American-Muslim Leader Opposed To Ground Zero Mosque
Comments (15)
Dr. Zuhdi Jasser (Photo Credit - Matthew Dutile)
You have been featured in the media discussing the Cordoba Initiative mosque near Ground Zero. Why are you opposed to the mosque?
Zuhdi Jasser: Notice the name of the organization. If we were alive in the 13th century we wouldn’t understand, but today we do. Cordoba was apartheid. Non-Muslims had their own identification tags during Islam’s control over Spain. Even before the issue of the mosque came up, Feisel Rauf was one of my concerns in the Islamic community. The problems, even with his book, “What’s Right With Islam,” are his ideas. He’s actually an Islamist. People like Rauf, who are soft but believe in Islamism, give the West a sense of complacency. He is supportive of sharia law (Islamic law). Rauf says sharia is like the Declaration of Independence. I don’t know what planet he is living on. We need to separate mosque and state. He’s a very skilled apologist for Islamism. Look at how many months it took him to condemn Hamas. On Aaron Klein’s show in June he said he didn’t want to offend any side by calling Hamas a terrorist organization. To build a community center like he’s building, which is in the millions in cost, suggests foreign funding. It’s too expensive to get funding from within the United States. People in the Islamic community, or in any community, know how hard it is to raise money to do anything. As a Muslim, I am opposed to using foreign funding from Gulf States that oppress women and support theocracy. There should be transparency on the funding.
Are Americans, in large part, opposed to the Cordoba Initiative or are they wary of Islam in general?
ZJ: There is a mosque closer to Ground Zero that was destroyed on 9/11 and is being rebuilt. It is more evangelical in its beliefs. Americans don’t have a problem with that center. The Ground Zero mosque, rather, is an optical problem. It’s an enormous structure and would cast a shadow on a cemetery, on a memorial created due to the actions of radical Muslims. There are questions about those building this mosque. Politically, no matter what the purpose, it is an optical problem. This is more about a political statement than any kind of humility. The Cordoba Initiative, if they were truly moderate, would not be building huge structures like this, but investing in expanding ideas of liberty.
Most recently a pastor in Florida, who heads a very small congregation, caused a lot of controversy with his initial plans to burn the Quran. How should Muslims cope with attacks on their faith?
ZJ: The reaction to this was very un-Islamic, anti-Western and anti-American. Yes, nothing good has ever come of book burning. It’s truly an act of hate speech, but it’s protected speech. One of the biggest complaints my family had dealt with the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR sent all of these announcements demanding action from the FBI. There were two press releases noting random incidents of Qurans being burnt. It seems like they were inflaming the Muslim community and making the issue bigger than it was, that they were pouring more gasoline on the fire. Do they expect government and police to go into people’s backyards? There was no attempt to approach this in a rational and calm way. It’s the time for us to stop exaggerating the situation. Even Attorney General Eric Holder compared this to Jim Crow years. It’s absurd! There is no evidence that Muslims are more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other group. Also, Islam is not an immutable thing like race. It’s an ideology that has, within it, a political movement. Concern with an ideology is not necessarily a phobia or hateful.
What does your organization set out to achieve and what are some upcoming initiatives?
ZJ: We started AIFD in 2003 because we wanted to address problems in the Muslim community. Moderate Muslims, we felt, needed to take a stance against political Islam because this is a root cause of Islamist terrorism. The Muslim Liberty Project is one of our current programs. It’s based on Jeffersonian principles of universal individual rights. The program reaches out to devout Muslims, especially the youth. We hope to educate the younger people, including college students, on U.S. constitutional principles and to refute oppressive ideas within political Islam. We have people who are more traditional and those who are liberal. The project promotes discussion. We’re also putting together a book and creating social networking connections.
Can you share with readers how your background has motivated your work today?
ZJ: My father is from Aleppo. My mother is from Damascus. There were a number of families, intellectual families, who were fighting for principles of democracy, including my grandfather who fought against Syria’s secular dictatorship. My family escaped in 1966. The United States, especially the values of this country, represented where they wanted to live. I grew up learning that all people, regardless of the faith they practice, are equal. That was the Islam I learned.
