Bomb case is latest hardship for New Jersey's large Muslim community

[webfact]

Bomb case is latest hardship for NJ's large Muslim community

By DEEPTI HAJELA AND RACHEL ZOLL

 

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — At the Islamic Center of Passaic County, which draws about 2,000 people each Friday for communal prayers, the talk is about how this year is different.

 

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, people of other faiths in the surrounding community were generally able to see the difference between the radical perpetrators and American Muslims, said Omar Awad, president of the center. But he suggested that distinction seems to be blurring in the public mind amid the anti-Muslim rhetoric of the presidential campaign and growing anger over terrorist strikes in Europe and the United States, the latest allegedly plotted by a New Jersey Muslim.

 

"They're trying to strike fear between neighbors, between the very fabric of society that we spent so much time trying to make sure that we knitted," said Awad, a New Jersey native, sitting in the offices of the 27-year-old Paterson mosque.

 

Like Muslims around the country, New Jersey's have been slogging through a particularly painful year.

 

On the campaign trail, the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, falsely claimed that Muslims in Jersey City celebrated when the World Trade Center fell, as he sought to promote a proposed national database for Muslims and increased surveillance of mosques.

 

Gov. Chris Christie, who once sharply dismissed those who questioned the loyalty of a Muslim judicial appointee, has endorsed Trump.

 

And now New Jersey Muslims are facing the broad scrutiny that follows when someone in their community is suspected of being a militant. Ahmad Khan Rahami, a U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, who worked at his family's chicken takeout restaurant in Elizabeth, has been charged by federal officials in two states with planting bombs in New York and at a military charity run and a train station in New Jersey. Federal authorities said he praised Muslim extremists and prayed he'd be martyred.

 

"I don't want the stigma to go out that there's some kind of issue in Elizabeth, that it's a hotbed for people with radical ideas, because it's not," said Hassen Abedellah, an attorney and Elizabeth native, who is president of the Darul Islam mosque in the city.

 

Abedellah said he was "in shock" when he learned that Rahami was being sought by police. Abedellah could not say for sure whether Rahami had ever worshipped at Darul Islam, but said the suspect could have passed through, since many Muslims in the community at one time or another have attended Friday prayers there.

 

It is the latest difficulty for one of the larger Muslim communities in the United States. Muslims comprise about 1 percent of the U.S. population, but make up about 3 percent of the residents in New Jersey, according to the Pew Research Center. New Jersey Muslims are predominantly African-American, Arab or South Asian, plus Muslim asylum seekers from the Balkans and elsewhere. Several Muslims serve as state judges and mayors, among other public positions.

 

In Elizabeth, Muslims have had a presence since at least the mid-20th century, developing mainly from a community of African-American Muslims and eventually growing to encompass immigrants from around the world, Abedellah said. Friday prayer at Darul Islam can draw as many as 500 people.

 

The Sept. 11 attacks hit hard in New Jersey. Hundreds of victims of the suicide hijackings came from the state. In the aftermath, Muslim leaders joined with other religious and community leaders to quell any backlash. Mohammad Ali Chaudry, a Pakistani-born economist who had lived in New Jersey since the 1970s, ran for public office in 2001 in Basking Ridge and said he encountered no bias.

 

"Not a single person during that walking campaign, going door to door, asked me what my religion was," said Chaudry, who went on to serve on the township committee and, eventually, as mayor. "They were concerned about what am I going to do about the deer problem. We have a lot of deer. How am I going to keep taxes down?"

 

Still, suspicion followed the community. Reports by The Associated Press revealed that the New York Police Department had been monitoring the daily life of Muslims in New Jersey, New York and beyond, including monitoring the Muslim Students Association at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, and Muslim businesses and mosques in Newark. New York City has since settled lawsuits accusing the department of waging a covert campaign of religious profiling and illegal spying.

 

"People felt very uncomfortable knowing that they are part of society but not really accepted as being part of the society," said Mikal Nash, a professor at Essex County College in Newark and author of "Muslims in Newark, New Jersey: A Social History."

 

New Jersey also found itself at the center of movement against Islamic law, or Shariah, in the U.S., after a state judge denied a woman a restraining order against her husband, who she said beat and sexually assaulted her. The judge said the husband's Islamic religious views meant he believed he was entitled to sexual relations at any time with his wife — legal reasoning that Muslim law experts rejected and a ruling an appellate court later reversed. Yet, the case was seized on by advocates for bans on Islamic law in other states.

