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Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Radical Mosque Opens New Premises in Berwyn PA

Radical Mosque Opens New Premises in Berwyn PA

September 21, 2010

Radical Mosque Opens New Premises in Berwyn PA

September 21-Militant Islam Monitor-In an article entitled "Pa. Mosque Opens Peacefully Near Synagogue, Church" the author waxed lyrical about the opening of the new building of the Islamic Society of Greater Valley Forge (ISGVF) in Berwyn PA situated about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia.[source, http://www.thestate.com/2010/09/10/1457907/pa-mosque-opens-peacefully-near.html]

The mosque open house was operated by The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) a Saudi funded front group for Hamas and unindicted co conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas funding trial.

In 2004 CAIR was named as a defendant in a 911 terror lawsuit. "Council on American Islamic Relations and CAIR Canada (collectively, CAIR), have aided, abetted, and materially sponsored and al Qaeda and international terrorism. CAIR is an outgrowth of the Hamas front group the Islamic Association of Palestine."[source,http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2004/12/cair-named-as-a-defendant-in-911-terror].

In his article "CAIR: 'Moderate' Friends of Terror" Dr. Daniel Pipes wrote:

"CAIR's real record is one of extremism. North American Muslims themselves are beginning to discover - and the government, leading media, churches, and businesses should follow - that CAIR represents not the noble civilization of Islam but an aggressive and radical strain similar to that which led to the suicide hijackings last September. CAIR must be shunned as a fringe group by responsible institutions and individuals throughout North America." [source,http://www.danielpipes.org/394/cair-moderate-friends-of-terror]

According to the report: "Last week, the Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations sponsored an event for community members to tour the mosque, learn about the faith, observe evening prayers and share dinner.

"If you get to know your neighbors, you are less inclined to be fearful of them," CAIR-PA Executive Director Moein Khawaja said.

About 50 people came, including the Rev. John Loring, pastor of the Baptist Church in the Great Valley, just across the street."

Rabbi Yossi Kaplan of the Chabad Jewish Center spoke highly of his relationship with the mosque.

"We're just good friends. We're really good neighbors," he said. "There's never been any issues."

Perhaps the rabbi wouldn't be so friendly if he knew that the ISGVF has associations with Islamist individuals and organizations linked to terrorism and rabid anti-semitism..

Among the individuals connected to the mosque is CAIR PA Chairman Iftekhar Hussain.

Hussain has spoken at the mosque and his speech was posted on the mosque website.

Iqbal Baqai, the Regional Director of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is also connected to the mosque. ICNA has been linked to Al Qaeda. In July 2001 they held a "Jihad Camp" in Pennslyvania.

In his book. ‘American Jihad' counter terrorism expert Steven Emerson wrote that;

"ICNA openly supports militant Islamic fundamentalist organizations ,praises terror attacks, issues incendiary attacks on western values and policies, and supports the imposition of sharia, (Islamic code of law)."

He also stated that:

"ICNA's hatred of the Jews is so fierce that it taunted them with a repetition of what Hitler did to them". [source,http://www.meforum.org/353/steven-emerson-get-ready-for-twenty-world-trade]

In 2006 during the Mohammed cartoon controversy Baqai was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor as stating "Muslims are angry, the offices of the Inquirer could even be attacked". [source,http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0209/p02s01-ussc.html]

Mohammad Aziz, the mosque president was a CAIR PA board member. His step daughter, Adeeba al- Zaman is the former CAIR Philadelphia office and communications director who became a staffer in Congressman Joe Sestak's office.

In an article in World Net Daily David Kupelian wrote:

"Before serving as Sestak's outreach coordinator, al-Zaman was communications director of CAIR's Philadelphia chapter. Her stepfather serves on the organization's board and also heads a local mosque, the Islamic Society of Greater Valley Forge, which is controlled by the Islamic Circle of North America, a Muslim Brotherhood front group, according to federal court documents."[source http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=113350]

The residents and the local religious institutions who are singing Kumbaya with the ISGVF are aiding and abetting Islamic radicals in furthering their stealth jihad in the United States by affording them the cover of legitimacy.

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MIM: Below is the AP article about the Islamic Society of Greater Valley Forge mosque opening.

