Posted on 8/2/2004, 2:41:47 PM by johnqueuepublic
Will Of Faith - Christian Academy Fights Back Against Muslim Extremism
August 2, 2004 - by William A. Mayer - Editor & Publisher, PipeLineNews.org
Osceola County, Florida - PipeLineNews - The great 18th-century conservative Scottish political philosopher Edmund Burke said, "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."
Yet, as we near the anniversary of our third year of war against radical Islamic terrorism, thoughtful observers might be struck with daily examples of such moral lassitude - failure to confront evil.
We see it in the political sphere, where cheap advantage is sought with the hopes of defeating a political party. In the media, where all pretense of objectivity seems to have been cast aside. In education, where the preaching of diversity-based moral equivalency has already, in large measure, established the de-facto state religion of secular humanism.
We even see it in traditional institutions of faith, where heretofore established orthodoxy is overthrown in the name of inclusiveness.
So it comes as a relief when one happens upon someone who takes the Burkean charge to heart.
One such individual is Lee Wasson.
Mr. Wasson is pastor of an evangelical Christian congregation in Osceola County, Florida called Celebration Worship.
Over a period of years he and his staff built and operated a church and parochial school - the Kissimmee Christian Academy - which at its peak educated about 140 students. The instruction these children received was exemplary, featuring one of the highest percentages of "graduates-to-college rates in the county " - 100% last year - and a promotion rate that is also among the highest.
Celebration Worship had been located on a 6 acre parcel of a larger, 31 acre piece of property which had been owned by David Peoples.
Mr. Peoples ran a rather well developed travel and cooking school on the property. Unfortunately, Peoples’ school failed and he was forced to file for bankruptcy.
Up to that time, Celebration Worship had been operating under the existing contract with Peoples. Celebration had been complying with all of the terms of the lease, including making payments on a timely basis as well as making substantial improvements to the property.
All that changed for the worse on October 1, 2003.
Super Stop Petroleum, a corporation owned by a Pakistani, Denise Qureshi, purchased Mr. Peoples’ parcel of land in bankruptcy proceedings, thus subsuming Wasson’s lease.
Shortly after the purchase of the property, Super Stop allowed a Muslim consortium to take possession of the part not leased by Wasson’s church/school complex. This included all of the buildings that Mr. Peoples’ enterprise had occupied.
The Muslim group was headed by a known Islamist – Zulfiqar Ali Shah – and was allowed by Super Stop to act as its agent, essentially becoming Celebration’s landlord.
Mr. Shah and his minions incorporated the group as a 501c3 tax-exempt organization, naming it the Universal Heritage Foundation [UHF.]
Shah and other individuals associated with UHF have professed adherence to radical religious beliefs and have a long history of making, sometimes shockingly, intemperate remarks:
“Either the best Muslim will get power, or the worst Kaffir ["worst infidel" - etymology – North African word, essentially the same as nigger, not so surprising given the North African Arabs' track record with regard to the slave trade]. Allah has created us as the Khaleefah [leaders] and we do not know Biology, Chemistry, Geology, when the Muslims knew those sciences they rules those lands and controlled them. We need to learn these sciences then we know how to control this earth. Rasool (S) struggled for 13 years, he was tortured abused, made sacrifices, even lost his uncle. Victory will not come sitting down. We need to prepare ourselves in all aspects." - Zulfiqar Ali Shah from remarks on the "History of Islam" prepared for the consumption of young Muslims.
UHF’s stated purpose was to further the religious and educational training of Muslims and to present to the community in general, the peaceful side of Islam.
UHF, as part of its marketing plan organized an inaugural event – “Islam for Humanity" – showcased to be touchy-feely and Christian friendly.
As the event neared it became clear that the speakers chosen for it represented some of the worst examples of Islamist theology:
“We want to awaken the conscience of America: because if you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come," he told the crowd. “Please all Americans, do remember that, that Allah is watching everyone. If you continue doing injustice, and tolerating injustice, the wrath of God will come." - Muzammil H. Siddiqui, PhD., the former president of Islamic Society of North America, Imam of the Islamic Society of Orange County in California.
