JUNE 2, 2015 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015, 3:50 PM
BY LYNN BRUGGEMANN
CORRESPONDENT |
MIDLAND PARK SUBURBAN NEWS
MIDLAND PARK – Less than two weeks before the Elzahra Islamic Center planned to welcome the public to an open house at its newly established mosque, its leaders were forced to report the defacement of a sign at its entrance in what police are calling a bias incident.
Imam Moutaz Charaf reported the vandalism to the police department on Memorial Day, May 25, and estimates the damage at about $500. In the meantime, the sign has been altered to eliminate the appearance of the offensive symbols.
According to the police report, Patrolman Mark Berninger and Sgt. Gregory Kasbarian responded and found a swastika and “male genitalia” had been carved into the sign situated at the entrance of the mosque at 218 Irving St.
Police Chief Michael Powderley said the bias incident is being investigated by Detective Sgt. John Gibbons.
“It appears this is an isolated incident and the police have not received any other reports of this vandalism occurring in town,” Powderley said in interviews this week.
Powderley said since 2011 there have been “numerous incidents” in which swastikas have been featured in vandalized property.
“There were three separate incidents at the high school,” he said.
He said he has increased patrols in the area of the mosque.
The Elzahra Islamic Center is hosting a “community open house” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 5.
Stop with this crap already… It was a bunch of jerk off teens fucking around and now the liberal media grabs hold and it’s a story…$500 dollars? really? Do you see any residents of midland park in the above photo? Any local Dutchman hanging at the mosque? Who’s going to the open house other than other Muslims from out of town? They were not welcome here but came anyway…why? Why would you want a MOSQUE in Midland Park unless you had an agenda?
I love it, the wooden shoes are all crying, what comes around go,s around.
I would encourage anyone who believes in tolerance and support for our religious community to attend on Friday night as a show of support. Many of us, regardless of our faith, feel it is important to show similar support when synagogues are similarly defaced. It is a religious institution. It certainly couldnt hurt to have more people of faith in our community.
Shall the U.S. pass a constitutional amendment denying recognition as a religious institution to any organization, the belief system and rules of which dictate that the punishment for apostasy shall be death?
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AGAINST ISLAM
A Proposed Constitutional Amendment (Note the need for this Amendment at the end)
Background and justification to Amendment 28
(self-defense/survival measure)
Whereas; Religion is defined as an institution dedicated to improving social conscience and promoting individual and societal spiritual growth in a way that is harmless to others not participating in or practicing the same;
Whereas; the United States of America was founded on the ideals of individual rights, including the individual right to practice one’s religion of choice, or no religion, and that there would be no compulsion of religion, nor state sanctioned religion, nor a ‘religious test’ for participation in the body politic;
Whereas; Islam includes a complete political and social structure, encompassed by its religious law, Sharia, that supercedes any civil law and that Islam mandates that no secular or democratic institutions are to be superior to Islamic law;
Whereas; Islam preaches that it and it alone is the true religion and that Islam will dominate the world and supplant all other religions and democratic institutions;
Whereas; Saudi Arabia, the spiritual home of Islam does not permit the practice of any other religion on its soil and even ‘moderate’ Muslims states such as Turkey and Malaysia actively suppress other religions;
Whereas; Islam includes as its basic tenant the spread of the faith by any and all means necessary, including violent conquest of non-believers, and demands of its followers that they implement violent jihad (holy war) against those unwilling to convert or submit to Islam, including by deception and subversion of existing institutions;
Whereas; on 9/11/2001 19 Muslim hijackers acting in the name of Islam killed 3,000 Americans, and numerous other acts of terrorism have been directed at the American people around the world;
Whereas; representatives of Islam around the world including Osama Bin Laden (architect of 9/11), the government of Iran including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, HAMAS, Hezbollah, and other Islamic groups have declared jihad (war) on America, and regularly declare that America should cease to exist;
Whereas; there is no organized Islamic opposition to violent proponents of Islam;
Therefore: Islam is not a religion, but a political ideology more akin to Fascism and totally in opposition to the ideals of freedom as described in the United States Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights.
