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Oldest Mosque in America Invites Donald Trump to Visit (Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids)
Oldest Mosque in America Invites Donald Trump to Visit
The day that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released his first television ad in Iowa—marketing himself as America’s savior against “radical Islamic terrorism”—a leading Iowa imam responded not in fear of increased anti-Muslim backlash but with an invitation for Trump himself.
“As an imam and director of the first mosque of North America, I, Imam Tawil, declare that we would love to have our candidate Donald Trump to come and talk to his fellow citizens who have been born here, whose parents were born here, as Americans, to come talk to us about his plans, to come to tell us his philosophy, and to tell us how he can help us out as American citizens,” Tawil tells TIME.
It is an ironic historical twist that Iowa, where Trump is pushing anti-Muslim fervor to increase his presidential appeal, is also home to one of America’s most established Muslim communities. Tawil leads the Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids, which is the oldest surviving mosque not just in the United States but also in North America. The community dates to Syrians who settled in the Cedar Rapids area in the late 1800s, and Mother Mosque formally opened in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression. The area is also home to the Muslim National Cemetery, whose land in honor of military servicemen who fought in World War II.
Today Cedar Rapids is home to three mosques. Mother Mosque operates more as a cultural center for non-Muslims, while the nearby Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids is main center for prayer and religious services some 2,000 Muslim families in the Cedar Rapids area, Tawil explains. Only about 1% of Iowans are Muslim, mirroring the national average, according to the Pew Research Center.
“[Candidates] say things to market themselves, and get votes … it is their job to make us look bad,” Tawil says. “Unfortunately, they are wasting their money, they are not gaining anything, because the community knows who you are, and we are dealing with the fourth generation [of Muslims in Iowa].”
Mother Mosque’s own Iowa pride runs deep. A photo caption on the group’s website reads, “Is this heaven? No, it is Cedar Rapids, Iowa!” At times its welcome page seems more about Iowa than about Islam: “The Mother Mosque is in IOWA, the hearthland of America, Cedar Rapids, Iowa where hospitality, generousity, and tolerance is well known facts,” a history section on its website reads. “From fields of tulips … to the field of dreams … From covered bridges … to covered wagon … From America’s castles … to classic barns … From fields of corns … to Quaker Oat … From Czech Museum … to the Mother Mosque of America … IOWA welcomes you.”
snip-------------------------
http://time.com/4167859/donald-trump-mosque-visit-iowa/
The day that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump released his first television ad in Iowa—marketing himself as America’s savior against “radical Islamic terrorism”—a leading Iowa imam responded not in fear of increased anti-Muslim backlash but with an invitation for Trump himself.
“As an imam and director of the first mosque of North America, I, Imam Tawil, declare that we would love to have our candidate Donald Trump to come and talk to his fellow citizens who have been born here, whose parents were born here, as Americans, to come talk to us about his plans, to come to tell us his philosophy, and to tell us how he can help us out as American citizens,” Tawil tells TIME.
It is an ironic historical twist that Iowa, where Trump is pushing anti-Muslim fervor to increase his presidential appeal, is also home to one of America’s most established Muslim communities. Tawil leads the Mother Mosque of America in Cedar Rapids, which is the oldest surviving mosque not just in the United States but also in North America. The community dates to Syrians who settled in the Cedar Rapids area in the late 1800s, and Mother Mosque formally opened in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression. The area is also home to the Muslim National Cemetery, whose land in honor of military servicemen who fought in World War II.
Today Cedar Rapids is home to three mosques. Mother Mosque operates more as a cultural center for non-Muslims, while the nearby Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids is main center for prayer and religious services some 2,000 Muslim families in the Cedar Rapids area, Tawil explains. Only about 1% of Iowans are Muslim, mirroring the national average, according to the Pew Research Center.
“[Candidates] say things to market themselves, and get votes … it is their job to make us look bad,” Tawil says. “Unfortunately, they are wasting their money, they are not gaining anything, because the community knows who you are, and we are dealing with the fourth generation [of Muslims in Iowa].”
Mother Mosque’s own Iowa pride runs deep. A photo caption on the group’s website reads, “Is this heaven? No, it is Cedar Rapids, Iowa!” At times its welcome page seems more about Iowa than about Islam: “The Mother Mosque is in IOWA, the hearthland of America, Cedar Rapids, Iowa where hospitality, generousity, and tolerance is well known facts,” a history section on its website reads. “From fields of tulips … to the field of dreams … From covered bridges … to covered wagon … From America’s castles … to classic barns … From fields of corns … to Quaker Oat … From Czech Museum … to the Mother Mosque of America … IOWA welcomes you.”
snip-------------------------
http://time.com/4167859/donald-trump-mosque-visit-iowa/
Iowa Muslim Leader Invites Trump To Cedar Rapids Mosque
Mother Mosque in Cedar Rapids
Mother Mosque website
The head of a Cedar Rapids mosque is inviting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to meet with members of the Muslim community. Imam Taha Tawil of the Mother Mosque says his members would like to hear about Trump’s plans if he’s elected, and have a chance to talk to him about Muslims’ role in the U-S over the last 100-plus years.
Tawil said on IPR’s River to River program Friday that Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S., and other comments on the campaign trail, have been damaging to Muslims throughout the country, though there has been no backlash directed at his mosque.
“The internet is full of incidents, people throwing [the] heads of pigs around, vandalizing Islamic centers, burning mosques,” he said. “We have, we heard, we see…but thank God, not in Iowa.”
But Tawil says members of his community are nervous, especially women and children.
“We are feeling like the black community in the [19]30s and 40s,” he said. “We are like other minorities, the Japanese [in the U.S. during World War Two]. We are right now almost under siege.”
Tawil says Muslims have been part of the fabric of American society for more than 100 years, and he would like Trump to understand that. He hasn’t received a response from the Trump campaign yet, and Tawil plans to follow up with a formal invitation sent by registered letter.
http://iowapublicradio.org/post/iowa-muslim-leader-invites-trump-cedar-rapids-mosque#stream/0
Mother Mosque in Cedar Rapids
Mother Mosque website
The head of a Cedar Rapids mosque is inviting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to meet with members of the Muslim community. Imam Taha Tawil of the Mother Mosque says his members would like to hear about Trump’s plans if he’s elected, and have a chance to talk to him about Muslims’ role in the U-S over the last 100-plus years.
Tawil said on IPR’s River to River program Friday that Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S., and other comments on the campaign trail, have been damaging to Muslims throughout the country, though there has been no backlash directed at his mosque.
“The internet is full of incidents, people throwing [the] heads of pigs around, vandalizing Islamic centers, burning mosques,” he said. “We have, we heard, we see…but thank God, not in Iowa.”
But Tawil says members of his community are nervous, especially women and children.
“We are feeling like the black community in the [19]30s and 40s,” he said. “We are like other minorities, the Japanese [in the U.S. during World War Two]. We are right now almost under siege.”
Tawil says Muslims have been part of the fabric of American society for more than 100 years, and he would like Trump to understand that. He hasn’t received a response from the Trump campaign yet, and Tawil plans to follow up with a formal invitation sent by registered letter.
http://iowapublicradio.org/post/iowa-muslim-leader-invites-trump-cedar-rapids-mosque#stream/0
1 replies
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