MUSLIMS REJECT ATTEMPTS TO CONNECT ISLAM WITH CHRISTIAN BIBLE STUDY GROUP Assalamu aleikum.
Please note that 2 articles follow: *Media Asked Not to Call Miami Terror Suspects 'Muslims' *Don't link terror suspects to us, Muslim leaders say --- (1) Media Asked Not to Call Miami Terror Suspects 'Muslims' Council on American-Islamic Relations Friday June 23, 2006 http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060623/dcf051.html?.v=28 Sect Trains 'Through the Bible,' Worships in 'Temple,' Not Mosque WASHINGTON, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on media professionals not to refer to seven terror suspects arrested in Miami as "Muslims." The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said media reports indicate that the suspects are part of a sect called "Seas of David." When asked by CNN why group members refer to themselves as "soldiers," "Brother Corey" said: "Because we study and we train through the bible, not only physical -- not only physical, but mentally." Group members also worship in a "temple," not in an Islamic mosque. SEE: Terror Arrests in Miami (CNN) (The relevant interview is toward the bottom of the page.) http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/22/acd.02.html The group bears some resemblance to the cult of Yahweh ben Yahweh, which operated in the same part of Miami, Liberty City, in the 1980s. "Given that the reported beliefs of this bizarre group have nothing to do with Islam, we ask members of the media to refrain from calling them 'Muslims,'" said CAIR spokesperson Ahmed Bedier. He thanked U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta for noting that "today's indictment ... is not against a particular group or a particular faith." Bedier urged the government to avoid confusing the public by using Arabic terminology in referring to the case. In a briefing today in Miami, government officials did not call the suspects "Muslims," but did refer to allegations of plans for "violent jihad." At a news conference earlier today in Miami, CAIR called on police departments nationwide to protect mosques and other Islamic institutions from any possible backlash prompted by the mistaken linkage of this case to the American Muslim community. CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices, chapters and affiliates nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. To subscribe to CAIR's e-mail list for journalists, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/ CONTACT: Ahmed Bedier, +1-813-731-9506, [EMAIL PROTECTED], or Corey Saylor, Government Affairs Director, +1-571-278-4658, [EMAIL PROTECTED], both of Council on American-Islamic Relations, or Areeb Naseer of CAIR-FL, +1-619-301-9091. Source: Council on American-Islamic Relations http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060623/dcf051.html?.v=28 --- (2) Don't link terror suspects to us, Muslim leaders say Ruth Morris South Florida Sun-Sentinel June 24 2006 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0624muslims,0,584506.story Miami · Minutes after U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta announced indictments on Friday against an alleged terror cell, a Muslim leader took to the steps of the city's federal courthouse and said the suspects "were not known" at either of two mosques near the warehouse in the Liberty City neighborhood where authorities arrested them. Ahmed Bedier, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he and other Muslims feared some would try to connect Islam and the men's alleged plot to blow up a slew of federal buildings and the Sears Tower in Chicago. "This seems like some kind of cult group that shares nothing with our community," Bedier told reporters of the suspects. He asked the pressnews media not to refer to the suspects as Muslims. "Muslims don't worship at warehouses," Bedier said. "They don't sleep in warehouses." Concerned the case might lead some to paint defaming graffiti, damage mosques or homes, CAIR's legal director in Florida, Areeb Naseer, asked police to be vigilant. "We are concerned about a backlash against the Muslim community as a result of these arrests," Naseer said. Incidents of vandalism against Muslim shops, mosques and community centers increased after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., which also prompted authorities to search Arab-Americans at airport security checkpoints, community leaders said. Law enforcement officials sought to preempt any negative, generalized reactions. "Today's indictment is against individuals. It's not against a particular group or a particular faith," U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta said. The grand jury's indictment said the group's alleged ringleader, NarsealÖ Batiste, told a confidential informant he meant to build an "Islamic Army" to wage a holy war. But in Liberty City, where camera crews set up shop outside the suspects' warehouse headquarters, residents questioned that connection. Families of two suspects said the men were involved in Bible studies. The mother of one, Stanley Grant Phanor, said he went to church every Sunday. "He loves to read the Bible," said Phanor's mother, Elizene Phanor. Minister Rasul Muhammad,Ö of the Muhammad Mosque No. 29, criticized journalists for initially reporting the suspects were "black Muslim radicals." He said such portrayals unfairly linked a faith and an ethnicity to crime. "We didn't ask what church Timothy McVeigh came from," he said, of the Oklahoma City bomber. Staff Writers Gregory Lewis and Madeline Baró Diaz contributed to this report. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0624muslims,0,584506.story ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Great things are happening at Yahoo! Groups. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/TISQkA/hOaOAA/yQLSAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. 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