Be it resolved that the following Amendment to the Constitution be adopted:
Article I
The social/political/ideological system known around the world as Islam is not recognized in the United States as a religion. The practice of Islam is therefore not protected under the 1st Amendment as to freedom of religion and speech.
Article II
As representatives of Islam around the world have declared war, and committed acts of war, against the United States and its democratic allies around the world, Islam is hereby declared an enemy of the United States and its practice within the United States is now prohibited.
Article III
Immediately upon passage of this Amendment all Mosques, schools and Muslim places of worship and religious training are to be closed, converted to other uses, or destroyed. Proceeds from sales of such properties may be distributed to congregations of said places but full disclosure of all proceeds shall be made to an appropriate agency as determined by Congress.
No compensation is to be offered by Federal or State agencies for losses on such properties however Federal funding is to be available for the demolishing of said structures if other disposition cannot be made.
The preaching of Islam in Mosques, Schools, and other venues is prohibited. The subject of Islam may be taught in a post high school academic environment provided that instruction include discussion of Islam’s history of violence, conquest, and its ongoing war on democratic and other non-Islamic values.
The preaching or advocating of Islamic ideals of world domination, destruction of America and democratic institutions, jihad against Judaism, Christianity and other religions, and advocating the implementation of Sharia law shall in all cases be punishable by fines, imprisonment, deportation, and death as proscribed by Congress.
Violent expressions of these and other Muslim goals, or the material support of those both in the United States and around the world who seek to advance these Islamic goals shall be punishable by death. Muslims will be denied the opportunity to immigrate to the United States .
Article IV
Nothing in this amendment shall be construed as authorizing the discrimination against, of violence upon, nor repudiation of the individual rights of those Americans professing to be Muslim. The individual right of conscience is sacrosanct and the practice of Islam within the privacy of home and self is strictly protected to the extent that such individuals do not violate the prohibitions described in Article III.
THE REASON THE AMENDMENT IS NEEDED
I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a terrible truth – Europe died in Auschwitz.
We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims.
In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world.
The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned.
And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove to ourselves that we were cured of the disease of racism, we opened our gates to 20 million Muslims, who brought us stupidity and ignorance, religious extremism and lack of tolerance, crime and poverty due to an unwillingness to work and support their families with pride.
They have turned our beautiful Spanish cities into the third world, drowning in filth and crime.
Shut up in the apartments they receive free from the government, they plan the murder and destruction of their naive hosts.
And thus, in our misery, we have exchanged culture for fanatical hatred, creative skill for destructive skill, intelligence for backwardness and superstition.
We have exchanged the pursuit of peace of the Jews of Europe and their talent for hoping for a better future for their children, their determined clinging to life because life is holy, for those who pursue death, for people consumed by the desire for death for themselves and others, for our children and theirs.
What a terrible mistake was made by miserable Europe.
For some informative videos on Jihad, visit the link below:
https://www.terrorismawareness.org/
Added: Apr-19-2008 by e4bannan
Views: 12976 | Comments: 85 | Votes: 9
– See more at: https://m.liveleak.com/view?i=96f_1208630224#sthash.JwDPad1j.dpuf
The videos at:
http://www.terrorismawareness.org
are, in fact, very helpful and educational for Americans.
It is incumbent (now, while there is still time for our culture to save itself) on all U.S. citizens of adequate mental faculties, and who are old enough to grasp the following admittedly foreign concepts to educate themselves fully: Islam as a global totalitarian political system, Sharia law with its death penalty for those adherents who convert to other faiths (apostasy), jihad and it’s obvious connection to the worst forms of mahem and terrorism, taqiyya meaning that muslims are called to lie always and everywhere to infidels if it will advance the interests of Islam, dhimmitude/jizya and the systematic oppression of kaffirs or nonbelievers under the dominion of Islamic countries, and many other real affronts to Western society.
Islam and its adherents regard the homeland of America (as well as that of all non-muslim countries) as an actual battleground. Accordingly, and whether or not Ridgewood residents know it or even care to know it, we are in an actual war zone. Are we protected? Of course not! That is the essence of living in a war zone.
