Posts Tagged ‘islam’

My unexpected visit to the local Mosque

Posted: August 6, 2010 by datechguy in local stuff, oddities
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the Mosque on Main Street

I was in town to cover the Planned Parenthood protests, got there early before the people did when I noticed an older fellow heading toward the Mosque. (Which was a bakery years ago). I never had actually been inside and asked the person (who it turns out was 89 year old Grammy winner Jazz legend Yusef Lateef of all people) if I could speak to the Iman, I wanted his take on Planned Parenthood opening across the street. I was told the gentleman would be there in 15 minutes and I was welcome to wait.

I hung around waiting with the gentleman while people continued coming in, men and boys to the front section and women to the rear behind a curtain. The congregation was primarily Indian rather than Arabic in appearance. When the Imam, Bashir Uddin Mehmud arrived it turned out he was about to start his Friday Service, he invited me to stay and I observed the service which lasted about 35 minutes.

Iman Bashir Uddin Mehmud


His sermon was a no nonsense one about the start of Ramadan next Wednesday and the need for spiritual renewal, the rewards of fasting and the need to avoid sin and temptation. The basic thrust of the sermon could have been given in any Catholic Church in preparation for Lent. He also asked the congregation to pray for the members of their community that were killed in the May 28th Mosque Attacks. (Their Branch of Islam the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are rejected by many mainstream Muslim groups). His sermon also touched on a denouncement of violence. Not surprising as his sect has been the target of radical Islam

We spoke for 45 minutes after the service. He has lived in Fitchburg for almost 30 years and has seen the change in the town. His opinions on the direction of the city and the cultural decay of the country could have been said by my mother.

The first thing you see when you walk in


This is the same group BTW that you might remember from the 4th of July parade , where you had Christians, followed by the Jews, followed by this Muslim community back to back.

He seems a very fine fellow and everyone was very sociable considering I was a stranger suddenly thrust upon them. From what I saw this is exactly the type of Islam we need to see more of.

As for Planned Parenthood speaking for himself he said it was a symptom of a larger cultural decay he mentioned before.

Update: Just heard from the Imam who kindly invited me back anytime. Who would have thought I’d be exchanging friendly e-mails with a local Imam two weeks ago?

Speaking of Bikini scandals here is a real one

Posted: August 5, 2010 by datechguy in opinion/news
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I scheduled a short joke post about bikini scandals for about 11 a.m. in response to Stacy McCain’s post of yesterday but if you are talking Bikini scandals here is a real one.

A British holidaymaker has been charged with indecency in Dubai after walking through the world’s largest shopping centre in a bikini.

The woman was buying clothes and gifts in the Dubai Mall, fully dressed but in a low-cut top, when she was accosted by an Arabic woman and criticised for wearing ‘revealing clothing’.

The pair then became embroiled in a heated row in front of hundreds of bemused shoppers.

Incensed by the Arabic woman’s comments, the British woman told her to ‘mind her own business’ before stripping out of her clothes and ‘taunting’ the locals by walking around in only her bikini, it is alleged.

Laugh if you must but in area of France and England the covering of women is a defacto rule, violation of which means a beating. If this woman wasn’t a British National you can be sure this would have been her fate. If you don’t believe me as Sabatina James or Ayaan Hirsi Ali or Rafraf Barrak, or Nujood Ali.

memeorandum thread here.

Update: Interesting: Glenn, Robert Stacy and I are all listed under the Memeorandum thread. Yet nothing in Stacy’s post or Glenn’s either links to or deals with the subject of this story. does the algorythem just look for key words like “bikini” and assume the connection or does the fact that I linked to both of them while linking it to the post make it thing they are writing about it?

Update 2: Even more interesting: Glenn & Robert Stacy have been taken from this thread, Robert Stacy’s article is now a main article with its own thread with Glenn underneath it. Lesson to be learned: It is necessary for me to put up more posts containing the words “bikini scandal”.

Theologically to say the least…

Posted: August 1, 2010 by datechguy in internet/free speech, opinion/news
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…Islam has issues.

But I’ve never been one for burning books.

Analysis for me is pretty easy for me on this one. The so-called “International Burn the Quran Day” is geared to the sheer shock factor. It’s beyond incediary, ludicrous and a waste of time. And worse, this kind of behavior (burn the Quran/Koran day) distracts from the clear downsides to Islam. It sells books too, apparently. But in the end it is this group’s right to do as they please on their property – free speech (including liberal pet projects like flag burning) is sometimes ugly.

I’m with Left coast rebel here. Burning books seems kinda anti-American to me.

They get 10 out of 10 for not being afraid of the inevitable fatwa but they also get 0 out of ten for giving Islamists an actual cause for grievance. Going nuts over a cartoon? Nonsense! Burning their holy book, yeah I can see getting angry over that.

This of course doesn’t change the fact that it is protected first amendment speech and violent retaliation is the act of barbarians.

Oh and the Anchoress makes a great point:

But I have to wonder about Rick Sanchez, here. His points are not badly made, but I wonder why he showcased this fellow at all? As one of the deacon’s readers points out:

While I don’t support the burning of the Quran, I can’t help but wonder where CNN and Rick Sanchez were when we had the atheist college Professor Paul Z. Myers desecrating the Eucharist on posting pictures of the act? Maybe I missed it, but I don’t recall Sanchez grilling Myers in a CNN interview. It gives credibility to the statement that anti-Catholicism is the last acceptable prejudice.

Just so; I have to wonder whether Sanchez highlighted this story because a) it feeds into the public perception of Christians as intolerant and stupid and b) it is fodder for a potentially huge story: the inevitable fatwa against this man and the tensions his ideas will foment. Is Sanchez stoking this little twig in hopes of reporting on an eventual conflagration down the road?

Either way its bad form and will have a bad end.

Memeorandum thread here.

My fight for faith and freedom: Amazon Review

Posted: July 24, 2010 by datechguy in amazon reviews
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My review of Sabatina James book My Fight for Faith and Freedom via the Amazon vine program is available at Amazon.com here.

Although the book was really good, I would really love to see the day when a story like this is regulated to history. I’ve read too many such stories lately and it breaks your heart.

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