- Jan 7, 2002
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An update to Citrix' thread
Text
Protest precedes 1st speaker address today
May 28, 2004
When the call to prayer finally issues from the loudspeakers atop the little mosque in Hamtramck today, the sound is likely to be drowned out not so much by organized opposition as by the noise of the city itself.
The collision of cultures in the 2.1-square-mile city jammed with shops and homes has already turned the busy cross streets of Caniff and Jos. Campau -- steps from the mosque -- into a deafening echo chamber.
Church bells ring out hymns. Trains whistle. Trucks roar and squeal their breaks. Seagulls scream as they vie for litter. Hip-hop booms from cars. Janis Joplin belts out rock tunes from the door of the Record Graveyard, a trendy secondhand music shop. Boys under a basketball hoop in St. Ladislaus Catholic Church's parking lot yell, "Shoot! Shoot!"
And Wednesday, a vanload of tough-looking men who had driven more than five hours from southern Ohio spilled onto Caniff outside the Al-Islah Islamic Center to protest the mosque's plan to broadcast the call to prayer for the first time today.
"Lord Jesus, we ask that you would move powerfully upon this city!" shouted the Rev. James Marquis of New Covenant Worship Center in Wellston, Ohio, as he marched with his men in front of the mosque.
Most of the 10 men were big and broad-shouldered, with sternly furrowed brows. They moved quickly and shouted prayers spontaneously, using phrases like "David's Mighty Men" and "spiritual warriors" to describe themselves. One had a black eye.
Finally, two of the men raised shofars, horns traditionally used to invoke God, and punctuated their prayers with an ear-shattering exclamation point. Then, they jumped back into the van and headed 300 miles home.
"These men coming here like this, that's scary," said Zakaria Ahmed, owner of the nearby Bengal Spices grocery store and a member of the mosque. "People are too overheated. I'm alarmed at what could happen. I had a couple of windows broken in my shop last week. I think it could have been because of the call to prayer. Some people have called me names because of it."
He shook his head in frustration, and added, "So much of this is based on misunderstandings. It didn't have to be like this."
Sparring at City Hall
Text
Protest precedes 1st speaker address today
May 28, 2004
When the call to prayer finally issues from the loudspeakers atop the little mosque in Hamtramck today, the sound is likely to be drowned out not so much by organized opposition as by the noise of the city itself.
The collision of cultures in the 2.1-square-mile city jammed with shops and homes has already turned the busy cross streets of Caniff and Jos. Campau -- steps from the mosque -- into a deafening echo chamber.
Church bells ring out hymns. Trains whistle. Trucks roar and squeal their breaks. Seagulls scream as they vie for litter. Hip-hop booms from cars. Janis Joplin belts out rock tunes from the door of the Record Graveyard, a trendy secondhand music shop. Boys under a basketball hoop in St. Ladislaus Catholic Church's parking lot yell, "Shoot! Shoot!"
And Wednesday, a vanload of tough-looking men who had driven more than five hours from southern Ohio spilled onto Caniff outside the Al-Islah Islamic Center to protest the mosque's plan to broadcast the call to prayer for the first time today.
"Lord Jesus, we ask that you would move powerfully upon this city!" shouted the Rev. James Marquis of New Covenant Worship Center in Wellston, Ohio, as he marched with his men in front of the mosque.
Most of the 10 men were big and broad-shouldered, with sternly furrowed brows. They moved quickly and shouted prayers spontaneously, using phrases like "David's Mighty Men" and "spiritual warriors" to describe themselves. One had a black eye.
Finally, two of the men raised shofars, horns traditionally used to invoke God, and punctuated their prayers with an ear-shattering exclamation point. Then, they jumped back into the van and headed 300 miles home.
"These men coming here like this, that's scary," said Zakaria Ahmed, owner of the nearby Bengal Spices grocery store and a member of the mosque. "People are too overheated. I'm alarmed at what could happen. I had a couple of windows broken in my shop last week. I think it could have been because of the call to prayer. Some people have called me names because of it."
He shook his head in frustration, and added, "So much of this is based on misunderstandings. It didn't have to be like this."
Sparring at City Hall
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