Islam is a religion of peace, but only in stretches of real estate under the sole dominion of Islam. Everywhere else, including here, Islam is a political system perfectly designed for unending war and desolation. Do you now perceive why Islam is incompatible with the Western society that has raised you in relative safety and security since you were knee-high to a grasshopper?
HOORAY, TOWN BOARD! WHEN BIGOTRY COMES TO YOUR HOMETOWN
BY DEAN OBEIDALLAH
07.11.14 5:45 AM ET
Typically, there isn’t a large police presence at a land-use hearing. But Wednesday night’s hearing was different. There was a palpable sense of concern by law enforcement. Why? Because Wednesday night, the board was deciding whether to approve the application of Muslims to convert an old church into a mosque.
The little town of Midland Park is a middle-class suburb of New York City, just north of my hometown of Paramus. It’s home to about 7,000 residents. And now this quiet township had also become the home of an ugly mosque controversy. Unlike the Ground Zero mosque protest of 2010, this fight didn’t make national headlines or become the lead story on the nightly news. Yet to the local residents and the Muslim-Americans who desperately wanted a place of worship, it was just as important, and emotions were just as high.
The small hearing room that accommodated 60 was packed with the faces of brown and white people, while others filled the hallways and adjacent conference rooms. For the next three hours, this hearing would be the big show in this small town. And it didn’t disappoint.
At the outset of the hearing, the attorney for the mosque, sensing that the room was filled with opponents, made a simple plea to the municipal board members: “This is not a public referendum, it’s a question of law.”
He was legally correct, but that didn’t prevent local officials in Bridgewater, New Jersey from improperly preventing the building of a mosque a few years ago. The result was a lawsuit in federal court that found in favor of the mosque, although it’s currently still engulfed in the appeals process.
And then came the parade of people testifying for and against the mosque. The board members would respectfully listen, but showed little signs of which way they would decide.
“I’ve been to nine Bon Jovi concerts…I love this country.” That was part of the emotional plea of a Muslim-American doctor in support of the mosque. When I was an attorney, I can assure you that I never heard anyone testify at a land-use hearing: “I love this country.” Such a declaration is obviously not required by law, but when you’re Muslim, you feel obligated to continually offer these types of assurances.
We heard from opponents who lived on the block of the proposed mosque. I sincerely believe they were simply concerned about traffic, not Muslims. Others opened by saying “I have nothing against Muslims,” but you could still sense apprehension—not based on malice, but more from a lack of personal exposure to Muslims.
And then something fascinating happened. Since this hearing was taking place during Ramadan, many of the Muslims had been fasting since sunrise. I’m talking 14 hours with no food. As we reached sunset at about 8:45 p.m., I could see some taking out snacks from their bags or passing around figs to break their fast. These people were celebrating their religion while at the same time fighting to exercise it.
Soon, however, the mask of civility was removed, revealing the ugly face of bigotry. As one Muslim man from a neighboring town testified, someone yelled out, “Build the mosque in your town!” Another commented: “I don’t care if they worship their God, just not in our town.” (All the Muslims who testified were from neighboring towns.)
There was a man holding up a sign that read “Stop Application” and “Keep R Kids Safe.” I was a bit confused about the second sign. Was he alleging that Muslims are a threat to children? Not sure, but it wasn’t long until he stormed out of the hearing, declaring: “There are 180 million [not billion?] radicalized Muslims!” [Yes, he was using the Islamaphobe’s BS line that not all Muslims are bad, but X percent are.]
The hearing soon reached a boiling point as a woman calmly, but intensely, testified from prepared notes about the alleged threats Islam posed to the people of the town. Parroting the crap we have heard from Islamophbes onFox News, she claimed Muslims are “trained” to lie and that they don’t share the same values as we, Americans, do. When someone in the crowd objected, another in the audience said: “It’s the truth, you don’t know them.”
There was even a moment of surreal levity. Another woman sitting in the audience, and again this is small room where everyone could easily see one another, had been loudly voicing anti-Muslim comments. She then came up to testify, stating: “I don’t have any problems with Muslims, it’s about traffic.” Did she really think we couldn’t see she was the same person saying anti-Muslim crap minutes before?!
