"911 Mosque" run by Sufis?

[deutsey]

I don't know if this has been posted here, but this is the first I've heard that Sufis are the ones organizing the community center in NYC.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/opinion/17dalrymple.html?_r=3&src=me&ref=general

"Feisal Abdul Rauf of the Cordoba Initiative is one of America’s leading thinkers of Sufism, the mystical form of Islam, which in terms of goals and outlook couldn’t be farther from the violent Wahhabism of the jihadists. His videos and sermons preach love, the remembrance of God (or “zikr”) and reconciliation. His slightly New Agey rhetoric makes him sound, for better or worse, like a Muslim Deepak Chopra. But in the eyes of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, he is an infidel-loving, grave-worshiping apostate; they no doubt regard him as a legitimate target for assassination.

For such moderate, pluralistic Sufi imams are the front line against the most violent forms of Islam. In the most radical parts of the Muslim world, Sufi leaders risk their lives for their tolerant beliefs, every bit as bravely as American troops on the ground in Baghdad and Kabul do. Sufism is the most pluralistic incarnation of Islam — accessible to the learned and the ignorant, the faithful and nonbelievers — and is thus a uniquely valuable bridge between East and West.

The great Sufi saints like the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi held that all existence and all religions were one, all manifestations of the same divine reality. What was important was not the empty ritual of the mosque, church, synagogue or temple, but the striving to understand that divinity can best be reached through the gateway of the human heart: that we all can find paradise within us, if we know where to look. In some ways Sufism, with its emphasis on love rather than judgment, represents the New Testament of Islam."

Those dastardly bastards! :sarcasm:

[elleng]

1. Yes, was posted earlier.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x554286

[eowyn_of_rohan]

2. I hope they're REAL Sufis

not ersatz Sufis, just sayin'.

[snagglepuss]

3. The question is who is funding it. nt

[dkf]

8. I heard Pelosi is asking to look into this?

No confirmation though.

[snagglepuss]

14. I believe that the people Pelosi wants investigated are those who are

funding opposition to the mosque. I don't think that either Dems or Repukes want to push for who is funding the mosque in the likely event it is the Saudis. What a diplomatic can of worms that would be.

[Posteritatis]

16. Yeah, Wahabbists would be really eager to throw money at Sufis. (nt)

[snagglepuss]

18. It is claimed to be a Sufi project but they refuse to disclose

their financing. I agree that Saudis would be the last one to give money to Sufis and Sufis wouldn't accept money from Wahabis who don't consider Sufis to be real Muslims. Therefore Park51 should simply state that Saudis are not funding this and won't fund this project. The fact that they don't raises suspicion.

[Posteritatis]

19. As if you'd believe him. (nt)

[snagglepuss]

24. Actually the problem is that I do believe him. His sidestepping the

question speaks volumes.

[LostinVA]

22. No, Pelosi is looking into who is harassing the center's people

You are very good at turning a news story 180 degrees.

[whyverne]

4. "The flower children of Islam" said on the PBS News Hour

by that guy, I forget his name, he's on KO all the time.
The "Whirling Dervishes" are Sufi. Dance to get closer to god. I think "terrorist Sufi" is contradictory.

[AnneD]

6. It is...

not all followers of Islam can be painted with the same brush. Sufis are the mystics, and have been active in the west for several centuries. There are several sects. They are active in NY and if people understood, they would not fear the Sufi but embrace them as brothers. How can you hate someone who's goal in life is to get closer to God-to join in a great cosmic dance-and contemplate poetry. If Sufis wanted to build there, I can assure you it was to bring healing through understanding-no insult was intended.

www.sufiorder.org/

[nilram]

7. yah, "terrorist Sufi" is an oxymoron, like "military intelligence"

I mean, they're just a couple steps away from being Unitarians.

[AnneD]

12. They pelt you with hugs and kisses...

torture you with food and force you to listen to music and poetry. And then they finish you off with dancing. The CIA is studying their torture techniques.

:sarcasm:

[hfojvt]

11. "God bless you please, Eugene Robinson"

"Heaven holds a place for those who pray. Hey, hey, hey."

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh021805.shtml

[aquart]

5. Their saint said mosques weren't important?

Could it be they have strayed?

[Denzil_DC]

9. Maybe that's why

they're building a community center with a prayer room, not a mosque.