 

In New Jersey, the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes reported to the government remains low but is increasing, rising from four in 2014 to 14 last year, according to researchers at the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, Bernardino. But tensions can be seen in the vocal resistance to building mosques in some communities, with an ongoing fight in Bayonne and another in Basking Ridge that has stretched over four years and is now in court.

 

Christie's political pivot has been especially disheartening for New Jersey Muslims. They had viewed the governor as a reliable ally. Five years ago, he drew notice for slamming critics of his decision to appoint an American Muslim, Sohail Mohammed, to the Superior Court. "They're criticizing him because he's a Muslim American," Christie said, condemning conspiracists who argued Mohammed would bring Islamic law into state courts.

 

"This Shariah law business is crap. It's just crazy. And I'm tired of dealing with the crazies," Christie said.

 

Chaudry, a longtime Republican, said he was stunned when the governor backed Trump this year. Chaudry had worked with the New Jersey attorney general's office on Muslim outreach and was appointed by Christie to a state commission on public service. But because of Trump, he left the GOP to join the Democrats, and has since been heavily involved in registering Muslims to vote, conducting outreach after Friday juma, or communal prayers, and surrounding the recent celebration of the Eid al-Adha holiday. He is also coordinating public speaker training for young people at his mosque.

 

"You have to be at the decision table," Chaudry said.

 

Despite the tumult, and the glare from the Rahami case, New Jersey Muslims are persevering. The Islamic Center in Paterson is encouraging families to attend a holiday celebration called "Great Muslim Adventure Day" at the Six Flags amusement park in New Jersey. And next weekend in Elizabeth, where Rahami lived, more than 300 people are expected to attend the sixth annual meeting of the American Muslim Consumer Consortium, on marketing to Muslims and commemorating their achievements in the business world.

 

"I encourage Donald Trump and his supporters to come and see what the real American Muslim community in the U.S. is all about," said Sabiha Ansari, a co-founder of the conference. "We are just as patriotic, proud and American as anyone else."

___

Hajela reported from Paterson. AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll reported from New York.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-09-26

[johnnywishbone]

In the final analysis
Trump will be viewed as a benefactor
And protector
Of peace the average loving moderate
Muslim.
He understands the difference between Muslim
And those Sharia psychopaths masquerading as Muslim.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mesterm]

[klauskunkel]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Bomb case is latest hardship for NJ's large Muslim community

Sorry to read about your hardship. Who got killed?

[mesterm]

Just now, klauskunkel said:

Sorry to read about your hardship. Who got killed?

 

Infidels, according to their own religious literature.

[7by7]

One of the things the terrorists are trying to do is stir up hate between communities, to cause all non Muslims to hate all Muslims, to break down the relationships between communities.

 

As far as some members of TVF are concerned; the terrorists have achieved that aim.

 

Well done, you lot, for doing the terrorists work for them.

 

[SgtRock]

36 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

One of the things the terrorists are trying to do is stir up hate between communities, to cause all non Muslims to hate all Muslims, to break down the relationships between communities.

 

As far as some members of TVF are concerned; the terrorists have achieved that aim.

 

Well done, you lot, for doing the terrorists work for them.

 

 

Right .

 

So what Terrorist Group does this guy belong to ?

 

Quote

Coronation Street actor Marc Anwar has been sacked for allegedly posting tweets about Indians which ITV said were "racially offensive".

 

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37466235

 

The Police are now involved

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37471864

 

Muslims do not need the help of terrorists in stirring up and dividing communities. They are more than capable of doing the job on their own.

[klauskunkel]

3 hours ago, 7by7 said:

One of the things the terrorists are trying to do is stir up hate between communities, to cause all non Muslims to hate all Muslims, to break down the relationships between communities.

 

As far as some members of TVF are concerned; the terrorists have achieved that aim.

 

Well done, you lot, for doing the terrorists work for them.

 

one thing I like to see is for all Muslims worldwide to hate terrorists and to vehemently and repeatedly denounce their barbaric behavior as anti-Islamic and anti-Allah, I would like to see them put pressure on their governments, industry and religious leaders to go after the financial backing of ISIS et al, and then I would like to see them embrace and celebrate the rich cultural and religious diversity that exists on this planet.

that would be nice.

It might even be effective

Edited September 27, 2016 by klauskunkel

[ChoakMyDee]

8 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

Sorry to read about your hardship. Who got killed?

