This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2106
July 12, 2006
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Over 60 people protest opening of mosque in Pompano VideoCommunity Members Protest Building Of Mosque
July 11, 2006
BEACH, Fla. -- Members of a Pompano Beach community, led by vocal church preachers, are trying to block a Muslim mosque from being built.
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A mosque currently located on the northeast side of Pompano Beach is growing. Its leaders said it has to move and build in order to accommodate its members, so they plan to move the place of worship to the northwest side of the city in a couple of years. Led by Rev. O'Neal Dozier, members of the Worldwide Christian Center rallied Tuesday to protest the relocation site of the mosque. "Get in there and teach and tell people that the Koran is evil, cruel. It promotes evil. Uproot that. It's like uprooting cancer," Dozier said.
Dozier said that he feared that members of the 29,000-square-foot Islamic center would seek out new converts in the predominately black community. Dozier claimed that Islam is a cult teaching hate and violence. "I think he's a bigot. I think he's prejudiced. I think his information and knowledge about Islam is very limited," said Altaf Ali of the Council on Islamic American Relations. Those who opposed the mosque took their concerns to city commissioners during a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday night.
"No jihad in our backyard," one protester said in the meeting. City leaders listened, although they already approved zoning for the new worship center. "We as blacks should be more sensitive than anybody because we have been in the situation where we could not go to certain areas because of the pigmentation of our skin. We could not go to schools because of the pigmentation of our skin," said Willie Lawson, president of the North Broward County chapter of the NAACP. "For us to adopt that type of philosophy,
I think it's totally wrong and we cannot agree to that as the NAACP." Dozier's comments about Islam cost him his seat with the Broward Judicial Nominating Committee. Gov. Jeb Bush asked him to resign, so he did, NBC 6's Sharon Lawson reported. Dozier said he would continue to fight, possibly taking the issue to court if he needs to, Lawson reported.
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http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_192155550.html
Pompano Neighbors Upset At Construction Of Mosque
Religious Group Demonstrated Outside Cith Hall
Permit To Build Was Issued Tuesday
Carey Codd
Reporting
(CBS4 News) POMPANO BEACH A political war over religious turf might be brewing in a black Pompano Beach neighborhood, after some Christian religious leaders expressed they don't want a mosque built in their area.
The plans to build the Islamic Center of South Florida were approved Tuesday by the Pompano Beach City Commission but already a group composed of Christian ministers and pastors has called for a rally in front of their chambers to protest the decision. The group calls themselves The Ministerial Coalition Against Special Exception.
The coalition cites members of the mosque did not fulfill the requisites for two statutes that were needed for the commission to grant them the exception for special use of the land they are to build on. In a press release issued by The Reverend O'Neal Dozier, the group says the congregation needs to establish evidence that they would provide for the public's need of convenience and services to practice their religion. However, the group claims that their community is mostly comprised of Black Christians and there is no need to provide for the convenience of any large contingent of Muslim residents.
Dozier is the minister with the "The Worldwide Christian Center" in Pompano Beach. The second statue his press release claims is not being followed in the commission's decision is that the place of worship in question cannot adversely affect the health, safety or security of the neighborhood. This is where the comments in the press release might be inflammatory to some. The coalition states they don't feel safe around the Muslim congregation.
The press release states: "We feel this way because we know that our country was attacked on 9-11 and still threatened by radical Islamic terrorists…. We must remember that no matter how peaceful many Muslims seem to be, their core religion's doctrine allows for no other faith to exist peacefully alongside them."
The two statues they cite for this are: Violates Section 155.082, item (3) of the City Code of Ordinances, and item number (6) of Section 155.082.
"There is nothing in the Koran that talks about the statements that he is making," said Altaf Ali, with the Council on American Islamic Relations. "The Koran respects both Judaism and Christianity."
Outside city hall, both men had a heated discussion caught by television cameras over the claims Dozier is making. Dozier's supporter stood outside City Hall holding banners in support of his cause.
The coalition further stated concerns over the vulnerability of young black people to be accepting of Islamic cults.
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2106
