CAIR-PA Video: Protesters Confront Muslim Worshippers at Philly Mosque

In West Philadelphia, worshippers at the Jamia Mosque at 43rd and Walnut have been greeted by protestors on at least three separate occasions in the past month. Worshippers say on one occasion, the protestors tried to block the mosque's door."They said that Islam is a false religion, and it really disturbed a lot of the people that were inside," said Rugiatu Conteh, with the Philadelphia office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR. She was at the mosque during one of the incidents. "If they knew how much we had in common, they wouldn't do acts like that."Nationwide, CAIR is launching a series of public service announcements designed to highlight the bonds and similarities between American Muslims and other religions. One features a New York City firefighter who responded to the World Trade Center and is a Muslim. Another features pastors of various faiths."We were all a part of 9/11. I have family in New York, and we were scared," said Conteh.Conteh says for the most part, anti-Islamic incidents in Philadelphia are rare, but her agency has seen an increase in incidents since last December's failed Christmas Day airline bombing. Most of the incidents occur in workplaces or schools she says."A lot of times the kids do talk about bullying in schools," Conteh said. "Like their peers may call them 'terrorist.'"View the CAIR PSAs: http://tinyurl.com/2dmpoh7

Channel: Nonprofits & Activism
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: CAIRtv

Length: 02:33
Rating: 4.5
Views: 3232

Tags: CAIR  Council  on  American-Islamic  Relations  mosque  9/11  

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