Houstonian Corner (V9-I29)

Muslims Of Houston Organized Petition Signing Against Knighthood Of Salman Rushdie

A petition-signing effort was done after Friday Prayers at Madarasa-e-Islamiah, Dawah Center Downtown Houston, ASIA Center Clear Lake and some of the mosques of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH).
This was organized via appeals done by Hafiz Mohammad Iqbal and Atif Fattah of Islamic Radio Program Sirat-e-Mustaqeem. This Show is aired mainly in Urdu with sometime English segments every Sunday 12-Noon-till-3-PM. on Houston Radio Frequency AM1560 and can be heard worldwide at www.kile1560.com (also visit www.mihouston.org).

Later on, after hundreds of Muslims had signed the petition, a peaceful assembly of Muslims under the leadership of Hafiz Mohammad Iqbal, Hafiz Nisar-ul-Haq and Atif Fattah gathered in front of the British Consulate holding placards condemning the Queen and the government of England for neglecting the sentiments of 1.4 billion inhabitants of the world.

Hundreds of commuters going back home for the weekend attentively read the sentiments of the peaceful protesters written on the placards.

Towards the end of the rally, Atif Fattah of Radio Sirat-e-Mustaqeem handed original copies of the hundreds of signed petitions to a federal government official, which was later submitted with the Consulate of Great Britain in Houston. The petition reads like this:

“Houstonians join the conscientious human-beings across the globe in showing deep disappointment at the bestowment of knighthood on writer Salman Rushdie by the Queen and Government of United Kingdom.
We condemn and remorse this enormously unreasonable determination by the administration in the United Kingdom, as it goes against the basic purpose of constructing a trustworthy association between different diverse people and shows an absolute lack of understanding.

Such a pronouncement was not anticipated from the Queen, as it has prompted uncalled for feelings of prejudice against the Muslims.

Salman Rushdie is a dishonorable author, who has knowingly provoked hatred in the world society by portraying in defamatory manner Islam and its esteemed figures.

Islam is well-known to be the sphere of everyday life of 1.4 Billion inhabitants of this planet and it is highly irresponsible on part of Queen and the Government of U.K. to knight Salman Rushdie, who is known for his insulting literature, which has deeply injured the feelings of Muslim around the world.

All the undersigned honorable persons strongly advocate to Queen and the British Government to go back over this decision and strip Salman Rushdie off this designation of knighthood.”

Also, the Al-Noor Society of Greater Houston and Radio Baseerat organized a meeting of several Muslim scholars and came out with a Joint Communiqué (For more information, visit: www.alnoormasjid.org).

The Houston Muslim Alliance (HMA) Condemns Bombings of Religious Places in Iraq – Muslims worldwide urged to call for patience

A recently-formed coalition of major Muslim organizations called the Houston Muslim Alliance (HMA) condemned the recent attacks in Iraq on several religious places, including the Askariya Mosque in Samarra, and urged the Muslim community of Houston and all Islamic leaders nationally and worldwide to call for patience.

Attackers, for example, destroyed the minarets of the Askariya Mosque in Samarra. This mosque came under a similar attack in 2006, which shattered its famous golden dome and sparked an ongoing cycle of sectarian violence. Representatives of the Muslim Alliance stated:

“Houston’s diverse Muslim community of Sunni’s and Shia’s remains unified on peace despite the bombing of Askariya Mosque in Samarra. Acts of terrorism upon mosques only attempt to incite further sectarian violence amongst Muslims in Iraq. The Houston Muslim Alliance calls on authorities to apprehend and punish those responsible for this heinous act. We also urge all Muslim leaders in America and worldwide to ask their followers to remain calm and patient.”

“Muslims in the city of Houston are saddened by the event which took place in Iraq earlier this morning and are praying for the victims of this act. We will stand united in Houston despite any sectarian violence in Iraq or any other part of the world,” said Islamic Education Center’s Yadollah Hooshmand.

The Houston Muslim Alliance (HMA) is a collective body of 18 Muslim organizations based in Houston, Texas. For more information on HMA, one can contact HMA Coordinator Shariq Abdul Ghani (CAIR-Houston Director) at 713.838.2247 or 713.398.0791 or E-Mail: sghani@cairhouston.org.

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