This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/321

Discrimination suit against Islamists - Kissimmee Christian Academy vs. the Universal Heritage Foundation - UHF CEO Shah responds

November 15, 2004

MIM: The Kissimmee Christian Academy is holding a press conference which is open to the public at the Osceola Heritage Park on November 17th at 10 am to discuss their discrimination lawsuit against the Universal Heritage Foundation and to make the public aware of the militant Islamist agenda of the UHF whose CEO Zulfiqar Ali Shah, is the former president of the Islamic Circle of North America .

For links to more information about the Universal Heritage Foundation, the Islamic Circle of North America and the Muslim American Society see below:

Update11/18/04: The press conference which was held yesterday to publicise the plight of the Kissmimmee Christian Academy vs. the Universal Heritage Foundation received extensive media coverage. MIM will be placing the latest news and keep readers informed of the situation. The case may be the first discrimination suit filed by a non Muslim plaintiff against a Muslim organisation in America for religious discrimination. The Universal Heritage Foundation is a subsidiary of the Islamic Circle of North America and the Muslim American Society. The president and CEO of the UHF is Zulfiqar Ali Shah who was formerly the president of ICNA and prinicipal of the School for Islamic Studies in Broward. Shah is also an Imam and is closely connected to Saudi cleric and Sheik Abdur Rahman Al Sudais.

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Muslim Company Accused of Illegally Evicting Christian School

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/172004e.asp

By Jim Brown
November 17, 2004

(AgapePress) - A Christian school in Florida has filed a lawsuit alleging it was wrongfully evicted by a radical Islamic group.

Kissimmee Christian Academy (KCA) claims it was harassed off the former college campus it leased from the Muslim-owned conglomerate, Super Stop Petroleum, which installed an organization called "Universal Heritage Foundation" on a section of the premises. According to Pastor Lee Wasson of Celebration Worship in Osceola County, the Christian school his church operates was victimized by the Muslim group in a systematic campaign of harassment.

KCA had its power, water, and sewer services shut off by Super Stop Petroleum, Wasson says, and later the school was sent an erroneous bill against the provisions of its lease. To the pastor it soon became obvious that the Muslim corporation wanted the school off the property. The reason, he believes, is so Super Stop could establish its local agent, UHF -- a group known for its hate speech against Christians and Jews.

Wasson says UHF has "called for death to worshippers of the cross." And, he adds, "it's unfortunate to have to repeat these words that are in print, but they've called the Jews the scum of the Earth, the grandsons of monkeys and pigs." Also, Wasson says the radical Islamic group has either chaired or been in charge of other mosques and schools that have had arrests or "have been under investigation, or even have been raided."

According to the Florida minister, the UHF has invited speakers to its mosque who describe homicide bombers as "martyrs" and call for the imposition of Sharia law in the U.S. He believes the UHF is made up of Muslim extremists and says, "They are with organizations that have noted terrorist ties."

KCA has had a hard time since its eviction from the leased property. The academy has had to meet in Sunday school classrooms, has lost two-thirds of its enrollment, and is struggling to stay open after 17 years in business. Moreover, the school has become encumbered with enormous legal fees due to its efforts to fight the injustices to which the Muslim conglomerate has subjected it.

Wasson is urging fellow Christians locally and across the country to pray with him that a court of law will not allow civil rights and religious liberties to be stolen by a radical minority. "I have been meeting with a group of local pastors about this situation on a weekly basis for a year," the Florida minister says. "We have utterly submitted everything we've done with our attorneys, with the press, and with other churches to these men so that they could check our motives."

The head of Kissimmee Christian Academy explains that he has invited local clergy to be in on every aspect of the school's fight, so they could hold him and his staff accountable and "could give us wise counsel" and "could pray and hear from God along with us." In this crisis, he asserts, "First of all, prayer is everything."

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MIM: Zulfiqar Ali Shah responded to this article and posted his message on the 'Smart Christian' website blog.

In his message Shah explained to Pastor Wasson what it means to be a good Christian and quoted from the New Testament.Shah also claims that " neither the UHF or anyone officially connected with it has made any outrageous statements such as "Death to the worshippers of the cross" or evil statements about the Jews described in the Pastor's statement. Even more disingenuous then Shah's claims that Abdur Rahman didnt make the documented statements is that fact that he acted as Sheik Abdur Rahman Al Sudais's translator when he visited South Florida in 2001. This shows that he would have known about the Sheik's words both in arabic and english.

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MIM: Sheik Abdur Rahman Al Sudais the "patron Wahabi saint " of the UHF and their associates MAS and ICNA is also one of the chief clerics of Saudi Arabia. Al Sudais was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the UHF inaugural conference in December of 2003 together with Ralph Nader. Below is an excerpt from "Nader denies appearence with racist Muslim'.

Nader, who was involved in bid for the presidency, pretended that he had never been invited and knew nothing about the event .Ashraf Shaikh, the president of the UHF, confirmed that Nader had been invited.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35941

"Nader and Sheik Abdur-Rahman Al-Sudais were listed on Internet invitations as the two "specially invited guests" who would speak at the inaugural conference of "Islam for Humanity," scheduled for Dec. 19-21 at the campus of the Universal Heritage Foundation, a 31-acre Islamic center near Disney World.

The program also has Nader's name.

Al-Sudais, chief Saudi Arabian cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, made worldwide news last year for a hate-filled, racist sermon broadcast live by several Arabic television and radio networks.

The cleric prayed to God to "terminate" the Jews, who he called "the scum of humanity, the rats of the world, prophet killers ... pigs and monkeys."

Al-Sudais also urged Arabs and Muslims to abandon peace initiatives with Israel.

"We must say farewell to peace initiatives with these people [Jews]," he told worshippers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The remarks were reported by Reuters and the Associated Press.

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MIM: Shah may have a short memory but the tape he made for Meccacentric speaks volumes . In it he explains how "many teachings in the Old Testament actually go against all human logic and morality" http://www.meccacentric.com/168.html

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Zulfiqar Ali Shah responds to article in Agape Press (see above)

http://smartchristian.com/blog/index.php?p=421

1. The Universal Heritage Foundation is a small organization with only two employees. We have never bothered the Kissimmee Christian Academy or its staff at all. It is nothing but an outright lie that we have ever shut down KCA's electricity, water or any other services. We do not have control over the facility. We are renting just few rooms and working mostly off campus to inform the community at large about the potentials of the future project.
   The Pastor had financial difficulties and had been unable to pay the rent. That is why the owner, Super stop Petroleum, sent him legal collection notices. They gave him the legal eviction notice through the court after being unable to collect the rent. The KCA left in February of 2004 on its own though the lease was to expire on July 15, 2004.
   The space is still available and the owner gives the assurance that they are willing to lease the property to Kissimmee Christian Academy on the same old terms and conditions if the KCA is willing to pay the outstanding amounts and bills.
   This is a rent dispute and has absolutely nothing to do with the religion. I will strongly recommend and actually earnestly request Pastor Lee Wasson to stick to the true Christian spirit, pay the outstanding bills to the owner, and come back to the facility. For God's sake, do not use faith to try to get cheap publicity or run away from financial responsibilities. Faith is higher than these petty material gains.
   Again, it is purely a matter of bills and not religions.
   The staff of Universal Heritage will be extremely happy to see Kissimmee Christian Academy come back to the facility and enjoy a good friendly relationship with them.

