Saturday, September 4, 2010

Muslims Freely Distribute Information to Exiting Festival Goers

You've got to love the United States, where Muslims are free to distribute information about Islam even to people who don't believe in Islam. This is the heart of the U.S. Constitution. The rights of everyone are protected. Of course, when Muslim numbers rise, such religious freedom suddenly changes, as can be seen in Dearborn (where nearly one-third of the population is Muslim).



So a few of us tried to distribute copies of the Gospel of John outside of an Arab Festival, and we were surrounded by eight Glock-carrying police officers, taken into custody, photographed, and released with a stern warning that we would be thrown in jail if we handed out any more copies of the Gospel. (But at least they didn't immediately arrest us while having a peaceful conversation, as they had done two days earlier.)

Muslims, of course, receive different treatment when they attend a festival and distribute their materials.

FOX NEWS--Despite the smells of fried dough and roasted meat wafting from the Minnesota State Fair, Salim and Zuleyha Ozonder were focused on the people who were leaving, not the food or festivities beckoning from across the street.

Each time a new wave of people exited, the young Minneapolis residents — who hadn't eaten all day — tried to press into their hands a small, glossy card that read "Islam Explained" on one side. On the other, it had about 180 words of background on a religion whose adherents fear is being misunderstood by too many Americans as violent and depraved.

"You just want people to take the card, spend a minute reading it and say, 'Oh. They're not terrorists,'" said 27-year-old Zuleyha. She and her husband, like other Muslims, were fasting during daylight hours for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

For most fairgoers, the last thing on their mind is religion — particularly the renewed controversy over Islam in America amid tension over plans for an Islamic center and mosque a few blocks from New York City's ground zero. But volunteers with the Minnesota chapter of Islamic Circle of North America saw the mostly white, Christian fair crowd as just the type of audience that might benefit from greater understanding.

The "Great Minnesota Get-Together" is one of the largest and best-attended state fairs in the country. Every day for 12 days through Labor Day, hundreds of thousands of people stream onto the fairgrounds north of St. Paul to scarf highly caloric food, stare at farm animals, clamber onto carnival rides and enjoy concerts by country singers and classic rock dinosaurs.

"What are they doing here?" said Paulette Kahlstorf of Zimmerman, who declined a card from Zuleyha as she left the fairgrounds with her husband. "I didn't come here for that."

A minute later, Kahlstorf elaborated that she didn't have a problem with all Muslims: "Just the radical ones." And she said she didn't mind their decision to hand out the cards, which include a toll-free number that anyone can call to request a free copy of the Quran. Read More.

10 comments:

Tizita said...

OK, Good so you did get my e-mail. I wasn't sure if u had received it so i called on Jesus or mohammed to tell u guys abt this news.

Im glade u got it.

Koala Bear said...

How do i get copies of the Gospel of John in the UK? I have a lot of muslims in my area and putting it through the doors of their shops would be a good start.

Haecceitas said...

Do you have any grounds to think that Christians would have been arrested if distributing information at this festival? It's pretty obvious that your arrest in Dearborn was unlawful, so why would one expect other festivals to follow the same unlawful policies? Perhaps I'm missing something.

Koala Bear said...

Had an idea! How about you go to these festivals too and speak to muslims there as well. If anything it will stop them being so predatory. I took on a dawa guy out my supermarket in London. He called the Police (so did I) and accused me of islamaphobia and racism. I said to the police that he would accuse me of that and they admitted he did. To cut a long story short after our "debate" he hasn't reappeared and I make a point of going past on a Saturday morning. One tip I got from Wafa Sultan's book is that whoever shouts louder and more stridently wins an argument. He hated the fact that I am a woman and that I know some facts to call him on. Such a liar.

Tizita said...

Hi C

Good for you....Im glade u were able to talk to him abt the truth. And im sure he was even more pissed (if i may use that word) of the fact that u were a women who knew abt islam more than he did.

I'm glade u stood up ur ground and talked with him. Just one question, who started the conversation? I would really like to know what u guys talked abt (if u don't mind typing it out).

I'm always love to hear conversations between muslims and Christians.

Thanks and Jesus bless

Bfoali said...

I think you should try giving out the gospel of Mark. It seems everytime you try to give out John you get arrested.

And if that doesnt work try Luke and so on.

Anyways sorry for the bad joke.

GreekAsianPanda said...

After I read this post, my cousin said on Facebook that she was on her way to the Minnesota State Fair, so I asked her to give me her card when she comes to my house if she was handed one. Well, she just told me that she did see them, but she didn't get a card.
Oh well =)

Koala Bear said...

@Tizita - I went up to his table when he was talking to a gullible looking bloke. I asked if he had permission to be there (he did apparently). I then said fine then I have 2 questions:-

1. Did mohammed marry aisha when she was 6? Yes or no. He denied it so I called him on it. That made him angry.

2. I then asked if Mohammed killed all the Jews of Arabia? Yes or No. He denied that too.

With all his ranting and raving he came out with this (and I quote): "there is solid proof in sudan today that mohammed is a prophet of god". I asked what that was and where exactly it was. He didn't know. At this point he looked flustered and started waving his arms around (he picked up a pile of books and if there wasn't anyone around would probably have hit me with them).

I said to him he should go and read his quran himself.

That is when it turned into blind rage and by now a good crowd had gathered. I was in a combat mood that day and shouldn't really have taken him on but my blood was boiling and took me several hours to stop shaking with rage!

I dated a muslim (while I thought pisslam was just another religion) and I guess that guy got the brunt of what I wanted to say to my ex.

Tizita said...

C......

Hahahahahah......Good one. So the poor street muslim got the anger that was supposed to have been for ur ex-boyfriend. hahahahahahah, poor guy! But i get ur point. Thanks for responding

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