Posted on 12/05/2015 6:00:52 AM PST by SSS Two
Friday prayers were about to begin at the Mercy Community Center in southwest Houston. Men and women, dressed in everything from suits to sweat pants, filed into the mosque after placing their shoes in bins lined up against the wall. They took their seats on the floor and waited for the sermon, or khutba, to begin.
Imam Wazir Ali knew his message to the faithful this Friday would need to offer guidance to a community struggling to come to terms with another atrocity committed by Muslims ostensibly in the name of their religion.
"If you stand up for justice, although it may not seem immediately that you're going to get it, know that God is on your side, that God will send you what's necessary to get the justice you're looking for," he said.
But earlier in the day, at a press conference, it was a wider audience Ali and other Muslim leaders sought to address - an increasingly anti-Islam audience stirred up by Wednesday's massacre in San Bernardino and the recent attacks in Paris.
'Affront to humanity'
While Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the alleged perpetrators of one of the worst mass killings in the U.S. in recent memory, "sported Muslim names," said MJ Khan, the president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, "they didn't reflect true Muslim values."
It was a sentiment expressed across the nation Friday as Muslims gathered for prayers with the massacre in San Bernardino on their minds, and their hearts heavy because, yet again, they felt compelled to remind the world theirs is a peaceful faith and does not condone the slaughter of innocents.
"The Quran says if someone takes a life, it's as if he's killed all of mankind," Ali said at Friday's press conference. He stressed the importance of recognizing the common bond of humanity, beyond the distinctions of religion.
"I'm a human being that happens to be an Islamic leader. This is a direct affront to my humanity."
Within hours of the San Bernardino killings it emerged that the suspects were Muslims. Community leaders in California, perhaps prompted by the increasingly anti-Islam sentiment in America, immediately held a press conference to condemn their actions.
According to a recent poll, 56 percent of Americans believe that the values of Islam are at odds with U.S. values. Hate incidents against Muslims rose 14 percent in 2014, according to recently released FBI statistics, which charted a decline in similar cases against other groups, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Differing standards
Investigators have not ascribed a motive in the attack but said Friday that Malik, using a pseudonym, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State on a Facebook post shortly before. Even so, politicians and others have not shied away from linking the attack to Islamic extremism.
Both Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, who are seeking the Republican nomination for president, linked the incident to radical Islamic terrorism, the former in a tweet and the latter in a speech after the attack, the Times reported.
In Houston, Mustafaa Caroll, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Texas, pointed out that the plague of mass shootings in America in recent years has been committed by people of all backgrounds. But, he said, when a Muslim is the perpetrator, it reflects on the Muslim community in a negative way.
"No one says, 'let's round up all the young white men, ask them to carry ID,' " he said. "People aren't going to those persons' churches to find out what the preacher is saying to them. When a Muslim does it, or a minority does it, the community bears the brunt."
Finding ways to engage
At the Mercy Community Center mosque, Sacha Simmons, 38, didn't need to hear from her imam that her faith was a peaceful faith. She went to the mosque because she needed comfort, solace, prayer.
An oncology massage therapist, she had a full morning seeing cancer patients at her southwest Houston office, and she was saddened by what happened in San Bernardino and how it reflected negatively on her faith.
"I needed to break the bombardment of conversation circling our religion," she said. "I was trying to find some sense of solace, so I could continue doing the wonderful things I do and show people the beauty of our faith. I'm unapologetically Muslim. Proud to be American and proud to be Muslim."
Idriss Bada, 32, stood outside the Mercy Community Center following Friday prayer, chatting with two friends.
He didn't appreciate his faith being linked to Wednesday's massacre, he said.
But the misconceptions that surround Islam have led him to know it better so he better defend his religion to others.
"I make sure I have quotes from my book, and I do research, because not all will have the same knowledge," he said.
Carroll agrees open dialogue can make a difference, and to that end he meets with other interfaith leaders focused on achieving results.
"Now we're talking about what we can substantively do as faith-based organizations, to deal with real issues," he said. "We're not just saying love, peace and happiness. It's about influencing politics, finding underlying reasons for people doing things they're doing."
For her part, Simmons finds ways to engage with people. Even conversations that start out heated can quickly cool down, once people start to find commonalities.
"I hope people will take the opportunity to have a conversation and engage, find out for themselves," she said. "Rather than allow themselves to be fearful and caged."
Amen!
“TAQIYA
I don’t believe any of their $hit. They’re celebrating how easy it was!”
TAQIYA: the principle of practicing the dissimulation of outward conformity permitted Muslims in a hostile or persecuting non-Muslim environment for the sake of their personal safety.