   I am the founder and the CEO/Chairman of the Universal Heritage Foundation. Neither UHF or anybody officially connected with it has ever made outrageous statements such as "Death to the worshippers of the Cross", or evil statements about the Jews described in the Pastor's statement. I have closely worked with the interfaith groups, NCCJ and many such multi-cultural and multi-religious groups. I have befriended many Rabbis, Ministers and Pastors and still enjoy close and brotherly relations with many of them. It is evil even to think of making such blank statements rest aside actually making them or allowing someone to make them in my presence. The Pastor must bring the proof that anyone connected with UHF has ever made such an evil statement. I am sorry to say that I have never seen such outright lies coming out of a pastor's mouth. I really mean it. I am really saddened by these baseless accusations. "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" Mark 12:31
   Jesus says in Matthew, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bring forth evil fruit… Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:16-23

   Comment by Zulfiqar A. Shah — November 22, 2004 @ 11:04 am

2. ---------------------------------------------------------------------

MIM :Note that the NCCJ which Shah mentioned in his posting is an Islamist pawn which is used by CAIR as an interfaith front. State Attorney Katherine Rundle is among the NCCJ board members. The executive director of the NCCJ Jim Howe is one of the founders of 'charity' together with Sofian Abdelaziz Zakkout the director of the American Muslim Association of North America - an Islamist propagation group.http://www.nccj.org/nccj/nccj.nsf/regionalprofileweb/67?opendocument

"AIPO was formed in 2003 by Sofian Zakkout, Jim Howe and Yigal Kahana, to facilitate the collection and distribution of material necessities, half for Israeli and half for Palestinian orphans." http://www.aipo.info/founders.htm

Zakkout was the vice president of the Health Resource Center Palestine which solicited funding for the Islamic Association of Palestine/Hamas. The HRCP was 'closed for business' in 2003. http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3

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http://www.cair-florida.org/ViewArticle.asp?Code=PR&ArticleID=209

TAMPA, FL 5/12/04) The Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) and the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) announced today their plans to hold several press conferences across Florida to address recent events of torture, abuse, and senseless killings in Iraq. CAIR-FL and NCCJ will be joined by leaders and clergy of various religious organizations.

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Shah responds on Hyscience website:

http://hyscience.typepad.com/hyscience/2004/11/ceo_of_universa.html

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http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/special_packages/florida_election/10201943.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Kissimmee Christian school claims discrimination led to eviction


Associated Press

KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The head of a Christian academy is accusing his landlord of evicting the school because of religious discrimination, but the property manager said it was because of late rent.

Lee Wasson, head of Kissimmee Christian Academy, said his school was kicked out of its building so an Islamic group could take over the space.

"If I was there just running a bakery, they would let me be. But we were repulsive to them (because of our religion)," Wasson said.

Rab Masroor, a project manager for building owner Super Stop Petroleum, called the allegations "absurd," and said they are meant to distract from the back rent.

"People get these weird ideas," Masroor said. Wasson "should pretty much be ashamed for propagating this stuff."

In a counterclaim to the eviction lawsuit against the academy, Wasson denies his school owes money to Super Stop, a Margate-based development company.

The Universal Heritage Foundation, an Islamic charity, sought to occupy the Kissimmee site. It paid $25,000 to reserve the right to buy the property by December.

The group drew scrutiny last December for holding a conference with guest speakers whom critics described as Muslim extremists. The group's founder, Zulfiqar Ali Shah, said the foundation promotes understanding between different faiths.

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MIM Note: Superstop Petroleum spokesman Rab Masoor is deliberately misrepresenting the facts when he says the allegations are meant "to distract from the back rent". MIM has verified that Pastor Lee Watson has settled all his accounts on advice of his attorney and that the money is in an escrow accounting pending legal proceedings.

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http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=wasson1%2Ehtm

Press Release

===> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE <===

Christian School Fights Back, Files Suit Against Radical Islamic Group

To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editors

Contact: Lee Wasson, Pastor Kissimmee Christian Academy [407-847-3155], Larry Brown, Sr. Partner - Brown, Garganese, Weiss & D'Agresta, P.A., of Orlando, FLA – [407-425 9566] or William A. Mayer, Editor & Publisher – PipeLineNews.org [925-689-9492]

News Advisory

WHAT: Press Conference

WHEN: 10:00 AM EST - Wednesday November 17, 2004

WHERE: Kissimmee Meeting Room at the Osceola Heritage Park Exposition Building, Kissimmee, Florida.

Web: http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=wasson1%2Ehtm

Osceola County, FL – The Kissimmee Christian Academy [KCA] has been subjected to hostile acts of religious intolerance in Osceola County Florida. This activity has caused great harm to the operations of that school.

Muslim-owned conglomerate, Super Stop Petroleum, by its own actions and the actions of its local agent, the Universal Heritage Foundation [UHF], constructively and wrongfully evicted KCA from its school and has sued the Academy and Pastor Lee Wasson, its Director.

Complainants have filed a counter-suit in this matter and are considering amending the suit by adding a Civil Rights claim. Representatives of UHF claim that they are moderate and devout Muslims. Towards that end, they have engaged in a broad public relations effort to convince the unaware that they are interested in interfaith dialogue, outreach to other religions and peaceful coexistence.

To the contrary, the actions directly taken by them against the Kissimmee Christian Academy and their public statements reveal that UHF is populated by some of the most radical Islamists in America. Many associated with the Universal Heritage Foundation have a record of hate speech directed against Christians, Jews and the government of the United States.

The Universal Heritage Foundation first made itself known to residents of Kissimmee with a December 2003 inaugural conference, "Islam for Humanity." Which featured speakers who have called for "death to worshipers of the Cross," refer to Jews as "the scum of the earth." who should be "annihilated," and who demand the imposition of "sharia" or Islamic law in the United States.

The conference turned into a fiasco when news of the radical nature of the speakers became known outside the Muslim community.

Wednesday's press conference will feature a show of support by local ministers and Christian leaders from Central Florida who will be standing with Pastor Wasson to serve notice that they will not allow constitutionally guaranteed rights and religious liberties to be stolen by an extremist minority.

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For More Information on the Universal Heritage Foundation

'Florida Conference Outed As Jihad fest' (UHF Inaugural event)

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/18

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MAS and ICNA Muslim American Subversives and the Islamic Collaborators of North America

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/216

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Muslim Youth Leader (and UHF webmaster) Tayabb Yunus tells parents at 2000 ICNA conference "now is the time to send your child...to fight Jihad in Chechyna".

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/274

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Florida Trail of Terror

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/219

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The Islamic Circle of North America and the Pakistani nuclear connection

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/290

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Accusations of bias fly in eviction 11/25/04 Willoughby Mariano

KISSIMMEE -- Inside a church bearing a sign that reads "People of All Nations & Races Welcome Here," Pastor Lee Wasson described what he and growing ranks of supporters say is a lesson in intolerance.

Wasson said his Kissimmee Christian Academy was cast out of its old home in favor of the Islamic nonprofit Universal Heritage Foundation. The reason: religious discrimination on the part of his Muslim landlord, the minister and school director says.

Property owner Super Stop Petroleum and the nonprofit say the story is not so simple. They adamantly deny Wasson's accusation, saying the reason for the school's eviction is that it owes rent and other money. Rab Masroor, a project manager, called the allegations "absurd."

