Hard-liners won battle for Bridgeview mosque

Chicago Tribune ^ | February 8, 2004 | Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Kim Barker, Laurie Cohen, Stephen Franklin and Sam Roe

[sarcasm]

Sheik Jamal Said stood before the packed mosque and worked the crowd like an auctioneer.

Speaking Arabic, the prayer leader asked for a donation of $10,000. No one responded. He asked for $5,000, and three men raised their hands.

< SNIP>

The recipient of the worshipers' generosity was Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian activist accused by the U.S. government of aiding terrorists. And the prayer leader's passionate appeal is a reflection of the ascendancy of Muslim hard-liners at the mosque, one of the most outspoken and embattled in the U.S.

The mosque did not become this way without a struggle. Relying on hundreds of documents and dozens of interviews, the Tribune has pieced together the details of a bitter fight in Bridgeview that saw religious fundamentalists prevail over moderates.

The story is a rare look inside the transformation of an American mosque, the role of Middle Eastern money in shaping Islam and the tensions many Muslims feel as they try to create enclaves in the U.S.

It also provides insight into the wave of fundamentalism sweeping many parts of the world, creating divisions between East and West, between Arab governments and militants, and within Islam itself.

[CHICAGOFARMER]

if you are going to post from these sites that want to know who the reader is. Go and get and cut and paste. Thank you.

[Guillermo]

Wow, imagine that.

[sarcasm]

Chicago Tribune articles must be excerpted.

[Land_of_Lincoln_John]

As a subcriber to the print edition, this is what I woke up too. Just for this article alone, it's worth signing up (free and they don't spam you) for the Internet edition of the Tribune.

This post explains the reasons why we can't post from the Tribune Co. (Chicago Trib, LA Times, WGN etc), the Washington Post group and others:

Reference For Excerpting Articles - Please Read And Bookmark.

[VOA]

The story is a rare look inside the transformation of an American mosque, the role
of Middle Eastern money in shaping Islam and the tensions many Muslims feel
as they try to create enclaves in the U.S.

One thing about Muslims in America...
they take my mind off the invasion of mostly Christians (at least
culturally) from south of the border.

[sarcasm]

ping

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

Sheik Jamal needs an invite to the White House this year. End of problem.

[piasa]

An older but interesting article about the Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas takeover of a mosque.

[Cindy]

Thank you piasa for the memory jogger, piasa.