(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - After leaving this Friday’s Khutbah (Noonday Sermon at Mosque) you could say that many people seemed to be invigorated and re-energized about the soon to be completed Mosque at the Islamic Center of Reseda, which lies in the heart of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles.
What seems to be so “odd” about this (if you will) is that there has seemed to be an outpouring of support from the local community, in spite of the negative attention that Islam and Muslims have been receiving in the United States and around the world for the last ten years.
Proof of this has been in the fact that local community leaders like Police Captains, local events planners and even members of other faiths; all of whom are Non-Muslims have been a part of this local effort to better understand Islam and the social circumstances of the soon to be finished Mosque.
This new Mosque will lie in the heart of the city of Reseda and within a matter of months will be finished, replacing the old Islamic Center which is still being used at the moment.
However, as this Mosque is in final stages of completion, there are still many instances of outright Islamophobia that persist and are in full swing, such as in the case of the Islamic Center of Temecula.
The concerns of the Non-Muslim locals of Temecula have been heard at town hall meetings, and these “concerns” once brought forward are quite frankly…absurd and should really make the individual question their standards on how they see people of other faiths.
Case in point; one of the major “concerns” is that the building of the Mosque there is a declaration of the fact that Muslims plan to implement the Shariah (Divine Islamic Law) in the local area, which in turn will engulf the political structure of the entire United States.
The overall question that should be asked is… “Does that make any sense?” didn’t think so either. Out of the thousands of Mosques and Islamic Centers that exist in the United States, have any of their Imams made a nationwide declaration to implement the Shariah?
The fact of the matter is that Islam as a faith and practice has been in the Americas before it was a solid established county, as evidence of this has been documented by slaves who were Muslims and the like thereof.
If there is one thing that the building of the new Islamic Center in Reseda echoes, it is that those who have lived with the Muslims for a number of years can see that they deserve a place to worship.
This is one fundamental principle that America has engraved in its foundation, which is the “Freedom to Worship” and this proves to be true as the new Islamic Center is being built.
Los Angeles continues to be a place of cultural fusion and freedom of religion; with the addition of the new Islamic Center in Reseda it is hoped that freedom shines as an example to those who want to take it away.
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