Pa. mosque opens peacefully near synagogue, church

BERWYN, Pa. --A new mosque recently opened in this well-to-do suburb of Philadelphia, but not many people noticed.

That was fine with leaders of the Islamic Society of Greater Valley Forge. Amid a tense national climate for U.S. Muslims, they did not seek publicity for the happy occasion, only continued peace with their neighbors: a Jewish synagogue next door and Baptist church across the street.

The Muslims' good relations with other faiths and the town at large offers a stark contrast to American communities torn by anti-Islamic acts, including arson at the site of a planned mosque in Tennessee and a threatened Quran burning in Florida.

In New York, debate rages over a planned Islamic center and mosque near ground zero. And everywhere tensions are heightened because Friday's joyous Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr falls a day before the somber ninth anniversary of 9/11.

But in Tredyffrin Township, about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, community members say a tradition of religious tolerance, combined with an educated population and small-town friendliness, have yielded years of harmonious coexistence.

"We have much more in common than not in common," mosque president Mohammad Aziz said. "We are blessed with very good neighbors."

Township officials conceded some trepidation among residents when the Islamic Society sought construction permits in 2008. The growing Sunni group planned to build on land behind the small house it had used as a mosque since 1994.

Most concerns were standard zoning issues like parking, traffic and stormwater runoff. But the concept of a mosque was jarring to some, despite Muslims having long worshipped at the site, said Judy DiFilippo, a township supervisor for 20 years until her retirement in January.

"It was something brand new to the community. Even though they were using an existing building, it wasn't an obvious mosque," DiFilippo said.

The plans were approved; construction and fundraising began in earnest, capped by the mosque opening on June 5. DiFilippo said there have been no problems, which she attributed to an "underlying theme of tolerance that just comes with this community."

Yossi Kaplan, a Lubavitch rabbi at Chabad Jewish Center next door, said he was approached by people seeking his opposition to the project -- but waved them off. The two faiths were enjoying solid relations, to the point where they shared parking lots and Muslims helped with tasks that Jews cannot perform on the Sabbath.

The rabbi expected nothing less from his neighbors, regardless of religion. This is America, Kaplan said, and this is how it's supposed to be.

"We're just good friends. We're really good neighbors," he said. "There's never been any issues."

The United States has seen a 58 percent increase in the number of mosques over the past decade, from 1,200 to roughly 1,900, according to Ihsan Bagby, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Kentucky and a researcher on American mosques.

Yet many U.S. mosques are repurposed existing buildings, retrofitted to accommodate ritual washing areas and separate entrances for men and women. Sometimes they require odd configurations for prayer so worshippers can face Mecca.

Thus the new $1.5 million mosque in Tredyffrin is truly an American Dream for Aziz. Since joining the congregation in 1998, he said, it has more than doubled in size as technology professionals arrived in the area from India and Pakistan.

The mosque has a prayer hall, library, multipurpose room, bathrooms with washing areas, WiFi and -- most important -- more space for the 60 or so families who worship there.

Except for dome-shaped accents around the vertical windows, it looks more like a community center than a house of worship. There are no minarets and no dome -- cost-conscious omissions that Aziz said should help it blend in and attract younger generations.

"American mosques should take their own form ... (and) be appealing and open to people, not just Muslims," said Aziz, 57. "It is built for my children and my children's children."

Last week, the Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations sponsored an event for community members to tour the mosque, learn about the faith, observe evening prayers and share dinner.

"If you get to know your neighbors, you are less inclined to be fearful of them," CAIR-PA Executive Director Moein Khawaja said.

About 50 people came, including the Rev. John Loring, pastor of the Baptist Church in the Great Valley, just across the street. The congregation was founded in 1711 by Welsh immigrants seeking freedom to worship in Pennsylvania, then a colony that emphasized its welcome to settlers of all faiths.

"Respect for all religions is an important part of who we are," Loring said.

Sally Bovais, 68, of Phoenixville, came with about 10 members of her nearby Presbyterian church. She said such events were important "to put a face to Muslim people."

"The stereotype is really very dangerous," Bovais said. "They espouse love and peace, and raise families and are involved in their faith. That's part of the thread of our nation."

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2010/09/10/news/doc4c8a05cad388f446456247.txt

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