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Everyone remember the Muslim Youth Day held at the New Jersey Six Flags Amusement Park last month?

http://www.icnanj.org/sixflags/

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/09192004_nw_muslimyouth.html

Something that piqued my curiosity, considering this was a day of "rides and fun" for the children, was the list of guest speakers:

Chief Guests/Speakers at six flags
Imam Zaid Shakir
Dr. Ingrid Mattson
W. D. Mohammad

Let's take a look at these individuals and again ask ourselves just why were they speaking at a children's event.

Iman Zaid Shakir
Shakir is an American born African-American convert to Islam. Born in Berkley,CA and raised in different states, mainly in the ghetto's, Shakir is a devotee of Malcom X. Shakir often speaks at colleges and universities as well as different muslim youth groups.

Here is a link to a site where, at the top of the page, there is a Malcolm X video where Shakir speaks:
http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/msa/resources.html

This is an excerpt from a 2002 interview with Zaid Shakir: "EXCERPT OF SHAKIR ON TAPE: One of the miraculous things associated with Islam is that this civilizational genus in Islam can manifest itself anywhere. And we can make this Islam manifest itself right here in the United States of America so that when people look back in history, they can talk about the Islamic civilization of America."

Link to entire interview:
http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript101_full.html

If anyone is interested in reading more about Iman Zaid Shakir a google search will provide a great deal of info.

Dr. Ingrid Mattson
Ingrid Mattson is a Canadian born convert is Islam. From 1987-1988 she lived in Pakistan. She is vice president of the Islamic Society of North America and a professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

Excerpt from a very interesting article (March 2004):
"Though Dr. Ingrid Mattson appears moderate, she is insidious precisely because she maintains that façade while steadfastly refusing to criticize radical Islamists, claiming that there is no such thing as Wahhabism and that the term "Islamic terrorism" should not be used in the media. Most shocking of all, though, is how little concern she expressed about suicide bombings in an essay she wrote shortly after 9/11."
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/001332.php

After reading a considerable amount about Dr. Mattson I believe she is a apologist for wahhabism. This is but one indication of such:
http://www.thewahhabimyth.com/intellectuals.htm

In 2002 the Southern Baptist Council and Rev. Jerry Falwell had some things to say about Islam (I am neither a baptist nor a follower of Rev. Falwell although IMO they do hit the nail on the head. Just disseminating information here. ).
Excerpt from linked article about Dr. Ingrid Mattson's reaction:
The usual suspects gathered to condemn the Baptists for their excessive Christianity, and according to CNN, Ingrid Mattson, vice president of the Islamic Society of North America and a professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut, called the comments "medieval." She said statements like this from such high-placed religious leaders can lead to violence against Muslims.

"It makes me wonder what's the hateful religion right now that we should be worried about," said Dr. Mattson

http://www.vdare.com/fulford/prophet_loss.htm

W.D. Mohammed
http://home.att.net/~spmckee/people_muhammadwd.html
One could spend an enormous amount of time researching W.D. Mohammed. W.D., like Zaid Shakir, has roots in the Malcom X movement. W.D. Mohammed's father, Elijah Muhammad, is one of the originators of recruiting black men in prison to islam. He was also one of the leaders of the Nation of Islam. Here is Elijah Muhammad's bio:
http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/muhammad_e.htm"

This article is, IMO, interesting, but rather brutal. The beginning is about the father (Elijah), and read to the end about W.D.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/4222/noi4.html

At some point W.D. Mohammed split from the Nation of Islam and denounced much that his father stood for. Later W.D. reunited with Malcolm X. Now, just to mention both sides of what I've found, there are quite a few muslim sites that commend W.D. Mohammed as being a leader of the "peaceful side of islam". But, I remain suspicious about the "peaceful" side of Islam as I haven't seen much, if any, of it.

If one is interested there is much more information on line regarding all three of these individuals. I have tried to give just a bit about each and as this post is entirely too long as it is I will leave with just this question:
What was the purpose of these three "controversial" individuals speaking at a children's day at the amusement park?

Reseach - A little information concerning American Muslim Leaders who Attended a Ramadan dinner at the White House in November of 2002. Some of these people appear "peacefully" legit, others are hard core and although "fitting in" with us, are ultimately "tolerant" of us while they attempt to integrate their beliefs into our society with the help of the ACLU and whatever means they find to do so. Googling on each name, you will find some contribute politically to achieve their goals.

Mr. Khaled Saffuri, Islamic Institute

Has ties to terrorist suspects

Arrest of controversial professor defended by Khled Saffuri

Dr. Ziad Asali, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

Argues for release of Palestinian prisoner

Shaykh Hicham Muhammad Kabbani, Islamic Supreme Council of America

Side panel reads "FATWA"

The Shaykh has controversy going for him

He started his own cult

Dr. Sayyid Syeed, Secretary General, Islamic Society of America

Probing questions don't get answered

Senate requests financial records for 27 charities