As Wasson, a growing number of Kissimmee church leaders and a conservative Web pundit stand up to what they perceive as radical Islam, they take what experts say is a black-and-white stand on murky subject.

Even authorities have trouble separating real threats from alarmist claims, said Art Teitelbaum, Southern-area director for the Anti-Defamation League.

"In a microcosmic way, this is a story on how America is responding to the perceived and actual threat of Islamic radicalism," Teitelbaum said.

They're having a tough time. Americans know the burning crosses of white supremacy and the swastikas of anti-Semitism. But what does Islamic radicalism look like? Few really know, he said.

The FBI offers little guidance, referring callers to a U.S. Department of the Treasury list of charities with established ties to terrorism.

Some of Wasson's supporters admit they, too, knew little about Islam before Muslim-owned Super Stop Petroleum of Margate filed suit for eviction against Kissimmee Christian Academy in September 2003.

Wasson, the school's director, says he paid all the rent he owed and more through an $8,000 security deposit and another $10,000 he deposited in an escrow account during the eviction process. Super Stop says the school really owes $41,500. Academy enrollment dwindled from 160 to 60 after the landlord cut off power and water during the eviction dispute. The issue is still before the courts.

After the filing, Wasson learned that Zulfiqar Ali Shah, founder of the Universal Heritage Foundation, hoped to buy the property. About the same time, the nonprofit, which said it promotes interfaith understanding, stirred controversy by inviting to a Kissimmee conference Muslim leaders described by critics as radicals who hate Jews and Christians.

The pastor concluded that his school is a victim of discrimination.

"How can this group be tolerant if they invite these people to speak and don't distance themselves from them?" Wasson asked. "What happened to us is a natural outcome of what these people believe."

Shah asked a similar question of Wasson. A scholar of Judaism and Christianity, Shah is a well-known Muslim leader in Florida and has a moderate reputation, said Ahmed Bedier, Florida spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Why are we put in the middle of this dispute?" asked Shah, who said he has been a member of interfaith councils in Jacksonville and elsewhere. "This is xenophobia, and it has nothing to do with religion."

Difficult questions

Wasson walks beneath a rainbow of flags from countries worldwide that deck the halls of Church for the Nations, Kissimmee Christian Academy's new home. Teens as diverse as those in any in Central Florida wave hello as he described what he said is the school's inclusive approach:

The academy teaches kids who reject the school's beliefs and accepts those with criminal pasts. The school director said he also welcomes those of different religions. He quoted 1 Corinthians to argue how he can be a tolerant person and still come to the conclusion he's battling Muslim extremists:

"God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."

Difficult questions -- including this one -- may have simple answers, he said. In this case, Wasson argued, straightforward, published reports confirm his conclusions.

The foundation's Shah is former president of the Islamic Circle of North America, which practices an anti-Western strain of Islam, according to Washington, D.C.-based SITE Institute, a terrorism research center.

Muzammil Siddiqui, listed as a member of the foundation's board, supported the creation of an Islamic state in the United States, SITE officials say.

But beware whom you believe, Bedier warns. SITE -- The Search for International Terrorist Entities -- is part of a network of "self-proclaimed" experts who inflame anti-Muslim sentiment, he said.

For example, William A. Mayer, publisher of PipeLineNews.org, which publishes articles on Islamic extremism and has embraced the academy's cause, has called the Democratic National Committee "sociopathic traitors bent on seeing Islamist terror brought home to your neighborhood."

"It is hard to find experts," Bedier said. "Experts are either on one side or the other. Few are in the middle."

No place for Islam

Despite the haze that surrounds the accusation of extremism, many of Wasson's followers see the struggle as a stark battle between good and evil, justice and injustice.

They pray for the academy in weekly meetings. They study Islam through experts they found through their evangelical churches.

"Right is right and wrong is wrong," said Christopher Masheck, senior pastor of Kissimmee's Reality of this Life Worldwide Ministries Inc. "An injustice was done."

Pastor Jim Graf and his wife, Cindy, a church prophet, now are hosts for Wasson's school in their church. Wasson felt alone, Jim Graf said, so they decided to stand with him.

"There are powers of darkness who would do damage to believers in Jesus Christ," Cindy Graf said.

They and roughly 40 other faithful -- blacks, Anglos and Hispanics -- appeared at Wasson's first news conference last week. The pastor's voice rose and strained with passion and outrage. His diverse listeners shouted "Amen" in agreement.

"Everyone from Pentecostals to Baptists," Wasson said.

But is there room for Islam? Shah worries there isn't.

"I am angered," Shah said. "They have problems, and they're using the Islamic community."

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MIM: Journalist Sheri Gossett who maintain a blog on the "Accuracy in Media" website refutes Shah's disingenuous comments and debunked Anti Defamation League Florida director Art Teitelbaum's absurd and dangerous claims that" even authorities have trouble separating real threats for Islamist claims" and that "few really know what radicalism looks like". According to Gossett Willougby took his cue from Teitelbaum and based his article on this inaccurate and misleading statement. http://www.aim.org/sherrie_blog_entry/P2377_0_18_0/

The head of the ADL Abe Foxman, was recently described as a "nut by Bill O'Reilly, who labelled the ADL "an extremist group which pretty much takes offense at everything". http://www.jpost.com/Letters/56595.html

It is also absurd that Willoughby contacted the ADL for a comment on the terrorism ties of the Universal Heritage Foundation and based his piece on the what Shari Gossett calls, his "inconclusive statement.

The ADL is a group which purports to combat anti semitism, and is a liberal group who in the interests fo political correctness has a page which details purported anti Muslim incidents on their site. It is interesting to note that the ADL has never requested that their self styled Muslim counterpart- the Arab American Anti Discrimination Committee has never returned the courtesy.

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MIM: Excerpts from Sherri Gossett's blog :"More from the Orlando Sentinel on Militant Islam'

Let's take a closer look at what the Sentinel this time around, did not tell you by first comparing it with a previous report of theirs.

On December 3, 2003, Susan Jacobson of the Orlando Sentinel, wrote an article about controversy surrounding some of the speakers invited for the inaugural conference of the Universal Heritage Foundation in Kissimmee, Florida. Shaikh Abdur-Rahman Al-Sudais along with Ralph Nader, was listed as a "specially invited guest" who would speak at "Islam for Humanity," scheduled for Dec. 19-21, 2003, at the campus of the Universal Heritage Foundation, a 31-acre Islamic center near Disney World.

Al-Sudais, chief Saudi Arabian cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, made worldwide news last year for a hate-filled, racist sermon broadcast live by several Arabic television and radio networks.

The cleric prayed to God to "terminate" the Jews, who he called "the scum of humanity, the rats of the world, prophet killers ... pigs and monkeys."

Al-Sudais also urged Arabs and Muslims to abandon peace initiatives with Israel.

"We must say farewell to peace initiatives with these people [Jews]," he told worshippers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The remarks were reported by Reuters and the Associated Press.

Jacobson wrote: ""It raises questions and concerns for us about what the ultimate goal and message of the Universal Heritage Foundation is," said Mark Medin, Florida regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. "The message may not be of tolerance and respect. It may be a message of intolerance and antisemitism."

