A little late here, but I wanted to get this in....
As we reflected on September 11th last week, let's not forget what Walid Fitaihi, Islamic Society of Boston on-again/off-again trustee wrote on September 22, 2001, in a letter he sent to the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi. Here's one choice quotation:
"Proselytizing in the name of Allah has not been undermined, and has not been set back 50 years, as we thought in the first days after September 11. On the contrary, the 11 days that have passed are like 11 years in the history of proselytizing in the name of Allah. I write to you today with the absolute confidence that over the next few years, Islam will spread in America and in the entire world...."
Wow, the compassion overwhelms me. Fitaihi was crowing about spreading Islam only eleven days after 3,000 people were murdered by Islamist jihadis. I repeat, Dr. Walid Fitaihi is one of four trustees of the Islamic Society of Boston.
In its entirety from MEMRI, Middle East Media Research Institute, the rest of Fitaihi's letter:
"According to Dr. Walid A. Fatihi, instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston has recently become a center of Islamic proselytizing aimed at Christians. On September 22, 2001, Al-Fatihi sent a letter to the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, in which he described the unfolding of events since September 11: "…From the first day, the media began to insinuate that Muslim Arab hands were behind this incident. At noon, the directors and administration of the Islamic Center of Boston held an emergency meeting, and I stayed on the line with them from my clinic. We decided to hold a blood drive, and we set up a committee to contact the Red Cross and organize it for us. We invited the media to cover the event…"
Yes, the Boston area - and especially Harvard - appear ripe for proselytizing. Fitaihi used to teach at Harvard Medical School. The ISB's spokeman and outreach director, Jessica Masse, used to work at a Harvard Medical School laboratory. Harvard has a department of Islamic Financing, which is the route that former Worcester imam Hafiz Muhammad Hamid took to come to the U.S. On April 2, 2007, the MAS e-mail list sent out a request for Spanish-speaking Muslims at Harvard to help convert a janitor from El Salvador. No doubt, some area Muslims are working overtime on proselytizing. And the City of Boston (through the Boston Redevelopment Agency) is aiding and abetting this missionary work. Back to the enthusiastic Fitaihi:
"All of us tried to grab onto every scrap of information that would indicate that Muslim Arab hands were not involved in the loathsome crime. Yes, my brothers and sisters, we tried to prove our humanity on the day we found ourselves attacked from all sides. (Excuse me, who was attacked?? - MK) Our hearts bled and our spokesman said that proselytizing in the name of Allah had been set back 50 years in the U.S. and in the entire world…"
"On Saturday, September 15, I went with my wife and children to the biggest church in Boston, [Trinity Church in] Copley Square, by official invitation of the Islamic Society of Boston, to represent Islam by special invitation of the senators of Boston. Present were the mayor of Boston, his wife, and the heads of the universities. There were more than 1,000 people there, with media coverage by one of Boston's main television stations. We were received like ambassadors. I sat with my wife and children in the front row, next to the mayor's wife. In his sermon, the priest defended Islam as a monotheistic religion, telling the audience that I represented the Islamic Society of Boston."
"After the sermon was over, he stood at my side as I read an official statement issued by the leading Muslim clerics condemning the incident [i.e. the attacks]. The statement explained Islam's stance and principles, and its sublime precepts. Afterwards, I read Koran verses translated into English… These were moments that I will never forget, because the entire church burst into tears upon hearing the passages of the words of Allah!!" (I don't believe you! - MK)
"Emotion swept over us. One said to me: 'I do not understand the Arabic language, but there is no doubt that the things you said are the words of Allah.' As she left the church weeping, a woman put a piece of paper in my hand; on the paper was written: 'Forgive us for our past and for our present. Keep proselytizing to us.' Another man stood at the entrance of the church, his eyes teary, and said, 'You are just like us; no, you are better than us.' "
"On Sunday, September 16, the Islamic Society of Boston issued an open invitation to the Islamic Center in Cambridge, located between Harvard and MIT. We did not expect more than 100 people, but to our surprise more than 1,000 people came, among them the neighbors, the university lecturers, members of the clergy, and even the leaders of the priests from the nearby churches, who invited us to speak on Islam. All expressed solidarity with Muslims. Many questions flowed to us. Everyone wanted to know about Islam and to understand its precepts."
