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Five myths about mosques in this country

Wed, 09/01/2010 - 10:05 — Dave Culver
Section(s): 
Religion & Spirituality

  • Through their mosques, U.S. Muslims are embracing the community involvement that is a hallmark of the American experience. In this light, mosques should be welcomed as premier sites of American assimilation, not feared as incubators of terrorist indoctrination.
  • Top 10 myths about Islam

Edward E. Curtis, IV, Minneapolis Star Tribune | MN

In addition to spawning passionate debates in the public, the news media and the political class, the proposal to build a Muslim community center near ground zero in New York has revealed widespread misconceptions about the practice of Islam in this country -- and the role of mosques in particular.

1) Mosques are new to this country.
Mosques have been here since the colonial era. A mosque, or masjid, is literally any place where Muslims make salat, the prayer performed in the direction of Mecca; it needn't be a building. One of the first mosques in North American history was on Kent Island, Md.: Between 1731 and 1733, African-American Muslim slave and Islamic scholar Job Ben Solomon would regularly steal away to the woods there for his prayers -- in spite of a white boy who threw dirt on him as he made his prostrations.

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Related:

Top 10 Myths About Islam, Huda, About.com

  • Introduction to Islam
  • The Right's Shameful Muslim-Bashing


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