On Sunday, October 19, I visited the Islamic Institute of Orange County at Anaheim, one of several Southern California mosques participating in Open Mosque Day. A previous imam at the mosque, Wagdy Ghoneim was deported several years previous.
There were regular guided tours during the day, and I joined one such group. The young lady conducting the tour took us to the worship room, the library and the school. During the walk through she gave us information on Islam including the five pillars of Islam and other aspects of the religion, which she mostly read from notes. She also informed us that within the LA/Orange County areas, there is a mosque located within every ten miles.
While in the library, I took the opportunity to look around. Most of the books were in Arabic. I took note of two English-language books, which were:
1 Islam and the Problem of Israel by Ismail al Faruqi
2 Reading the Muslim Mind by Hassan Hathout.
As to the first, I am attaching two pieces of information on this book. The second (Kitaabun) appears to be an Islamic website. The reader should note the other works listed on this site.
http://www.ismailfaruqi.com/reviews/review-of-islam-and-the-problem-of-israel/#_
http://kitaabun.com/shopping3/product_info.php?products_id=2837
As for Hassan Hathout (deceased) , I am familiar with and have met his brother, Maher Hathout, who is regarded in many circles as a moderate Muslim involved in interfaith activities in Southern California. though some would disagree. Hassan Hathout also has his doubters.
During the tour, I asked the young lady about hudud sharia, that part of sharia which deals with "Crimes Against God'. and includes such offenses as blasphemy, apostasy, homosexual acts, and adultery. I mentioned that this part of sharia mandates death as the punishment and asked for her take on that. She responded that this was an area she was not familiar with and suggested I consult with one of the Islamic scholars who were available at the mosque. Later, while she was telling our group about the fact that women are considered "equal in faith" under Islam with men, I asked her about the parts of sharia which gave less than full weight to a woman's testimony in court and required 4 male witnesses to a rape. Again, she pleaded ignorance and referred me to one of the scholars.
That took us to a presentation on Islam 101 conducted by the mosque's imam, Sheikh Mustafa Umar, a young man whose parents were of Pakistani origin and who (Mustafa) had studied primarily in France and other countries. Prior to the presentation, I asked him for permission to videotape, but he refused.
Imam Umar then gave a basic presentation on the beliefs of Islam including the five pillars. There was nothing controversial until he presented a couple of slides on misperceptions and propaganda about Islam. He provided two examples. First was the fact that women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive. He went to great lengths to explain that this was something isolated to the Saudi government under the Saud family and had nothing to do with Islam asking a couple of Muslim American ladies in the room if they drove and receiving a positive response.
The second point was the issue of terrorism in which Muslims are associated with terrorists because of groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS. He then said that there were Christian, Jewish. Buddhist, Hindu and Atheist groups who were also associated with terrorism, mentioning the Jewish Defense League and Buddhists committing terrorism against Muslims in Burma as examples.
When he called for questions, I repeated my question about hudud sharia mandating death to apostates, blasphemers, homosexuals, and adulterers. His answer went on for about 5 minutes, in which he quoted one scholar who said only that nations may impose punishments as their laws mandate, but that there was no definite (I am paraphrasing) law that mandated death for these offenses. He also said that in the original days of Islam, people were not identified by nations rather by their religions and that leaving one's religion could be a form of treason. As a follow up I mentioned Yusuf al Qaradawi, one of the world's most respected Islamic scholars, who has affirmed that apostates should be put to death. He asked me what my source was, and I replied that I had seen it on video. I paraphrased Qaradawi's statement that had it not been for the death penalty, Islam could not have survived. Omar could not confirm Qaradawi's statement.
Before leaving, I wandered back into the main hall, which was adorned with posters describing positive aspects about Islam. One had to do with sharia law's mandates on the taking of innocent life. At the very bottom of one in smaller print was a quotation from the Koran, sura 5 verse 32, which read that the killing of a person for other than retaliation for murder or for "spreading mischief in the land" was tantamount to killing all of mankind. That phrase, "spreading mischief in the land" is a common phrase in Islamic texts. It is wide enough to drive a truck through and includes spreading blasphemy against Islam. It also corresponds to the paperback copy of the Koran which the mosque was giving out (first published 1934 and translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Goodword Books). The only difference was that in this Koran the word "retaliation" is not included as it was on the poster. I tried to take photos of it, but the small print did not come out well.
In leaving, I also picked up several brochures for various charities which included "Palestine Humanitarian Relief", "Syria Emergency Disaster Relief", "Gaza Disaster Relief" and "Give 10 Minutes a Day to Stop Genocide in Burma". The first three mentioned are published by BAITULMAAL, PO Box, Irving, Texas,75016-9946/Tel 972 257-2564 or 800 220-9554, a 501 c3 charity. The one on Burma is published by Burma Task Force USA, Palmer House Office Center, 27 E Monroe St #700, Chicago, Ill. 60603. It features a message from Abdul Malik Mujahid, chairman.
My overall impression as with other previous visits to mosques is that we were given a feel good presentation on Islam focused on benign religious principles but leaving out any controversies except the two that Imam Umar mentioned coupled with his talking points. Needless to say, I was not satisfied with the answers to my questions.
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