Reach Reporter Reut Cohen here.
Sign up for Neon Tommy's weekly e-mail newsletter.
Comments
I'm a bit disappointed that Dr. Jasser neglected to mention the ALTERNATE title of Imam Rauf's book, as it appears in Islamic countries: "A Call to Prayer from the World Trade Center Rubble: Islamic Dawa in the Heart of post 9/11 America."
That title says much more about Rauf's motivations than the sanitized Western version, "What's Right with Islam is What's Right with America".
Many Americans (although still far too few) have become aware of the concept of taqiyya, deception to further Islam's holy war with the infidels. Through the alternate titles used on Imam Rauf's book, we are given an illustration of 'kitman', which is similar to taqiyya, but rather than using outright dishonesty, instead uses partial truths to conceal actual intent, and justifies this as 'mental reservation'.
For more information on taqiyya and kitman, and their use by Islamists to deceive the west about their true agenda, I recommend reading this article by Hugh Fitzgerald, from Jihad Watch:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2005/01/fitzgerald-islam-for-infidels-part-one...
According to most contemporary accounts, Cordoba, and by default, much of medieval Spain was a bastion of religious and racial tolerance where people of various ethnic racial and religious backgrounds were living together with a high standard of harmony that contrasted sharply with the bigotry, violence, wars and anti Semitism that existed in the rest of Europe at the time.
If the good American Muslim leader mentioned in this article sees Cordoba as ``apartheid'' , one has reason to wonder exactly what he thinks of Israel's mass ethnic cleansing, military occupation and siege of the Palestinian people, which, as a Syrian, he should be familiar with.
Also, he should be familiar with the fact that the ``mosque'' being built two blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center is, in reality, not a mosque at all, but a community center complete with a sports center, auditorium, library and swimming pool at a delapidated former Burlington Coat Factory ( hardly haloed ground ).
Zuhdi Jasser might not have appeared like such an Uncle Tom if only he were to have pointed out these simple hard facts. And one wonders, where is his indignation over the long list of crimes committed by the US military ( his former employer ) committed across the world ( Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki....etc, etc )
Anonymous,
What is the purpose in posting the same comment half a dozen times. Do you think it makes people more sympathetic to your outlandish arguments? You basically prove Doctor Jasser's point. Whenever a moderate Muslim, a liberal Muslim, says something that extremists don't like they call him all sorts of names and insult his intelligence.
Cordoba was apartheid. Jews and Christians under the Islamic Caliphate had to wear special tags to identify their religion. They paid special taxes in order to be able to practice non Islamic religions. Could you imagine what it would be like today in a Europe if Muslims had to pay special taxes or identify themselves with a tag? Would your attitude be the same? I really doubt it.
As for Jasser being Syrian and your anti Israel argument, if you are Syrian than you will know that Syria treated their Jews and treats their Christians like dogs. Jews have fled from Syria. They went to Israel. Do you know why? Because of ethnic cleansing, a term that you incorrectly use in your comment.
It's very odd that the populations of Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza grow but you allege ethnic cleansing. That is exactly what was done by Pan Arabists to Jews in the Middle East. it's exactly what is being done to the Copts in Egypt.
The Burlington Coat factory that's becoming a mosque (it's not just a swimming pool, sorry) actually had human remains in it after Ground Zero. You miss the point entirely about the financiers of the mosque and their radical ties.
Wake up and stop your hate.
According to most contemporary accounts, Cordoba, and by default, much of medieval Spain was a bastion of religious and racial tolerance where people of various ethnic racial and religious backgrounds were living together with a high standard of harmony that contrasted sharply with the bigotry, violence, wars and anti Semitism that existed in the rest of Europe at the time.
If the good American Muslim leader mentioned in this article sees Cordoba as ``apartheid'' , one has reason to wonder exactly what he thinks of Israel's mass ethnic cleansing, military occupation and siege of the Palestinian people, which, as a Syrian, he should be familiar with.