Medin said several of the more than two dozen announced speakers have links to groups that have preached hatred. The list of speakers also raised eyebrows with some terrorism experts."

Ironically, Willoughby Mariano, the reporter of the piece I wrote about in today's Media Monitor, was a contributor to that report last December. This time around, she quoted Art Teitelbaum of the Anti-Defamation League, as saying even authorities have trouble separating real threats from alarmist claims, and that few really know what radicalism looks like. Reporter Mariano seems to have taken her cue from this inconclusive quote, and shaped her unimaginative piece around it, leaving the reader with the impression that none of the critics know what real radicalism is. It's a hop, skip and a jump from there for readers to start wondering if these people are all just rednecks with a political agenda and a pitchfork in the back of their pickup. Although it's sort of hard to imagine Rita Katz of the SITE Institute hauling hay in the back of a Chevy 4x4)

The article also unwittingly suggests that Mariano doesn't know what radicalism is either. Unlike the world of the pastor and critics, which Mariano implicitly describes as Manichean, Mariano and the Sentinel stake out their own naive and simplistic world where in the place of good and evil, there is only a foggy grey zone, as flexible as silly putty, containing no evil, and offering up no significant insight. This monochromatic grey zone isn't nuanced, it precludes depth. The Sentinel will not divide the chaos of the issue into order, they will only take note of the swirling eddies of thought contained therein.

Instead of a neutral zone, the Sentinel has staked out a neutralized zone marked by their unwillingness to take on the challenge of evaluating, assessing and defining these issues that mark our time. The resultant reporting is tired, ineffective and devoid of distinction.

Let's take a closer look at the people and organizations and what is known, -although not attested to by this Sentinel reporter.

Organizers of the conference back in 2003 claimed not to know anything negative about Al-Sudais...

"....As soon as the Orlando "Islam for Humanity" conference was over, however, Z. Shah (the head of the Universal Heritage Foundation) headed to Toronto to appear as a guest speaker of "Reviving the Spirit of Islam," a huge conference that drew over 8,000 people and filled the Metro Toronto Convention Center to capacity.

Also listed as a special guest at the top of the program was al-Sudais.

Think anyone at the Orlando Sentinel did a little follow-up and noticed this contradiction. Nope. Well, maybe we should say if they did, the editor nixed any coverage of it. And certainly reporter Mariano doesn't bring it up. She's not interested in these details about Shah being willing to appear with a racist Muslim. She's too busy honing a subtle story about the bigoted and xenophobic Christians living up yonder in them thar Kissimmee backwoods.

How about the founder of the UHF? Anything interesting there? Zulqifar Ali Shah is the former president of the Islamic Circle of North America. Terrorism expert Steve Emerson has written, "The ICNA's hatred of the Jews is so fierce that it taunted them with a repetition of what Hitler did to them."

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From Media Monitor

Cowards in the Press
By Sherrie Gossett | December 20, 2004

On November 26 Orlando Sentinel reporter Willoughby Mariano broke a story about a battle pitting an Islamist group, which calls itself the Universal Heritage Foundation, against a local Christian pastor. Pastor Lee Wasson filed a lawsuit claiming he was the victim of bias because his Christian school was evicted from some property owned by a Muslim firm so that the Islamic group might obtain it. It seems like a local story, but it has national implications.

At the center of the story is the charge that the Islamic center actually rolls out the welcome mat for Muslim radicals. The Sentinel flits around this issue like a nervous mosquito, noting that the Islamic group stirred controversy by holding a conference and inviting Muslim leaders "described by critics as radicals who hate Jews and Christians." This use of the phrase "described by critics" seems to put the Sentinel at a safe distance from the controversy. The Sentinel might as well have said "Critics would describe them as radical, but we never would." Indeed much of the article takes the position that it's just too difficult to sort out these claims.

The Sentinel portrays the Christian pastor as a simplistic figure taking a "black-and-white" stand when it comes to identifying radicalism. By contrast, the "sophisticated" Sentinel has a wishy-washy approach that is representative of how the national media are responding to perceived and actual threats of Islamic radicalism. This approach keeps them clear of any controversy. They'd rather be safe and shallow than publish the truth.

Ironically, the Sentinel ran an article in late 2002, two years ago, detailing some of the radical speakers invited to this Islamic center, including the chief cleric of the grand mosque at Mecca who had previously called Jews monkeys, apes and pigs. Islamic leaders told the paper that they didn't know how such people were invited in the first place. That was good enough for the Sentinel.

Zulfiqar Ali Shah, who accuses Pastor Wasson of being xenophobic, then got on a flight to Toronto to appear at another conference which was scheduled to be headlined by the same racist cleric from Mecca who called for the termination of the Jews. Shah is former president of the Islamic Council of North America, which has been described as the North American branch of Jama'at-i-Islami. That's a Pakistani group that calls Bin Laden the hero of the Islamic world and which raises money for jihad throughout the world. Tayyab Yunus, a Muslim youth leader and the webmaster for the Florida group, urged parents at one Islamic conference to "send your children to fight Jihad in Chechyna" against Russians.

The Sentinel has staked out its wishy-washy ground, and it's the same swamp occupied by many news organizations across the country. While such subject matter demands great caution, the Sentinel and the rest of media do local communities a disservice when they fail to seriously investigate the reality and spread of radical Islamic activities. It might be happening where you live. You have a right to be concerned. But do you have a right to know?

Will Of Faith - Christian Academy Fights Back Against Muslim Extremism

By William A. Mayer - Editor & Publisher, PipeLineNews.org

Osceola County, Florida - PipeLineNews - The great 18th-century conservative political philosopher Edmund Burke said, "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."

Yet, as we pass the anniversary of our third year of war against radical Islamic terrorism, thoughtful observers might be struck with daily examples of such moral lassitude - failure to confront evil.

We see it in the political sphere, where cheap advantage is sought with the hopes of defeating a political party. In the media, where all pretense of objectivity seems to have been cast aside. In education, where the preaching of diversity-based moral equivalency has already, in large measure, established the de-facto state religion of secular humanism.

We even see it in traditional institutions of faith, where heretofore established orthodoxy is overthrown in the name of inclusiveness.

So it comes as a relief when one happens upon someone who takes the Burkean charge to heart.

One such individual is Lee Wasson.

Mr. Wasson is pastor of an evangelical Christian congregation in Osceola County, Florida called Celebration Worship.

Over a period of years he and his staff built and operated a church and parochial school - the Kissimmee Christian Academy - which at its peak educated about 140 students. The instruction these children received was exemplary, featuring one of the highest percentages of "graduates-to-college rates in the county " - 100% last year - and a promotion rate that is also among the highest.

Celebration Worship had been located on a 6 acre parcel of a larger, 31 acre piece of property which had been owned by David Peoples.

Mr. Peoples ran a rather well developed travel and cooking school on the property. Unfortunately, Peoples' school failed and he was forced to file for bankruptcy.

Up to that time, Celebration Worship had been operating under the existing contract with Peoples. Celebration had been complying with all of the terms of the lease, including making payments on a timely basis as well as making substantial improvements to the property.

All that changed for the worse on October 1, 2003.

Super Stop Petroleum, a corporation owned by a Pakistani, Denise Qureshi, purchased Mr. Peoples' parcel of land in bankruptcy proceedings, thus subsuming Wasson's lease.