 

Nailed it!

[7by7]

16 hours ago, SgtRock said:

 

Right .

 

So what Terrorist Group does this guy belong to ?

 

 

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37466235

 

The Police are now involved

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-37471864

 

Muslims do not need the help of terrorists in stirring up and dividing communities. They are more than capable of doing the job on their own.

One man posted insulting remarks on the Internet and you use that to condemn a whole religion! 

 

If one were stupid enough to judge the expat community in Thailand on your posts then the picture would not be very pleasant. 

[7by7]

13 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

one thing I like to see is for all Muslims worldwide to hate terrorists and to vehemently and repeatedly denounce their barbaric behavior as anti-Islamic and anti-Allah, I would like to see them put pressure on their governments, industry and religious leaders to go after the financial backing of ISIS et al, and then I would like to see them embrace and celebrate the rich cultural and religious diversity that exists on this planet.

that would be nice.

It might even be effective

Had you been paying attention over the last 20 plus years you would know that Muslims, from governments, religious leaders through to individuals, worldwide have been doing those things. 

[SgtRock]

57 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

One man posted insulting remarks on the Internet and you use that to condemn a whole religion! 

 

If one were stupid enough to judge the expat community in Thailand on your posts then the picture would not be very pleasant. 

 

I did not condemn a whole religion for one man posting insulting comments. I pointed out that Muslims do not need the help of terrorists in dividing communities, they are capable of doing it on their own.

 

But it is not 1 man is it ?

 

Need I remind you of the Muslim Politicians, Councillors and Mayors in the UK that have been sacked or forced to resign over the past 2 or 3 years ? Did you forget about them ? Are certain news stories filtered out by your biased specs ?

 

My stupid posts ? It would appear that a lot of people seem to agree with my stupid posts. The same cannot be said for you, so if my posts are stupid, what does that make yours ?

 

Resort to insults when you have nothing, how very you and so utterly predictable.

 

Try engaging your brain before attacking your keyboard, it will help you to fully comprehend a post and will stop you making a complete fool of yourself.

Edited September 28, 2016 by SgtRock

[7by7]

Your comprehension difficulties are showing. Read your and my posts again and if you still fail to grasp the point see if you can find someone who can explain it to you. 

 

I'm not going to indulge in a childish "Who has the biggest willy" argument over the number of likes we each have. 

[jaidam]

1 hour ago, 7by7 said:

Had you been paying attention over the last 20 plus years you would know that Muslims, from governments, religious leaders through to individuals, worldwide have been doing those things. 

My concern is that you deal only with theoretical realities, or the reality you wish was the real one. Sadly, muslims are being encouraged(as if that was needed!) to support the ultra-islamic extremists. I can offer you some proof of this.

George Soros, hero of champagne socialists worldwide has thrown his ample wallet behind the drive to stop criticism of terrorists and to vilify anybody that dares to criticize islamic terrorists. Here is a quote from Breitbart "Funded by notorious, open borders-supporting, hedge fund managing billionaire George Soros, Hope Not Hate released a controversial report last year that smeared Muslims who campaign against Islamic extremism. "

 

I suggest you start reading beyond CNN to get an actual grasp of the support the terrorists have from their community. It is overwhelming.

 

[SgtRock]

 

49 minutes ago, SgtRock said:

 

I did not condemn a whole religion for one man posting insulting comments. I pointed out that Muslims do not need the help of terrorists in dividing communities, they are capable of doing it on their own.

 

But it is not 1 man is it ?

 

Need I remind you of the Muslim Politicians, Councillors and Mayors in the UK that have been sacked or forced to resign over the past 2 or 3 years ? Did you forget about them ? Are certain news stories filtered out by your biased specs ?

 

My stupid posts ? It would appear that a lot of people seem to agree with my stupid posts. The same cannot be said for you, so if my posts are stupid, what does that make yours ?

 

Resort to insults when you have nothing, how very you and so utterly predictable.

 

Try engaging your brain before attacking your keyboard, it will help you to fully comprehend a post and will stop you making a complete fool of yourself.

 

23 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

Your comprehension difficulties are showing. Read your and my posts again and if you still fail to grasp the point see if you can find someone who can explain it to you. 

 

 

This is your response to my post and you claim that I have comprehension difficulties

 

 

That Indian education of yours is starting to show.

[7by7]

I do not research and gather information from just one source, certainly not CNN .

 

I suggest you broaden your reading beyond Brietbart and similar sites.

