faith). Up to the present, several dozen pupils have registered. The children are expected to appear in class...

Six people died and at least 35 were hurt on Friday when a bomb hidden in a motorcycle went off outside a mosque in Yemen's northern city of Saada. The blast happened as worshippers, including army officers, were leaving the Salman Mosque after Friday prayers, officials and security sources said. "We estimate so far six dead and around 35 wounded," Motahhar Rashad told Al Jazeera television. "It is a large mosque." Rescue workers were still helping people at the scene, and medical sources told Reuters some 100 people had been taken to two hospitals in the area. There are conflicting...

The BBC is facing a High Court challenge over its decision to censor a party political broadcast in the run-up to Thursday’s local elections. A Christian party has begun legal action after the corporation insisted on changes to a short film in which the party voiced opposition to the building of Europe’s biggest mosque next to the site of the 2012 Olympics. Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic missionary group behind the £75 million Abbey Mills mosque, opposes inter-faith dialogue and preaches that non-Muslims are an evil and corrupting influence. One of its British advocates has said that it aims to rescue...

A murder trial jury have heard how a long running dispute at a mosque in Milton Keynes led to an 18-year-old man being "clubbed senseless". Atiq Rehman was attacked with a snooker cue, causing severe head injuries, and died two days later on 17 May 2007. Luton Crown Court heard Bilal Zaman, 21, and Usman Ali, 20, of Cambridge Street, Wolverton, pleaded guilty to murder and are awaiting sentence. Ghur Rehman, 26 and Haroon Awan, 22 also of Cambridge Street, deny murder. Prosecutor Ben Gumpert said the prosecution did not suggest that Ghur Rehamn and Mr Awan they were main...

Don’t snap a photo of the Masjid At-Taqwa in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn unless you want to be hauled away by a group of angry Muslims in Islamic attire to the basement of the facility where a group of twenty “security guards” in karate suits will interrogate you. This might sound preposterous. But it happened on Saturday, April 24, at 3:00 in the afternoon. Ali Kareem, the head of security for Siraj Wahaj’s mosque, conducted the grilling. A small, muscular man with a wispy black beard that has been dyed red with henna, Kareem demanded to know the reason...

TEHRAN: A blast in a mosque in Iran that killed at least 12 people was an accident and not an attack, a senior official said on Sunday, but others cautioned the investigation into the cause was continuing. Iranian media had reported that a bomb exploded in a crowded mosque in the southern city of Shiraz on Saturday evening. About 200 people were wounded and some were in a critical condition.State television carried footage showing wooden debris and pieces of brick strewn on the mosque's carpet-covered floor and ambulances and fire engines rushing to the scene."Last night's explosion in Shiraz was...

BBC NEWS ARTICLE STATES: "Kenya unveils coalition cabinet Mr Kibaki called for politics to be set aside Kenya's president has announced a new power-sharing cabinet following a deal with the opposition to end the long-running political crisis. President Mwai Kibaki named opposition leader Raila Odinga AS PRIME MINISTER."