Don’t get me wrong, there were some bright spots, such as when a Jewish and a Christian leader testified in support of the Muslims’ freedom to worship like people of other faiths. However, every single resident of Midland Park who testified voiced opposition to the mosque. (I wonder how freaked out these mosque opponents, who were all white, will be when they realize that by 2045 they will be outnumbered by people of color?)
And now, after three hours of talking traffic, tax bases, and Muslims, it was time for the board to decide. If they followed the views of the local residents, the mosque would be soundly defeated.
The decision was unanimous. A new place of worship was coming to this small town. And it would bring with it people that don’t look or pray like most of the local residents.
But now comes the more challenging part for the Muslim community. It’s one thing to win a hearing, but it’s quite another to win “hearts and minds.” I did leave, though, with a sense of optimism after seeing the leader of the mosque walk up to as many of the opponents and as he could find and extend his hand. True, it’s a small step, but it’s a really good one to start with.
Midland Park’s Islamic house of worship would be good neighbor, sheikh says
JUNE 19, 2014, 12:00 AM
UPDATED: JUNE 19, 2014, 12:31 AM
BY LYNN BRUGGEMANN
CORRESPONDENT | MIDLAND PARK SUBURBAN NEWS
Residents packed Midland Park’s council chambers to voice objections to the proposed use of a house of worship by an Islamic group.
MIDLAND PARK — The president and founder of the El-Zahra Education Foundation, Sheikh Mohammad M. Charaf, spoke candidly during a telephone interview about his congregation and religion following the June 12 Borough Council meeting that drew more than 100 people to express their concerns about having the first Islamic house of worship located in the borough.
Charaf did not attend the meeting but said he had received feedback about residents’ concerns, characterizing some as “assumptions.”
“The community is offering hypothetical situations and they have the wrong assumptions about us and they are not true,” Charaf said. “I think there is some fear.”
He said he does not operate a mosque in Teaneck. Rather, his foundation rents space for Saturday religious instruction classes at the Dar-Ul-Islah mosque in Teaneck.
“We do not have our own mosque,” Charaf said. “We only hold our religious and language classes for children there.”
He said he did not expect people to leave that congregation and join the proposed mosque in Midland Park.
“That mosque is where people from that area pray. We will serve the people who need a place to pray in this area — people from Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff who asked us to establish a place to worship locally. This would be a small-sized congregation.”
He said he expected to offer three-hour children’s religious education classes on Sunday at the Irving Street facility.
Residents at the council meeting had cited the foundation’s website and its statement it was “hoping to raise $200,000 for renovations.”
“These are strictly cosmetic items,” Charaf said, referring to possible renovations. “We have no plans for any expansion.”
He listed items like a new heating system, carpeting, chairs and the driveway paving.
“We would need a ‘mihrab’ — a recession in a wall that indicates the direction to pray,” said Charaf. “Kind of like a church altar.”
He said the congregation has no intention of using any broadcast system for the five-times-daily “call to prayer” which signals when followers of Islam should engage in prayer.
“This is an old-time practice,” Charaf said. “Mosques in the United States don’t use this practice. There will be no disturbances in the neighborhood.”
He said followers are allowed to pray at home or can attend a prayer service at the mosque.
Charaf said he is a resident of Paramus and is the father of five ranging in age from 25 to 4 years.
“We love children and we love the town of Midland Park,” he said. “We will be an asset to the community and plan to be a part of it.”
He said he understands that people are “afraid of change” but said to remember this will be a house of worship.
“We pray to God. We love our neighbors and our country,” said Charaf.
Charaf would not specify or confirm a real estate closing date, but said, “The closing date is near and I am hoping there are no obstacles.”
He said once real estate proceedings and renovations are completed, he would like to hold an open house for the community to attend “to ease the fear.”
“We just want to exercise our right to worship. We are people of education, open-minded and are good citizens,” said Charaf. “We will be good neighbors and we will learn from each other.”
© 2015 North Jersey Media Group
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If Mr. Charaf means to say that he knows something worthwhile, and that we would do well to listen to and learn from him, he should first explain why we should trust a person whose commitment to Islam means that he is commanded to lie to khaffirs/non-believers whenever possible to advance the best interests of Islam. Who in today’s day and age would waste their time in tutelage under Bergen County’s version of Baghdad Bob?