Imam of Manhattan mosque leaves amid confusing circumstances

[theeye]

New York Times: "New York Cleric's Departure From Mosque Leaves Mystery"

I simply don't know what to make of this story.

The 96st Street mosque is a well-known fixture of the Upper East Side, a neighborhood not far from where I live. It is a beautiful building (I remember when it was being constructed about 15-20 ?? years ago) and, to my knowledge, the congregation and its leaders have never been anything but peaceful, upstanding members of the general community.

If the statements attributed to the imam were really made by him, I will be deeply saddened and concerned that a mosque in my own community, which I had viewed generally positively, may well have sheltered dangerous extremists whose professions of ecumenical spirit were merely a sham.

On the other hand, I cannot help but suspect that the truth is rather reversed: that perhaps the threats to the sheik and his family were a response to his moderate stance and that the statements now being attributed to him have been manufactured.

Either way, I am deeply concerned: a religious leader whom I had no reason to hold in anything but the highest regard is either not what he seemed or he has been maligned, threatened and his words twisted.

And I fear for the backlash that is likely to fall on decent Muslims in our community when these statements (whether true or manufactured) become widely known.

[theeye]

The text of the purported interview can be found at The Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) web site.

[drmomentum[$]]

Originally posted by theeye
The text of the purported interview

Wow. I kept expecting him to mention black helicopters in there.

The converstation that is described as having taken place between this man and the people attacking his home simply didn't ring true to me. I can't imagine it really happened that way, that a mob suddenly engaged him in a discussion about Zionists. I don't know if he made the story up, or someone else did, but the story smells. The way he up and left, I find suspicious.

-JP

[theeye]

Oh, I thought it was absolutely self-evident that the purported conversation that was described was absurd on the face of it and clearly didn't happen as described.

What I'm not sure about is whether the 96th St. Imam (sorry, I should just learn his name) actually made those ridiculous accusations or if they are being put in his mouth.

[kurt_messick]

Religious (and political) leaders have been known to make turn-about statements in the past.

However, I want more directly evidence before I accept this. Anyone can stick up a website saying anything about anyone.

Of course, in stressful times, sometimes people react badly, and sometimes people change dramatically.

However, the text does not ring true at all. Especially this one:

"You see these people (i.e. the Jews) all the time, everywhere, disseminating corruption, heresy, homosexuality, alcoholism, and drugs. [Because of them] there are strip clubs, homosexuals, and lesbians everywhere. They do this to impose their hegemony and colonialism on the world."

You mean strip clubs like the one the highjackers were hanging out in days before the flights?

This has got to be propaganda. Also:

"Herein lies the danger. As President Bush said, this is a crusade against Islam and against Muslims, but the American people are innocent in this matter, because the war was planned falsely."

Gee, it seems like the word 'not' might have been conveniently dropped from this statement, because the sentence has logical faults otherwise.

I think that it is a pretty disturbing little piece of propaganda, one way or another. I don't think that anyone would seriously believe these things and don't think that someone attacking his home would admit that they were Israeli. Whether he asked the paper to write this article or not, I have no idea. He hasn't written that he disputes it and it would seem as if that would be possible and it would be in his interest to not be misquoted (I would think so anyhow...)

Ander

[theeye]

The Times has another article today. The truth remains murky, but I would not be at all surprised if the "pressure" that the imam was subjected to came from extremist factions of the Muslim community.

I hope he is not being held in Cairo against his will.