Boonton Mosque Terrorized With American Flag
The folks at Jam e Masjid Islamic Center in Boonton, New Jersey, have been driven to fits of exageration and accusation because last week, someone nailed, under the cover of darkness, an American flag above the front door of the mosque. So serious a crime is this that the local police have been urged to investigate this as a "Bias Crime." Education Director Hamida Amanat declared, "It was very discomforting to see something blocking the door."
Never mind that Boonton is a scant 15 miles from the former Twin Towers and that on the afternoon of 9/11/01, area muslims were celebrating in the streets while other area residents mourned dead friends, neighbors and family. That sort of behavior should be met with understanding, but nailing an American flag to a building is beyond the pale. Give me a break.
Nihad Awad of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) thinks the problem with the non-Muslim population of New Jersey is a lack of education. "I believe ignorance plays a major factor in this problem, which automatically leads to prejudice. It could be an attempt at saying, ‘You’re not Americans, but we are.’ It may be an attempt to de-Americanize the Muslim community." Awad was evidently not in New Jersey on 9/11.
It’s interesting to note, while we’re on the subject, how crucial a role education plays in the goals of CAIR. The chairman of the board Omar Ahmad publicly said, “Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth.â€Â
And then there’s the silver-tongued CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, who often appears on TV with his message of hope, “I wouldn’t want to create the impression that I wouldn’t like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future.†And how would he propose to achieve that goal? Why, through "education" of course.
Oh, and did I mention that Awad, who so skillfully condemns the vicious American flag attack by imploring peace and education, is one of the world’s most vocal cheerleaders for the terror group Hamas?
February 11th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
As a Boonton resident = I can tell you the following:
Boonton is at least 37 miles from the twin towers. Go to Mapquest.
NO ONE of Middle Eastern or West Asian decent celebrated in the streets on 9/11. Whether it was fear or perhaps disgust, I cannot say.
I cannot speak to the accuracy of the rest of your comments, but the inaccuracy of the few facts I do note, may all you say questionable.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:19 am
I stand corrected!
Boonton is 22 miles from Manhattan. I didn’t need to check on Mapquest - I have a New Jersey map left over from the 37 years that I lived there.
I lived there on 9/11/01 and Muslims were celebrating in at least one place - Paterson. It happens to be the place of my birth and I know it well.
It’s interesting to me that you are unable to answer the substance of the post.
T.P.
September 11th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
I’ve lived in Boonton for 16 years and was home on Sept. 11, 2001. The mosque you’re referring to is only a few blocks from my house. There were no “celebrations” in the streets that day in Boonton. While the members do seem to keep a very low profile, the few inter-actions I have had have always been positive. While it would be nice to have better “neighborly” contact with the women of this Muslim community, residents of Boonton who are not Muslims, do have more contact through their children.
One important mention - on this day Sept 11, 2006, five years after 9/11, I do remember the numbness I felt when that first anniversary came up in 2002. On that day I happened to have found out that the mosque in Boonton had planned a service open to all interested. It was a little strange since I had never been in a mosque before and I felt a combination of nervousness, sadness, self-consciousness (”what would my neighbors think”), curiosity, civic duty and compassion. Finally, it came down to almost a deep felt need to go. And at the last minute I did.
There were a few non-members there and I felt bad that more Boontonites had not come. That evening there was a short sermon/prayer type service, then a little tour (which was interesting because as a woman I was sort of escorted by the women during this part) and finally we had a buffet dinner from a local pizzeria (pizza and subs). I never thanked them for that “out-reach”, but I will always remember that evening. They helped me get through that day. I hope that my presence helped them, because I am forever grateful to them for the great measure of healing that came to me that night.
September 11th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
Melissa,
I didn’t say that Muslims celebrated in the streets in Boonton. I said “area Muslims.” It is well documented that Muslims in nearby Paterson were celebrating in the streets that day.
TP