Also, he should be familiar with the fact that the ``mosque'' being built two blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center is, in reality, not a mosque at all, but a community center complete with a sports center, auditorium, library and swimming pool at a delapidated former Burlington Coat Factory ( hardly haloed ground ).
Zuhdi Jasser might not have appeared like such an Uncle Tom if only he were to have pointed out these simple hard facts. And one wonders, where is his indignation over the long list of crimes committed by the US military ( his former employer ) committed across the world ( Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki....etc, etc )
According to most contemporary accounts, Cordoba, and by default, much of medieval Spain was a bastion of religious and racial tolerance where people of various ethnic racial and religious backgrounds were living together with a high standard of harmony that contrasted sharply with the bigotry, violence, wars and anti Semitism that existed in the rest of Europe at the time.
If the good American Muslim leader mentioned in this article sees Cordoba as ``apartheid'' , one has reason to wonder exactly what he thinks of Israel's mass ethnic cleansing, military occupation and siege of the Palestinian people, which, as a Syrian, he should be familiar with.
Also, he should be familiar with the fact that the ``mosque'' being built two blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center is, in reality, not a mosque at all, but a community center complete with a sports center, auditorium, library and swimming pool at a delapidated former Burlington Coat Factory ( hardly haloed ground ).
Zuhdi Jasser might not have appeared like such an Uncle Tom if only he were to have pointed out these simple hard facts. And one wonders, where is his indignation over the long list of crimes committed by the US military ( his former employer ) committed across the world ( Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki....etc, etc )
According to most contemporary accounts, Cordoba, and by default, much of medieval Spain was a bastion of religious and racial tolerance where people of various ethnic racial and religious backgrounds were living together with a high standard of harmony that contrasted sharply with the bigotry, violence, wars and anti Semitism that existed in the rest of Europe at the time.
If the good American Muslim leader mentioned in this article sees Cordoba as ``apartheid'' , one has reason to wonder exactly what he thinks of Israel's mass ethnic cleansing, military occupation and siege of the Palestinian people, which, as a Syrian, he should be familiar with.
Also, he should be familiar with the fact that the ``mosque'' being built two blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center is, in reality, not a mosque at all, but a community center complete with a sports center, auditorium, library and swimming pool at a delapidated former Burlington Coat Factory ( hardly haloed ground ).
Zuhdi Jasser might not have appeared like such an Uncle Tom if only he were to have pointed out these simple hard facts. And one wonders, where is his indignation over the long list of crimes committed by the US military ( his former employer ) committed across the world ( Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki....etc, etc )
If this guy wants to look like a Muslim leader, he needs to first grow a beard.
At best, he can be considered to be an ultra-liberal Muslim.. and this means that he has gone overboard with his beliefs.
According to most contemporary accounts, Cordoba, and by default, much of medieval Spain was a bastion of religious and racial tolerance where people of various ethnic racial and religious backgrounds were living together with a high standard of harmony that contrasted sharply with the bigotry, violence, wars and anti Semitism that existed in the rest of Europe at the time.
If the good American Muslim leader mentioned in this article sees Cordoba as ``apartheid'' , one has reason to wonder exactly what he thinks of Israel's mass ethnic cleansing, military occupation and siege of the Palestinian people, which, as a Syrian, he should be familiar with.
Also, he should be familiar with the fact that the ``mosque'' being built two blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center is, in reality, not a mosque at all, but a community center complete with a sports center, auditorium, library and swimming pool at a delapidated former Burlington Coat Factory ( hardly haloed ground ).
Zuhdi Jasser might not have appeared like such an Uncle Tom if only he were to have pointed out these simple hard facts. And one wonders, where is his indignation over the long list of crimes committed by the US military ( his former employer ) committed across the world ( Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Hiroshima, Nagasaki....etc, etc )
[...] within it, a political movement. Concern with an ideology is not necessarily a phobia or hateful. (The rest of Reut Cohen
Keep up on daily news pro and con about the Ground Zero Mosque at http://tinyurl.com/islamwatch
© 2008-2010 USC Annenberg. All rights reserved.
USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, 3502 Watt Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0281