Thursday, May 22, 2003
Ha! My elderly parents have a condo down in Boca. Its the stereotypical retirement area with lots of old Jewish folks.
So it strikes me as a bit ironic that someone wants to build a huge replica of the Al-Aqsa mosque "which sits on top of Judaism’s holiest site in Jerusalem, a city that the [Islamic Center of Boca Raton] says on its website Jews have no right to and prays Allah will cleanse it of its Jewish inhabitants immediately."
The starting point is at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). It was there that the Muslim Student Organization (MSO) decided to establish two Islamic centers, each appropriately within arms length of the school.
Three FAU professors would take key roles in the creation process. Imad Mahgoub would become president of the Assalam Center, and Khalid Hamza and Bassem Alhalabi would be co-founders of the Islamic Center of Boca Raton (ICBR).
Today, both Islamic centers are looking to expand and have purchased large tracts of land to this effect. If they get what they want, they will have two multi-faceted mosques, in the heart of Boca Raton, within blocks of each other… and of course, the university. One will be a huge 27 thousand square foot facility; the other will be built to resemble the Al-Aqsa mosque which sits on top of Judaism’s holiest site in Jerusalem, a city that the ICBR says on its website Jews have no right to and prays Allah will cleanse it of its Jewish inhabitants immediately.
Local residents have questioned why there is a need for two mosques of near identical backgrounds in such close vicinity to one another. That’s certainly a good question, but when you look at several of the people involved in the undertaking of these centers, and when you look at some of the individuals that they have associated with, this question becomes one of many.[...]
