THE NEW “MODERATE IMAM” OF THE GZ MOSQUE
http://www.nypost.com/f/print/news/local/manhattan/gz_imam_gay_flay_K8wAYsyKlADqlz8Et5CuTP
The new imam at the Ground Zero mosque and cultural center believes people who are gay were probably abused as children and that people who leave Islam and preach a new religion should be jailed.
Abdallah Adhami’s remarks on homosexuals, religious freedom and other topics have brought renewed criticism of the proposed community center and mosque near the World Trade Center site, which purports to be an inclusive organization.
Adhami, in a lecture on the Web site of his nonprofit, Sakeenah, says being gay is a “painful trial” caused by past trauma.
“An enormously overwhelming percentage of people struggle with homosexual feeling because of some form of violent emotional or sexual abuse at some point in their life,” he says. “A small, tiny percentage of people are born with a natural inclination that they cannot explain. You find this in the animal kingdom at some level as well.”
He says gays must fight this “propensity.”
“When a religious leader of his standing opens up his mouth and spews this kind of ignorance and hateful statements, it does put his greater judgment into question,” said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay-rights group.
Adhami also notes that if a Muslim leaves the faith and “preaches their views, they’re jailed.”
“The only thing you do not have the right to do is spread this conviction, lest you, quote unquote, ‘pollute’ others,” he said when asked to give his personal opinion about apostates.
Jordan Sekulow, a lawyer at the Pat Robertson-founded American Center for Law and Justice in Washington, questioned why the mosque project, called Park51, would choose a leader who advocates retribution for those who leave the faith.
“To be in the United States of America and to tell former Muslims to ‘keep your mouth shut’ is against the Constitution,” said Sekulow, whose organization is suing to stop Park51 from being built.
Adhami, 44, who was born in Washington and says that he began his Islamic studies in Syria at age 8, claims to be descended from “the noble lineage of the family of the Prophet Muhammad.”
The organizers of the mosque sought yesterday to distance themselves from Adhami’s comments and backpedal on his role in the $100 million project.
The Park51 organization announced earlier this month that he was a “senior adviser” to the effort.
But the Park51 organizers posted on Twitter that Adhami is only an “adviser” and that his views do not reflect those of the project.
Preaching intolerance
Ground Zero mosque Imam Abdallah Adhami’s views on homosexuality, religious freedom and faith, from lectures posted on the Web:
On homosexuality and “sexual deviance”
“An enormously overwhelming percentage of people struggle with homosexual feeling because of some form of violent emotional or sexual abuse at some point in their life.”
“A small, tiny percentage of people are born with a natural inclination that they cannot explain. You find this in the animal kingdom at some level as well.”
On leaving the faith:
“If you look over the Koran from cover to cover, you literally have the right to reject God’s message. The only thing you do not have the right to do is spread this conviction, lest you, quote-unquote, ‘pollute’ others.”
“If someone leaves the din, leaves the path privately, they cannot be touched. If someone preaches about apostasy or preaches their views, they’re jailed . . . Many jurists have said they have to be killed.”
On competing against other religions:
Adhami recounts the Islamic story of Mohammad’s arriving in Medina, where he encountered Jews who fasted on Ashura, a Muslim fast day, and asked them why they were celebrating the holiday. “We have more right to Moses [than other religions],” they answered.
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