Shortly after the purchase of the property, Super Stop allowed a Muslim consortium to take possession of the part not leased by Wasson's church/school complex. This included all of the buildings that Mr. Peoples' enterprise had occupied.

The Muslim group was headed by a known Islamist – Zulfiqar Ali Shah – and was allowed by Super Stop to act as its agent, essentially becoming Celebration's landlord.

Mr. Shah and his minions incorporated the group as a 501c3 tax-exempt organization, naming it the Universal Heritage Foundation [UHF.]

Shah and other individuals associated with UHF have professed adherence to radical religious beliefs and have a long history of making, sometimes shockingly, intemperate remarks:

"Either the best Muslim will get power, or the worst Kaffir ["worst infidel" - etymology – North African word, essentially the same as nigger, not so surprising given the North African Arabs' track record with regard to the slave trade]. Allah has created us as the Khaleefah [leaders] and we do not know Biology, Chemistry, Geology, when the Muslims knew those sciences they rules those lands and controlled them. We need to learn these sciences then we know how to control this earth. Rasool (S) struggled for 13 years, he was tortured abused, made sacrifices, even lost his uncle. Victory will not come sitting down. We need to prepare ourselves in all aspects." - Zulfiqar Ali Shah from remarks on the "History of Islam" prepared for the consumption of young Muslims.

UHF's stated purpose was to further the religious and educational training of Muslims and to present to the community in general, the peaceful side of Islam.

UHF, as part of its marketing plan organized an inaugural event – "Islam for Humanity" – showcased to be touchy-feely and Christian friendly.

As the event neared it became clear that the speakers chosen for it represented some of the worst examples of Islamist theology:

"We want to awaken the conscience of America: because if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come," he told the crowd. "Please all Americans, do remember that, that Allah is watching everyone. If you continue doing injustice, and tolerating injustice, the wrath of God will come." - Muzammil H. Siddiqui, PhD., the former president of Islamic Society of North America, Imam of the Islamic Society of Orange County in California.

"In a similar vein, CAIR board member Imam Siraj Wahaj calls for replacing the American government with a caliphate, and warns that America will crumble unless it "accepts the Islamic agenda." Wahaj, it should be noted, served as a character witness for Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the Muslim cleric convicted for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing." Front Page Magazine March 5, 2003.

The firestorm that erupted when the list of participants became public knowledge forced UHF to remove Wahaj from the speaker's list. Not so surprisingly, Siddiqui not only remained part of the event but he currently sits on UHF's board of directors.

Because of the controversy, the event had to be relocated and eventually concluded with a disastrous amount of almost universally negative press.

Belying its loftily stated goals of accommodation, UHF immediately upon being given de-facto status as Wasson's landlord, instituted a program of harassment against Celebration Worship.

UHF violated the existing lease, cut off water and power and also undertook a campaign of psychological terror that resulted in Celebration being denied its right to enjoy the use of its facility.

Super Stop engaged in similar tactics, which in short course led to Celebration Worship being constructively evicted from the property.

Wasson has since obtained other facilities and is once again providing a place of Christian worship and education for his parishioners.

To his credit Wasson is fighting back against those who drove his small flock from its previous location.

The law firm of Brown, Garganese, Weiss & D'Agresta, PA. was retained by Wasson and they have just filed a 4 count complaint, naming Super Stop Petroleum as defendant.

The complaint will allege that:

"…under the totality of circumstances, including the affiliation of the operators of the private fundamentalist school with persons associated with past public statements hostile to Christians, Jews and Israel, the posting of Counter-Plaintiffs' identity on Islamic websites, and the termination of utilities for unnecessary reasons and excessive periods of time, without adequate reason or notice, the Counter-Plaintiffs became reasonably and justifiably afraid for their safety and the well-being and safety of the students attending Counter-Plaintiffs' school" [that] "Wasson and Celebration have encountered hostility and discriminatory treatment against them based upon their status as Christians and the conduct of their activities on the premises as a private Christian school and church…"

The suit states that Super Stop granted UHF permission to act as its agent with regard to Celebration and that UHF then violated the existing lease in numerous ways.

Super Stop's de-facto granting to UHF the authority to act as its agent, makes Super Stop responsible for actions taken - in that regard - by UHF:

1. Failure to pro-rate the utility bills.
2. Cutting off or interrupting utility services necessary for Celebration to carry on its business.
3. Raising the amount of the lease.
4. Acting in a manner that denied Celebration the peaceful enjoyment of the premises.
5. Organized an event which featured anti-Christian, inflammatory & pro-Islamist speakers.
6. Retaliated against Celebration's opposing the "Islam for Humanity" event by placing pictures of his school on pro-Islamist websites with the intent of intimidation.

The firm will also claim that for their part, Super Stop Petroleum:

1. Renovated buildings surrounding Celebration in a manner injurious to the tenant's business.
2. Denied Celebration the right of first refusal to purchase the property occupied by UHF.
3. Failed to return tenant's security deposit.
4. Acted in a manner that constructively evicted Celebration as a tenant this caused it to suffer great financial loss.

Celebration is asking compensation for all recoverable compensatory as well as consequential damages, which could amount to a judgment of several million dollars against Super Stop. Celebration also seeks declaratory relief, stating exactly what their rights were under the lease.

Lawsuit aside, Wasson has moved on, now seemingly stronger than ever - buoyed by his decision to fight back against an institution whose public persona screams peaceful Islam but whose private actions have placed the dark side of the religion on trial, literally.

Celebration Worship's Christian Academy though down in registration has retained new facilities and is once again growing, now devoid of the Universal Heritage Foundation's harassing tactics and malevolent presence.

In many ways Lee Wasson's struggle mimics America's actions post 911. He didn't seek this test of wills, but he is by no means running from it, instead meeting it head-on with determination and more than a bit of resolve.

Toward that end, he has established a legal defense fund to help his organization to help defray the daunting legal costs entailed in such an undertaking. If you are interested in contacting Pastor Wasson, offering your support and possibly making a tax-exempt [funds so raised go ONLY to defray the legal costs entailed in defending against UHF's predation] contribution, he can be reached at:

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MAS and ICNA - Muslim American Subversives and the Islamic Collaborators of North America aim for a 'United States of Allah'

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/216

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The Islamic Circle of North America's Pakistani Nuclear Connection

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/290
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'Muslims Only Day' at Six Flags park -ICNA under public and media scrutiny

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/289

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Great Adventure's 'Muslims Only Day' Islam exclusive event draws fire

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/283

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New Islamic Center planned for Sunrise : Info on ICNA - MAS

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/257

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Florida Islamic Conference Outed as Jihad Fest - Universal Heritage Foundation inaugural event

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/18

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Pimping for the Prophet in Canada - Abdul Rahman Al Sudais -Wahabist patron cleric of the UHF

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/80

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Florida Trail of Terror - ICNA/MAS the UHF - Jihad and Hereafter camps for Young Muslims

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/219

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Muslim Youth leader (and UHF webmaster) Tayabb Yunus tells parents at ICNA conference - "Now is the time to send your child ... to fight Jihad in Chechyna ..."