"Of all the questions, not a single one attacked me; on the contrary, we saw [the people's] eyes filling with tears when they heard about Islam and its sublime principles. Many of them had never heard about Islam before. Well, they had heard about Islam only through the biased media. That same day, I was invited again to participate in a meeting in the church, and again I saw the same things. On Thursday, a delegation of 300 students and lecturers from Harvard visited the center of the Islamic Society of Boston, accompanied by the American Ambassador to Vienna. They sat on the floor of the mosque, which was filled to capacity. We explained to them the precepts of Islam, and defended it from any suspicions [promulgated in the media]. I again read to them from the verses of Allah, and [their] eyes filled with tears. The audience was moved, and many asked to participate in the weekly lessons for non-Muslims held by the Islamic Center…"
"On Friday, September 21, the Muslims participated in a closed meeting with the governor of Massachusetts. In the meeting, a discussion was held on introducing Islam into the school curriculum, to inform the [American] people and to fight racism against Muslims arising from the American people's ignorance regarding the religion. With the governor's support, measures to examine implementation of this goal were agreed upon…"
I believe Jane Swift was governor then. I'd be highly opposed to teaching Islam in our public schools, unless it was part of a course that covered all religions.
"These are only some of the examples of what happened and is happening in the city of Boston, and in many other American cities, during these days. Proselytizing in the name of Allah has not been undermined, and has not been set back 50 years, as we thought in the first days after September 11. On the contrary, the 11 days that have passed are like 11 years in the history of proselytizing in the name of Allah. I write to you today with the absolute confidence that over the next few years, Islam will spread in America and in the entire world, Allah willing, much more quickly than it has spread in the past, because the entire world is asking, 'What is Islam!' "
As MEMRI notes, Fitaihi was taking some artistic liberties here:
"Fatihi's reports of American Christians' crying upon hearing Koranic verses have an historical context. This type of narrative is about part of the ethos of Islamic proselytizing. It comes from the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad's invitation to the Christian community of Najran, located in what is today North Yemen, to visit the mosque. When the Christians of Najran were exposed to the verses of the Koran, the tradition says they burst into tears and converted to Islam."
Fitahi also wrote an article in the London daily Al-Hayat, that touched upon American converts at Boston colleges, and the "Zionist lobby":
"One of the most important topics (on radio station NPR) was an interview with several young women at American universities who recently converted to Islam through the Islamic Society of Boston. They hold advanced degrees from universities in Boston, such as Harvard, and they spoke of the power and the greatness of Islam, of the elevated status of women in Islam, and of why they converted to Islam. The program was broadcast several times across the entire U.S…"
"Thus, the Muslim community in the U.S. in general, and in Boston in particular, has begun to trouble the Zionist lobby. The words of the Koran [3:113] on this matter are true: 'They will be humiliated wherever they are found, unless they are protected under a covenant with Allah, or a covenant with another people. They have incurred Allah's wrath and they have been afflicted with misery. That is because they continuously rejected the Signs of Allah and were after slaying the Prophets without just cause, and this resulted from their disobedience and their habit of transgression.'"
Let us not forget the events of September 11th, 2001. May all those people killed on that day rest in peace. May God console their families and loved ones.
And let us not forget what ISB trustee Dr. Walid Fitaihi said eleven days later.
In the first week of October 2001 there was a prayer chanted by a preacher from a podium on Prospect Street in the Friday sermon. And this prayer (typed below) continued off and on till October 2005 in Friday sermons. It was in Arabic. The English translation is given below. What ideology allows this kind of prayer?
And at Friday noon prayer there are women and young children present also. What shade of Islam allows this?
Did not see this in the Holy Quran. Where did this preacher beam down from?
As a Muslim I am deeply offended and ashamed. Why bring it up? Just to tell this preacher that he should think for a moment what effect this would have had on young minds (if he has any human conscience).I can only pray that God guide this preacher to the path of human decency.....the path of Islam!
"Allah huma
dammer
al yehud
wal nasara.
Allah huma
almaqtal
rejalihim
Wa yatimun
atfalihim .
Ameen. Sum ameen."
"Oh Allah
destroy
the jews
. and the christians.
Oh Alla
the killing should include
their men and their women.
and make orphan their offsprings".
Amen. Sum Amen.
*
While my guitar gently weeps
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AHChc2I7FKk
Posted by: Azzam | September 17, 2007 at 08:33 PM
Assam, How do you know about this?
Posted by: Question | September 19, 2007 at 10:35 PM