 

Try Googleing "Muslims condemn ISIS" for starters. 

[SgtRock]

25 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

Try Googleing "Muslims condemn ISIS" for starters. 

 

Yes, those good old unnamed, anonymous scholars.

 

Here is one that is named and what he has to say.

 

Quote

As for you O Westerners, claimants of civilization, you have constitutions and statutes that destroy upright moral character and permit all kinds of forbidden acts, the likes of fornication and homosexuality, as well as usury which destroys the economies of entire nations, and the eating of improperly slaughtered animals (dead meats) and pork, something that causes the loss of concern for women's values, and thus a man does not feel protective of his wife, sister, or daughter, and thus she fornicates with or intimately befriends whomever she pleases. These are some of the means which lead to ruin, and they have been prohibited in all of the prophetic messages.

 

Who is he ?

 

Quote

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Rabee' ibn Haadee al-Madkhalee is a renowned Islamic scholar and critic, author of many works primarily in the field of Hadeeth Sciences. The former head of the Sunnah Department at the prestigious Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia, his articles have appeared in many newspapers in the Arab world, and his web site (in Arabic: www.rabee.net) features a great number of them.

 

http://www.bakkah.net/articles/defense-muhammad.htm

 

His love of the West shines through for all to see 

 

How many Saudi funded Islam centers is his wonderful message being taught throughout the West.

 

[7by7]

Hmm.......

 

SgtRock uses a Muslim actor posting insulting remarks about India and Indians on social media as justification for

On ‎9‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 2:14 PM, SgtRock said:

Muslims do not need the help of terrorists in stirring up and dividing communities. They are more than capable of doing the job on their own.

then in a pathetic attempt to show his superiority over me posts

9 hours ago, SgtRock said:

This is your response to my post and you claim that I have comprehension difficulties

 

 

That Indian education of yours is starting to show.

(7by7 emphasis)

 

Shome mishtake shurley (hic)!

[7by7]

8 hours ago, SgtRock said:

9 hours ago, 7by7 said:

Try Googleing "Muslims condemn ISIS" for starters. 

Yes, those good old unnamed, anonymous scholars.

 

Here is one that is named and what he has to say.

Quote

As for you O Westerners, claimants of civilization, you have constitutions and statutes that destroy upright moral character and permit all kinds of forbidden acts, the likes of fornication and homosexuality, as well as usury which destroys the economies of entire nations, and the eating of improperly slaughtered animals (dead meats) and pork, something that causes the loss of concern for women's values, and thus a man does not feel protective of his wife, sister, or daughter, and thus she fornicates with or intimately befriends whomever she pleases. These are some of the means which lead to ruin, and they have been prohibited in all of the prophetic messages.

 

Who is he ?

Quote

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Rabee' ibn Haadee al-Madkhalee is a renowned Islamic scholar and critic, author of many works primarily in the field of Hadeeth Sciences. The former head of the Sunnah Department at the prestigious Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia, his articles have appeared in many newspapers in the Arab world, and his web site (in Arabic: www.rabee.net) features a great number of them.

 

http://www.bakkah.net/articles/defense-muhammad.htm

 

His love of the West shines through for all to see 

 

How many Saudi funded Islam centers is his wonderful message being taught throughout the West.

 

 

I have no idea; but I do know that there are many Christian preachers, particularly in America, saying pretty much the same thing! You'll find many examples here.

 

Of course, preaching that certain activities are sinful, that people should hold true to a particular religion or interpretation of any particular religion, no matter how fundamental, does not make one a terrorist nor a supporter of terrorists.

 

There are Muslims and Muslim scholars who are terrorists or do support terrorists; that's obvious. No one has ever denied it; no matter how much spin has been spun by certain people here in attempts to say otherwise. But those supporters and scholars are the minority.

 

As for

8 hours ago, SgtRock said:

 

those good old unnamed, anonymous scholars.

myself and others have previously posted many different links to named Islamic scholars, and many other Muslims, condemning Islamic terrorism; as you very well know but choose to ignore.

 

Here is another one, Is there Jihad in Syria? Should one go and fight? by Salafi Shaikh, Abdullaah al-Bukhaaree (although I do not agree with much in that article, basically the answers are "No" and "No").

 

No doubt you, Jaidam and those others who share your prejudice will ignore that just as you have all the others, and it wont be long before you all yet again claim that the majority Muslims tacitly support terrorism because they don't condemn it!