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/274

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ICNA - Islamist Conspirators of North America (and Muslim Youth ) 'Muslims Only Day!'

http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/218

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http://www.icna.com/mainprogram.htm

MIM: The militant Islamist network in which UHF CEO Zulfiqar Shah is a key player is well illustrated by this 2001 program of an ICNA conference which took place in Cleveland,which reads like an international terrorist Who's Who'.

Zulfiqar Ali Shah, who was ICNA president in 2001, played host to 'the usual suspects' which included Sheik Abdur Rahman Al Sudais of Saudi Arabia aka Imam Ha'kaba, Ikrima Sabri ,the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem -Al Aqsa and several pre prison guests including, Fawaz Damra,sentenced to prison and facing loss of his citizenship for lying about his ties to terrorist groups, and Jamil al Amin, aka H.Rap Brown, who is now in jail for killing a sheriff's deputy.

Rafiq Jaber, the head of the Islamic Association of Palestine, the American wing of Hamas,was also a featured speaker.Jaber is the spokesman for the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation . The ICNA vice president Asraf Uz Zaman aka Ashrafuzzaman Khan, was a death squad leader who was documented as being personally responsible for the killing of 8 teachers in Daka in 1971. Ashraf Uz Zaman fled to Saudi Arabia and then to the US where he became head of ICNA in Queens, New York, and then vice president of ICNA when Shah was it's president.

The presence of Tariq al Suwaidan, of the Muslim World League a Wahabi funding front linked to Al Qaeda, is more proof, if any is needed, of the Wahabist funding network which is behind ICNA/MAS and the UHF.

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ICNA Convention 2001

Islam for Peace and Justice

July 6-8, 2001 Cleveland, OH

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http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:q_bUEZ1nkAoJ:www.cleveland.com/damra/index.ssf%3F/damra/more/1088760862294481.html+zulfiqar+ali+shah+fawaz+damra&hl=en

July 2004
Amanda Garrett

Plain Dealer Reporter

About 4,000 Muslims from across the country will gather downtown this weekend, discussing everything from gay marriage to the role of Islam in America and the world.

Organizers of the three-day meeting said they expect to highlight the presidential race, the handover of sovereignty in Iraq, the Patriot Act and the plight of Cleveland Imam Fawaz Damra, who was recently convicted on an immigration charge that could cost him his citizenship.

At a news conference Thursday, convention organizers said Damra will address a leadership conference of 100 to 150 imams Saturday afternoon.

"He is a well-respected imam in the Muslim community," explained Naeem Baig, the general secretary of the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), one of two groups holding the convention at the Cleveland Convention Center. "We respect his scholarship and we invited him to the program and we would like to listen to him and what he has to say."

Damra's lawyers yesterday filed a motion asking that his conviction be thrown out, arguing that the evidence was insufficient.

Cleveland Imam F. Qasim Khan, who helped bring the conference to Cleveland, said earlier in the week that Damra's case is emblematic of "how Muslims have been profiled throughout the country," adding that there is deep sympathy for Damra in the larger Muslim community.

Khan said the scrutiny of Muslims is so outrageous that he himself has been targeted. He said the FBI recently interviewed him about his travels to Muslim fund-raisers, and agents told him they had been watching him for 30 years.

"They're probably listening to this right now," Khan said during a telephone interview this week.

But some scheduled to speak at the conference are suspected of having ties to radical Islamic groups.

They include Iqbal Unus, a Virginia man whose house and business were raided in one of the largest ongoing terror probes in the county. Unus was an officer in the Safa Group, a conglomeration of more than 100 businesses and nonprofits accused of using everything from chicken farms to overseas banks to move millions of dollars to al-Qaida, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Also scheduled to speak is Zulfiqar Ali Shah, a Pakistani-born Florida imam who planned to turn a former homeless shelter near Disney World into an "interfaith theme park."

Christian and Jewish leaders voiced alarm last year when Shah invited anti-Western extremists to his first conference. Among them were the chief cleric of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, who has called on Arabs to stop trying to make peace with Jews, whom he described as "the scum of the human race."

Shah is also past president of ICNA, which itself is under federal investigation for ties to terrorism.

The other sponsoring group for the conference is the Muslim American Society, whose former spokesman began serving 20 years in prison this year for federal weapons charges connected to his role in a Virginia Jihadist group with ties to al-Qaida.

Leaders of both groups have vigorously denied allegations of links to terror groups.

Two men scheduled to speak at the conference were cleared of terrorist accusations.

Brandon Mayfield, a Muslim attorney from Oregon, was jailed for two weeks this year after authorities mistakenly matched his fingerprint to one found near the wreckage from the May 11 train bombing in Madrid. When Mayfield was released, the FBI apologized for its mistake.

James Yee, a Muslim Army chaplain who spent 76 days in prison during an espionage probe at the U.S. military's detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, last year, also will speak. All charges against him were ultimately dropped.

The weekend conference is ICNA's second in Cleveland. In July 2001, more than 7,000 Muslims rallied here for an event focused on Palestinians, India's control of Kashmir and the legal troubles of Jamil Al-Amin (aka H. Rap Brown), who was sentenced to life in prison for killing a Georgia sheriff's deputy.

Imam Khan — the first African-American Muslim to co-chair the event during its 29-year history — said he encouraged a return to Cleveland so Muslims from across the country could see the strong interfaith and community efforts of Cleveland-area Muslims.

Mayor Jane Campbell, Councilman Zachary Reed, Cuyahoga County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones and a representative from Governor Bob Taft's office are expected to welcome the group to the Convention Center during opening ceremonies today.

Khan said this weekend's gathering of Muslims is rooted in morality and freedom.

There are workshops like "Marriage, What Makes It Work?" and "Is Your Parenting Style Pleasing to Allah?"

Khan, who works in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood, has worked for years to build trust between the black community and the police and public officials who serve them. Several years ago, when he and his mosque learned how much alcohol is sold in the neighborhood, they began working with senior citizens in the neighborhood to forbid liquor sales.

"We want Muslims from around the world to see that, to see what we've done," Khan said.

Plain Dealer reporter Robert Smith contributed to this report. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4814

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http://cayankee.blogs.com/cayankee/2004/11/accusations_of_.html

Monday, November 29, 2004

Landlord Tenant Dispute Or Facing Down Islamic Radicalism?

California Yankee has a post today on the continuing dispute between the Kissimmee Christian School and the Universal Heritage Foundation. He asks, "what do we have here? Is this just a landlord tenant dispute or is it an example of Islamic radicalism discriminating against a Christian institution?" His excellent post is well worth reading. Here...

California Yankee's post addresses the sequence of events that have occurred between the school and the landlord and helps to crystallize the resulting effects brought upon the students, the parents and the financial health of the school.

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Monday, November 29, 2004

Landlord Tenant Dispute Or Facing Down Islamic Radicalism?

Hycsience has taken up the story of the Kissimmee Christian Academy versus the Universal Heritage Foundation. Pastor Lee Wasson says the Academy was cast out of its old home in favor of the Islamic nonprofit Universal Heritage Foundation because of religious discrimination on the part of the Academy's Islamic landlord, Super Stop Petroleum.

This is not a new story. Jihad Watch posted about the conflict between the Academy and the foundation nearly a year ago. The dispute is back in the news again with the Associated Press reporting Pastor Wasson allegations:

Lee Wasson, head of Kissimmee Christian Academy, said his school was kicked out of its building so an Islamic group could take over the space.

