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August 9, 2010
"Proposal for a mosque at site of 9/11 tragedy is nothing short
of a 'fitna' or making mischief"
Muslim Canadian Congress urges New York’s
Ground-Zero Mosque Imam to abandon project
TORONTO – The Muslim Canadian Congress (MCC) is urging the Cordoba House
Initiative to abandon its proposed Ground-Zero Mosque in New York in the
face of outrage expressed by large segments of the American population
calling the proposal an act of 'fitna' or mischief.
In a letter to Imam Faisal Rauf that will be delivered on Tuesday, August
10 by MCC’s board member Raheel Raza, the MCC says, “Many Muslims
suspect that the
idea behind the Ground Zero mosque is meant to be a deliberate provocation,
to thumb our noses at the 'infidel.' We believe the proposal has been made in bad faith
and, in Islamic parlance, is creating 'fitna,' meaning
'mischief-making,' an act clearly forbidden in the Qur’an.”
“The Qur'an commands us Muslims to, 'Be considerate when you debate with the
People of the Book' -- i.e., Jews and Christians [chapter 29, verse 46].
Building an exclusive place of worship for Muslims at the place where
Muslims killed thousands of New Yorkers, is not being considerate or
sensitive, it is undoubtedly an act of “fitna,” the letter added.
The MCC challenges Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf about his claim that building the
mosque will increase tolerance for Muslims when the evidence is the exact
opposite. “Do you not understand that building a mosque at Ground Zero is
equivalent to permitting a Serbian Orthodox Church near the killing fields
of Srebrenica where 6,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered?” the letter
asked.
The MCC said it is opposed to the Ground-Zero mosque because many questions
have gone unanswered. Questions about where the funding is coming from? If
this mosque is being funded by Saudi sources, then it is an even bigger slap
in the face of Americans as nine of the jihadis in the Twin Tower calamity
were Saudis.
If Imam Rauf is serious about building bridges, then he could have dedicated
space in this so-called community centre to a Church and Synagogue, but he
did not. He could have proposed a memorial to the 9/11 dead with a
denouncement of the doctrine of armed jihad, but he chose not to.
The MCC letter said, “Even if the intention of the mosque organizers was
noble, the negative reaction by the American people has ensured that if
built, the mosque will remain a permanent sore point and a lightning rod for
anti-Muslim feelings. For this reason alone, the project must be abandoned.
“When we try to understand the reasoning behind building a mosque at the
epicentre of the worst attack on the USA, we wonder why its proponents would
not build a monument to those who died in the attack? New York currently
boasts at least 30 mosques so it’s not as if there is pressing need to find
space for worshippers,” the letter added.
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For more information, please call Raheel Raza at 416-505-6052.
Ms. Raza will be in New York on Tuesday, August 10 to deliver the MCC letter and to raise her objection to the mosque at a meeting of the organizers and the September 11th Families' Association/Tribute WTC
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