In other words LIE, Deceive, Delude, give False Appearance or Statement...
One of the 10 Commandments, Thou Shall Not Bear False Witness(Lie, offense to the Truth)! Well I guess islam is the opposite of Christianity, which means God can be found with doing Good and Righteousness, Satan can be found doing Evil! Whom are the followers of Satan?
Nice poster. Among the greatest tragedies of the fallen nature of human beings is our ability to fool ourselves. This is compounded in magnitude when groups of people share the same delusions together...liberalism, Mohammedism, etc.
It was an honor to serve my country.
They are saddened that that fine young couple of martyrs died before they could kill more infidels.
Aw-w-w-w-w
And hoping no one finds their own bombs before they can be put to use.
“The Quran says if someone takes a life, it’s as if he’s killed all of mankind,”
Well unless its an infidel.
Go home.
During World War II Germans could assure us they were ‘good’ people. People who kept their flower gardens in nice order... who ironed their children's clothing properly - with never a wrinkle. Germans were people who went to Church on Sundays and swept their streets. Germans didn't throw trash on their sidewalks. They believed in order.
When NAZI beliefs churned in their 'ordered' hearts they became totalitarian thugs... German's superficial 'ordered habits' didn't stop the evil - it offered rationalization. Same as Islam. The fruit of the NAZI tree was evil - the more a person 'believed' the more evil they became.
It's the same with Islam.
Praying five times a day - or a hundred times a day isn't the issue. Orderly prayers and silly customs don't wash away the evil Islam inflicts on it's follower's hearts.
There ARE nice Muslims... They are nice in spite of the religion - NOT because of it. The more Muslims 'believe' in Islam - the more their hearts are turned toward evil..
An extreme Muslim is a killer. An extreme Christian is Mother Teresa.
Islam is incompatible with Western beliefs - it's a political cult disguised as a religion...
During World War II Germans could assure us they were ‘good’ people. People who kept their flower gardens in nice order... who ironed their children's clothing properly - with never a wrinkle. Germans were people who went to Church on Sundays and swept their streets. Germans didn't throw trash on their sidewalks. They believed in order.
When NAZI beliefs churned in their 'ordered' hearts they became totalitarian thugs... German's superficial 'ordered habits' didn't stop the evil - it offered rationalization. Same as Islam. The fruit of the NAZI tree was evil - the more a person 'believed' the more evil they became.
It's the same with Islam.
Praying five times a day - or a hundred times a day isn't the issue. Orderly prayers and silly customs don't wash away the evil Islam inflicts on it's follower's hearts.
There ARE nice Muslims... They are nice in spite of the religion - NOT because of it. The more Muslims 'believe' in Islam - the more their hearts are turned toward evil..
An extreme Muslim is a killer. An extreme Christian is Mother Teresa.
When will someone name their kid taqiyya?
Muslims, saddened by the small size of the massacre, seek solace at Friday prayers
Yeah, they are only sad because more weren’t killed.
Sounds like the same squishy pap that I've heard in some mainline Christian churches.
Oh; Farrakhan is forever more running off at the mouth, with
no consequences. - We got out today & went to a Christmas
Craft Fair & had a decent lunch out. It has been such a
bummer feeling like I really didn’t want to go anywhere; but
we cannot afford to let those yahoos intimidate us into
holing up in the house. - That whole dam* “Muslim” thing
wears on me. I got so depressed reading what was posted
about one of their imams (not the only one, I’m sure)
telling his fellow male Muslims to “use” their farm animals
for their sexual release when they don’t have women
available to “use” in that way. SOB’s!!! I pray Yahweh
CORRECTS their sorry butts, and soon!!!
Deserves to be repeated:
“TAQIYA
“I don’t believe any of their $hit. They’re celebrating how easy it was!”
Taxman Bravo Zulu for stating the truth!
I have seen these in bits and pieces .. often, here on FR. However, do you know of any website or thread on FR where these passages are listed in one place, along with the appropriate "chapter" and "verse"? I would like to keep a "cheatsheet" in my wallet just in case I'm every faced with one of these people who want to insist on the peacefulness of Islam.
There’s a book called “The Islamic Antichrist”. It has all the references you want. Then, just to be sure, I bought a copy of the koran to check context of the verses quoted in the book.
There is a good documentary on Netflix called “The Decent One” with excerpts from Himmler’s diaries. He complains that their Germans women were slutty and did not want children. The parallels are there for those who are willing to learn the history and do the critical thinking.
The rest keep voting democrat. They are like the elderly Germans that the 101st Airborne guys had to make bury the camp victims at gunpoint over the stench. They were the lucky Germans to be alive, the rest were dead when the final hammer of judgement came to them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.