If only Pastor Terry Jones, the firebrand behind "International Burn a Koran Day," were going to Graceland. A small detour could lead him to the doorstep of fellow Pastor Steve Stone. When Stone read in the newspaper that a new Memphis Islamic Center was coming to town, he scrambled to make a sign and took to the street. "Heartsong Church welcomes Memphis Islamic Center to the neighborhood." This sign hasn't received much attention since it went up a year and a half ago!!!! And now, let us pray, Differently, yet together, Before there is no earth, no life, No chance for peace.
Linda Nicola
Friday, September 10, 2010
[ALOCHONA] Heartsong Church Welcomes Memphis Islamic Center
In a message dated 9/9/2010 7:41:01 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, giollab@aol.com writes:
This may give you hope.
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Response from Omar Huda
It does give me hope, Linda, as it must all of us! Thanks for sharing.
Actually, I am one of the founders of the Granada Hills (Ca) Mosque back in early 90's. We have two churches in our block, Catholic and Baptist. We share their parking lots on Fridays - and tomorrow morning for Eid prayers. We also have a Synagogue in the block.
All of them supported us. After 911, people from the Churches came in and slept in our mosque - to protect it! People from the Synagogue came the next Friday to show us solidarity. But we kept finding resistance at the City Hall. Unknown people from outside our area continued their opposition and held it up for over two years!
Only recently, 200 people from the Tea Party Nation came with there dogs (as way of disrespect) to protest building mosque at Temacula, CA. More than 600 stood their ground to oppose the bullies. Most of the 600 were local non-Muslim neighbors.
What was going on? Politics from outside from those who want all of us to remain afraid, very afraid of each other.
This is America. Bad at the fringe. Good inside. There is a lot that many Muslim societies around the world can learn from this when they deny freedom of worship to other religions, and even to minority sects from within Islam! Saudi Arabia and Pakistan come to mind.
When Newt Gingrich and Terry Jones say, they will let us build mosques when they can build churches in Saudi Arabia, I say this: So much better to build churches than military bases; for every military base you remove, go build 50 churches! I will even contrinute!
As to the references of "Quran Burning" by the crackpot (and ignorant) pastor Jones, it did not bother me at all! Lots of Qurans have been burnt. The Book and the Mesage persists!
Mongols ravaged Baghdad in the 14th century and literally kicked the Abbasid Calif to death. They razed hundreds of thousands of books on Science, Astrology, Chemistry, and of course Quran! They did not know what was inside them. Nor does Pastor Jones and those who egg him on! Later, of course, the Mongol victors converted to Islam, and wen to on to create great Muslim empires in Persia, Central Asia and India! A rare example in history of the victor accepting the religion of the vanquished!
Baghdad again! In the eve of Iraq invasion, one of the first targets of the US Air Force was a Quram Museum. It contained a thousand years old Quran manuscripts.
Last year in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country, fanatic Muslims burnt a minority sect Ahmedya mosque, and along with it, dozens of Quran. In Pakistan this continues to be a common story for years, not only on Ahmedya, but also Shia mosques. Only a few months ago a Sufi Mazaar was bombed to rubbles. They all contain volumes of Quraan!
Eid Mubarak and best wishes,
Omar Huda
From City of Angels
[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
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