Saturday, July 2, 2005
Here's an interesting and developing story about the internal politics of a well-known Quincy, Mass. mosque. There's not enough known at this point, but it is reminiscent of the way extremists come in and muscle-out the moderates. Bear this in mind when viewing the moderate face put forward to get the Boston Mosque with its Wahhabi roots built. (Via Jihad Watch where Robert Spencer rightly calls this "a story that bears watching.")
The Patriot Ledger: Mosque leaders bar Imam Eid from pulpit
Moving quickly to enforce a resignation Imam Eid claimed isn't valid, the center's board of directors barred him from the pulpit Friday and sent a board member to act as imam in his place.
‘‘He is a beloved imam, but he has resigned, and that's it,'' board vice president Tanweer Zaidi of Sharon said before the service.
The center's religious director since 1982, Imam Eid joined scores of other men in the prayer service but didn't speak, according to others who attended.
Zaidi didn't allow a Patriot Ledger reporter to enter the mosque.
Board member Rajab Aboubakr of Franklin acted as imam - only this one time, Zaidi later said. Board president Mohiuddin Khan of Sharon was also on hand to enforce the resignation...
...Imam Eid's supporters, most of whom are affiliated with the Quincy mosque, say critics have hounded him for years for being too moderate and too involved with interfaith programs. Zaidi and other board officers deny that's the case.
In recent weeks, Imam Eid said his resignation wasn't official, since the full board and general membership hadn't endorsed it, as called for by the center's bylaws. But the board's executive committee said his action was final.
The dispute has plunged New England's oldest, most diverse Muslim community into the worst crisis of its 41-year history, with charges that conservatives are maneuvering to take control and counter-charges that Imam Eid's supporters are being bad Muslims for airing the dispute in public.
Those divisions were in evidence Friday. As Zaidi and others criticized published comments by Imam Eid's supporters, board member Jamina Hassan of Canton and numerous others spoke of the turn of events in anger and disappointment.
As board member Aboubakr preached in the upstairs prayer room about Abraham's faithfulness and why Muslims should ‘‘leave matters to Allah,'' several mosque members stayed outside.
‘‘I'm not going to pray behind this guy,'' one longtime member said, referring to Aboubakr.
Meanwhile, one of Imam Eid's daughters sat on the sidewalk steps outside the mosque, silently weeping. Hassan saw her and sat with her, a consoling arm around the young woman's shoulders...
There's a lot of info about the Wahabi-backed mosque being built in Boston (taxpayer-subsidized) on the Citizens for Peace and Tolerance web site.
http://www.hatefreeamerica.com/default.htm