[snagglepuss]

15. That is simply not true. Daisy Khan has stated that 1000 to 2000 Muslims

are anticipated to attend Friday prayer services and the offical website for the facility said it would include "a mosque, intended to be run separately from Park51 but open to and accessible to all members, visitors and our New York community".




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park51

[AnneD]

10. The building is not important....

but a place of love and understanding, in the face of blind hatred can go a long way to heal the pain that was inflicted. In parts of the Moslem world-Sufis are hated as much if not more than Americans and their Mosques are as likely to be targets as any American building. If we wish to espouse religious freedom, we could do far worse than welcoming Sufis. The best way to fight an idea is with an idea.

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

20. Not exactly. He said that the rituals of religions

are not what is important.

"The great Sufi saints like the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi held that all existence and all religions were one, all manifestations of the same divine reality. What was important was not the empty ritual of the mosque, church, synagogue or temple, but the striving to understand that divinity can best be reached through the gateway of the human heart: that we all can find paradise within us, if we know where to look."

[LostinVA]

23. They would have if they were building a mosque

[thereismore]

13. If they build it, Osama may decide to plunge an airliner into it just to punish the Sufis. nt

[JerseygirlCT]

17. Yes, indeed.

Sort of highlights all the idiotic fuss, doesn't it?

[LostinVA]

21. It's been posted on here many times in the past week

Including by me.

[Douglas Carpenter]

25. a NYT article about Imam Feisal and his plan for the center written before the crazy hate campaign

Muslim Prayers and Renewal Near Ground Zero


By RALPH BLUMENTHAL and SHARAF MOWJOOD
Published: December 8, 2009


snip:

“ As a Sufi, Imam Feisal follows a path of Islam focused more on spiritual wisdom than on strict ritual, and as a bridge builder, he is sometimes focused more on cultivating relations with those outside his faith than within it.

snip:

Those who have worked with him say if anyone could pull off what many regard to be a delicate project, it would be Imam Feisal, whom they described as having built a career preaching tolerance and interfaith understanding.

“He subscribes to my credo: ‘Live and let live,’ ” said Rabbi Arthur Schneier, spiritual leader of Park East Synagogue on East 67th Street.

snip:

The mayor’s director of the Office of Immigrant Affairs, Fatima Shama, went further. “We as New York Muslims have as much of a commitment to rebuilding New York as anybody,” Ms. Shama said. Imam Feisal’s wife, Daisy Khan, serves on an advisory team for the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, and Lynn Rasic, a spokeswoman for the memorial, said, “The idea of a cultural center that strengthens ties between Muslims and people of all faiths and backgrounds is positive.”


snip:

“ Building so close is owning the tragedy. It’s a way of saying: ‘This is something done by people who call themselves Muslims. We want to be here to repair the breach, as the Bible says.’ ”

The F.B.I. said Imam Feisal had helped agents reach out to the Muslim population after Sept. 11. “We’ve had positive interactions with him in the past,” said an agency spokesman, Richard Kolk. Alice Hoagland of Las Gatos, Calif., whose son, Mark Bingham, was killed in the hijacked plane that crashed in Pennsylvania, said, “It’s quite a bold step buying a piece of land adjacent to ground zero,” but she said she considered plans for the site “a noble effort.”

snip:

Joy Levitt, executive director of the Jewish Community Center, said the group would be proud to be a model for Imam Feisal at ground zero. “For the J.C.C. to have partners in the Muslim community that share our vision of pluralism and tolerance would be great,” she said.

Mr. El-Gamal agreed. “What happened that day,” he said, “was not Islam.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/nyregion/09mosque.html?_r=1

link to the cordoba intiative:

http://www.cordobainitiative.org /

link to Imam Feisal Press Conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfIPO7CVflA


/

Mayor Michael Bloomberg: 'Sad Day For America' If Ground Zero Mosque Plan Is Killed

NEW YORK — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it would be "a sad day for America" if opponents successfully kill plans for a mosque proposed near the World Trade Center site.

Bloomberg has been among a few outspoken elected officials supporting the plans for an Islamic center and mosque two blocks from ground zero.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/16/bloomberg-sad-day-for-ame_n_683692.html

"Let us not forget that Muslims were among those murdered on 9/11 and that our Muslim neighbors grieved with us as New Yorkers and as Americans. We would betray our values – and play into our enemies' hands – if we were to treat Muslims differently than anyone else. In fact, to cave to popular sentiment would be to hand a victory to the terrorists – and we should not stand for that." Mayor Michael Bloomberg