"If I was there just running a bakery, they would let me be. But we were repulsive to them (because of our religion)," Wasson said.

Super Stop Petroleum, The Academy's landlord filed a lawsuit to evict the Academy. The Academy filed a counterclaim denying it owed monies to Super Stop and alleging discrimination.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Wasson, a growing number of Kissimmee church leaders and a conservative Web pundit are standing up to what they perceive as radical Islam. According to the Sentinel, they take what experts say is a black-and-white stand on murky subject:

Even authorities have trouble separating real threats from alarmist claims, said Art Teitelbaum, Southern-area director for the Anti-Defamation League.

"In a microcosmic way, this is a story on how America is responding to the perceived and actual threat of Islamic radicalism," Teitelbaum said.

They're having a tough time. Americans know the burning crosses of white supremacy and the swastikas of anti-Semitism. But what does Islamic radicalism look like? Few really know, he said.

The FBI offers little guidance, referring callers to a U.S. Department of the Treasury list of charities with established ties to terrorism.

The Universal Heritage Foundation's "Inaugural Conference" created quite a commotion last year. FrontPageMagazine.com published this about what it called "Florida's Jihad Conference:"

During the holiday season this year, an Islam for Humanity conference will be held near Disney World on the campus of the Universal Heritage Foundation, a 31-acre Islamic propagation center located in Kissimmee, Florida. The three day conference will commence on December 19, 2003, which "coincidentally" marks the beginning of Hanukkah. But highlighting the holiday themes of peace and brotherhood will not be the conference's priority.

[. . .]

Listed as "Speakers" for the conference are many of the most radical individuals the American Islamist community has to offer.

Back to the landlord tenant dispute. Last December Jihad Watch posted the following details about the dispute between the Academy and the Foundation:

The Academy provides a faith-based curriculum from second grade through high school. Unfortunately, the Academy's 6 acres of fenced grounds are adjoined by a 25 acre parcel that, by happenstance, serves as the location of the UHF compound. . . .

"Together, the 31 acre combined properties comprise what used to be David People's South Eastern Academy - a travel & culinary school - which eventually filed for bankruptcy. It was in this bankruptcy proceeding that Super Stop Petroleum Company became the landlord to both UHF and the Kissimmee Christian Academy, the chief corporate officer of Super Stop?

"Denise Qureshi. There is a possible alias with the name however, Muhammed K. Qureshi is another possibility. Qureshi [or the Qureshis, as the case may be] own an impressive list of holdings, at least one, apparently with Shahida A Siddiqui. . . . Since the Pastor's landlord became Qureshi's petroleum company, he has been continuously harassed and the particular form of harassment has taken its toll on the students, the parents and the financial health of the school.

"Eviction proceedings, inexplicable power outages, cessation of running water followed by suspicious floods – all seemingly calculated to take place at or near the first of the month when tuitions are due, have resulted in the student population falling by nearly 50% since mid-summer, when the new land lord took over.

"Wasson has a lease through the end of the school year, yet the harassment continues. Because of circulating rumors of possible violence many parents are not allowing their children to even venture near the school, this Friday [the day the UHF event is slated to begin] simply because of their fear of possible extremist repercussions, so the school will again have to close, imperiling the educative process, not to mention the school's already shaky finances.

"Keeping in mind that the location of the conference was changed after this statement, this is how Pastor Lee Wasson synopsizes the story. 'The Islamic conference in Kissimmee Florida is being held on property purchased by a "petroleum" company in south Florida. It is a 31-acre former college campus. This petroleum company has been trying [unsuccessfully so far] to evict our Christian School and small church from one of the buildings there. We lease a 10,000 sq. ft. building right in the middle of where this conference is scheduled and where Universal Heritage is opening their college. They have actually pictured our building on their website and call it the "Islamic Training Center." We have sued them. Now, according to the Islamic group as told to me today by Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah, the Universal Heritage Foundation has no association with the petroleum company save an old friendship with the company president which led them to the property.'" [Jihad Watch credits the above information to Pipeline News.]

So what do we have here? Is this just a landlord tenant dispute or is it an example of Islamic radicalism discriminating against a Christian institution? I wish I knew. What do you think?

Hyscience the "conservative Web pundit" mentioned in the Sentinel's article, has been trying to sort this story out. The "conservative Web pundit" first posted about this story here. Hyscience followed up here, when the Sentinel's article was published. Hyscience has tried to be fair, posting both Shah's denials of Pastor Wassons's charges as well as Pastor Wasson's refutation of those denials.

More negative information about the Universal Heritage Foundation' leaders is available at PipeLineNews.org.

Posted by California Yankee on Monday, November 29, 2004 | Permalink

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» Landlord Tenant Dispute Or Facing Down Islamic Radicalism? from Hyscience
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Tracked on November 29, 2004 08:50 PM

Comments

Nobody officially connected with UHF has ever made an evil statement such as "death to worshippers of the Cross", as previously claimed by the Pastor.

The Imam Abdul Malik quoted by the Pastor is not the person who attended our conference in December. That Imam Abdul Malik was not even invited to the conference. The Pastor is mixing up between Imam Abdul Malik Ali of Oakland, CA, and Imam Abdul Malik from New York, the person actually invited by the UHF. Imam Abdul Malik, who spoke at our conference, has never visited California in his life, as he has confirmed with me in March 2004 when I spoke to him about these alleged remarks, rest aside speaking at San Francisco State University. Again, it is nothing but an effort to through mud at UHF by alleging that Imam Abdul Malik Ali, the supposed speaker at SFSU, was the guest speaker at the Universal Heritage Foundation's conference. Not at all! He was not the guest speaker and the fact of the matter is that he has never attended any of our programs. Imam Abdul Malik of New York was our guest speaker and he had not made any such remarks.

Yes! Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi was invited to the conference and is a member of our Board of Trustees. He has repeatedly denied the charges quoted by the Pastor and informed the media that he was misquoted. Dr. Siddiqi has participated in many inter-religious dialogues. He spoke at the World Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Vancouver, Canada and has participated in many seminars organized by the National Council of Churches and National Council of Christians and Jews in USA. From NCCJ he also received the Humanitarian of the Year Award in 1999. On September 14, 2001, on the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, he was invited by our President George Bush to lead a Muslim Prayer at the Interfaith Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral which was also attended by the former presidents such as Clinton, Bush, Carter and Ford. He is the Vice President of the Academy of Judaic-Christian and Islamic Studies in California. He sits on the regional board of NCCJ and is co-author of "Abrahamic Connection" along with Dr. David Gordis and Dr. George Grose.

On October 1, 2001, Fox News reported that," In a phone conversation with Fox News, however, Siddiqi says he was not aware of all the speakers at the rally and doesn't support the extremist viewpoints some expressed.
"I don't support Hezbollah and HAMAS. I don't support any terrorist groups. Terrorism is not what Islam teaches," Siddiqi said." Dr. Siddiqi has met with President Bush in the White House soon after the 9-11 tragedy. Fox also reported Fleischer saying, "I don't think it would surprise anybody that the President often has meetings to discuss a whole host of issues with people that he may not agree with everything they may have said in the course of their lives or careers," Fleischer said.

Dr. Siddiqi has also been invited to speak at the State Department funded institutions such as USIP and many other official gatherings and forums. In response to his critics who objected to his participation in such official forums, Dr. Siddiqi posted the following comments:

Siddiqi Responds
Posted March 22, 2004
By Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi

Kenneth Timmerman's article, "Pipes Objects to Fox in the Henhouse" (posted March 19) against my appearing on the USIP panel on Islam came to my attention.

I am sorry to say that the author is very much misinformed about me and my opinions. Allow me to say the following:

1. Mr. Timmerman has accused the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) as "a leading Wahhabi front organization in the U.S." The truth is that ISNA is the largest and one of the oldest Muslim Organization in North America. It is highly respected by Muslims and many interfaith and civic groups in United States and Canada. It is not affiliated to any particular sect or school. All Muslims who accept its constitution and by-laws are welcome to join this organization. ISNA operates under its own by-laws and is not a front organization for any foreign body.

2. Mr. Timmerman said that I "accompanied the Saudi officials of the Muslim World League on a fund-raising tour across America." The truth is that I never accompanied any MWL groups on fund-raising tours. I was part of the MWL delegation in 2002 that came to the U.S. to express its condemnation of 9/11 bombing and terrorism in the name of Islam. This visit was highly appreciated by many interfaith and civil leaders in our country. MWL is a religious organization with its headquarters in Makkah. Many Muslim scholars from all over the world are members of this organization. It has been in existence since 1963 and has many offices around the world.

3. Mr. Timmerman accused me of "openly threatening the United States with violence if it continued its support of Israel." He referred to a mutilated version of my speech on Oct. 28, 2000. The fact is that I never threatened any group or country with violence. I always speak of peace and justice toward all people. I remind myself and others the duty to do justice. I fear God and also remind others to fear God and do right things. This I believe was the way of the Prophets of God in the Bible and in the Qur'an (See Det. 27:19; Isa. 59:8-15; Jer. 21:12-14 and Qur'an 11:102 and 21:11-15 etc.) In my speech I only reminded my beloved country and its people to do justice to Palestinian people and fear God. I also said in my speech that I wish God's blessings for America and that is why I am trying to awaken the conscience of America. Timmerman is wrong when he says that "by injustice he meant U.S. support for Isreal." I am not against U.S. support for Isreal; I am against U.S. support for Isreali aggression and occupation and injustice to Palestinian people. There are many American religious leaders -- Muslims, Christians and Jews -- who feel the same way. Some say it and some are afraid to say it in public.

4. Mr. Timmerman says that I "called for a wider application of Sharia law in the United States." I do urge Muslims to live by the laws of God always and I also remind them to respect the laws of the land. I never called for the wider application of the Shari'ah laws on everyone in United States. If Timmerman has any evidence to prove his point, I am willing to look into that.

5. Mr. Timmerman accused me that I "in a 1995 speech praised suicide bombers." I do not recall that in 1995 there were any Palestinian or Muslim suicide bombers. How could I praise something that did not exist? The fact is that I have always spoken against suicide bombing. I do not believe that it is a right way of struggle for justice and liberation. I want Mr. Timmerman to show me any evidence for his claim.

I hope you will publish my letter and remove the misconceptions from the minds of those who are misled by Timmerman's false accusations.

I love nothing but peace and justice for all people of all faiths.

Sincerely,

Dr. Muzammil Siddiq

Now, if our President does not consider Dr. Siddiqi a radical or terrorist and feels comfortable inviting him to speak to the Nation on September 14, 2001, just three days after the September 11, 2001 tragedy, UHF and its staff should not be blamed for inviting such a respected, Harvard educated scholar to its programs.

I can give details about the other speakers also but I will confine to some basic facts here.

Abdurahman Alamoudi has never been invited and has never spoken at any of our events.

Imam Siraj Wahaj, after all the things allegedly attributed to him, was invited to speak at the Capital Hill and opened a session of the House in June of 1991. He has also been invited to the White House since then.

None of the people officially connected with the UHF had been so irresponsible to make evil statements against the Jewish or Christian community. They have closely worked with their Jewish and Christian brethren to promote peace and justice and have shown their love, appreciation and respect for their beloved country, America, and the American Constitution. It does not however mean that they agree hundred percent with everything our policy makers do. As Americans they differ with some aspects of our foreign policy and they have every right to do so. This is what America has given them; the right of free speech and the right to have a different opinion. They aspire to continue having such a freedom, something they have been deprived of in many of the so called Muslim countries. That does not make them less patriotic or less American as many Americans do differ with the policy makers on numerous issues.

Sheikh Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sudayyis is the Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. We sent him an invitation letter due to his position and not because of his views. In fact we were not aware of the comments attributed to him regarding the Jewish community and we did not have any way of verifying what he had actually said and what was wrongfully attributed to him. His office never responded to our invitation and we did not pursue it further after knowing the comments. We had categorically condemned the aforementioned comments in our December conference and will have no hesitation condemning them again at any forum or platform. The office bearers are usually invited because of their positions/prestige even if one disagrees with their philosophy or standpoint.

We also sent out an invitation to Mr. Ralph Nader's office. It does not mean we subscribe to his views or agree with everything he had said or did. We invite many Jewish/Christian leaders and a variety of scholars to our programs without subscribing to their views. We can only take responsibility for what is being said or promoted from UHF's platform and we always make sure that nothing objectionable is uttered or promoted at our functions.

My Chicago comments are quoted out of context. They were made regarding Masjid al-Aqsa, Jerusalem and the Greater Israel theory. The comments were not against the Jews or the State of Israel, but, in opposition to the expansionist ideology of leaders such as Prime Minister A. Sharon and Natan Sharansky, Israel's housing minister and deputy prime minister, the ideology that calls for occupation of the entire area between the Rivers Nile and Eupharetes and expulsion of Muslims from there. The word "Jews" has been inserted there, I do not know by whom. I perhaps said, " If we are unable to stop them now…" It will not make me anti-Jewish even if the word was used because that was in the context of a specific issue and not regarding the universal Jewish community. There are some pretty strong words used in the New Testament such as the following statement of the Gospel of John:

"19:3 and they came unto him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck him with their hands.
19:4 And Pilate went out again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find no crime in him.
19:5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And [Pilate] saith unto them, Behold, the man!
19:6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify [him], crucify [him]! Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no crime in him.
19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
19:8 When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid;
19:9 and he entered into the Praetorium again, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
19:10 Pilate therefore saith unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to release thee, and have power to crucify thee?
19:11 Jesus answered him, Thou wouldest have no power against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin.
19:12 Upon this Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar`s friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
19:13 When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
19:14 Now it was the Preparation of the passover: it was about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold, your King!
19:15 They therefore cried out, Away with [him], away with [him], crucify him! Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
19:16 Then therefore he delivered him unto them to be crucified."

What would the Pastor make of them if they are quoted out of context? Is John or the New Testament anti-Jewish?

Regarding Jerusalem, it is a know fact that it is a disputed territory. It is sacred to the Jews, Christians and Muslims. All lay claim on it. And I do not hide the sentiments that Masjid al-Aqsa is the third holiest place in Islam and the Muslims do not like the fact that it is being occupied or disrespected by the Israeli soldiers. I am not against the State of Israel but against Israeli aggressions. I condemn violence committed by both sides and wish to see a peaceful resolution to this humanitarian disaster.

Posted by: Dr. Z. Shah | December 4, 2004 09:43 PM

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This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/321