“In a similar vein, CAIR board member Imam Siraj Wahaj calls for replacing the American government with a caliphate, and warns that America will crumble unless it "accepts the Islamic agenda." Wahaj, it should be noted, served as a character witness for Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the Muslim cleric convicted for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing." Front Page Magazine March 5, 2003.
The firestorm that erupted when the list of participants became public knowledge forced UHF to remove Wahaj from the speaker’s list. Not so surprisingly, Siddiqui not only remained part of the event but he currently sits on UHF’s board of directors.
Because of the controversy, the event had to be relocated and eventually concluded with a disastrous amount of almost universally negative press.
Belying its loftily stated goals of accommodation, UHF immediately upon being given de-facto status as Wasson’s landlord, instituted a program of harassment against Celebration Worship.
UHF violated the existing lease, cut off water and power and also undertook a campaign of psychological terror that resulted in Celebration being denied its right to enjoy the use of its facility.
Super Stop engaged in similar tactics, which in short course led to Celebration Worship being constructively evicted from the property.
Wasson has since obtained other facilities and is once again providing a place of Christian worship and education for his parishioners.
To his credit Wasson is fighting back against those who drove his small flock from its previous location.
The law firm of Brown, Garganese, Weiss & D’Agresta, PA. was retained by Wasson and they have just filed a 4 count complaint, naming Super Stop Petroleum as defendant.
The complaint will allege that:
“…under the totality of circumstances, including the affiliation of the operators of the private fundamentalist school with persons associated with past public statements hostile to Christians, Jews and Israel, the posting of Counter-Plaintiffs’ identity on Islamic websites, and the termination of utilities for unnecessary reasons and excessive periods of time, without adequate reason or notice, the Counter-Plaintiffs became reasonably and justifiably afraid for their safety and the well-being and safety of the students attending Counter-Plaintiffs’ school" [that] “Wasson and Celebration have encountered hostility and discriminatory treatment against them based upon their status as Christians and the conduct of their activities on the premises as a private Christian school and church…"
The suit states that Super Stop granted UHF permission to act as its agent with regard to Celebration and that UHF then violated the existing lease in numerous ways.
Super Stop's de-facto granting to UHF the authority to act as its agent, makes Super Stop responsible for actions taken - in that regard - by UHF:
1. Failure to pro-rate the utility bills.
2. Cutting off or interrupting utility services necessary for Celebration to carry on its business.
3. Raising the amount of the lease.
4. Acting in a manner that denied Celebration the peaceful enjoyment of the premises.
5. Organized an event which featured anti-Christian, inflammatory & pro-Islamist speakers.
6. Retaliated against Celebration’s opposing the "Islam for Humanity" event by placing pictures of his school on pro-Islamist websites with the intent of intimidation.
The firm will also claim that for their part, Super Stop Petroleum:
1. Renovated buildings surrounding Celebration in a manner injurious to the tenant’s business.
2. Denied Celebration the right of first refusal to purchase the property occupied by UHF.
3. Failed to return tenant’s security deposit.
4. Acted in a manner that constructively evicted Celebration as a tenant this caused it to suffer great financial loss.
Celebration is asking compensation for all recoverable compensatory as well as consequential damages, which could amount to a judgment of several million dollars against Super Stop. Celebration also seeks declaratory relief, stating exactly what their rights were under the lease.
Lawsuit aside, Wasson has moved on, now seemingly stronger than ever - buoyed by his decision to fight back against an institution whose public persona screams peaceful Islam but whose private actions have placed the dark side of the religion on trial, literally.
Celebration Worship's Christian Academy though down in registration has retained new facilities and is once again growing, now devoid of the Universal Heritage Foundation's harassing tactics and malevolent presence.
In many ways Lee Wasson's struggle mimics America's actions post 911. He didn't seek this test of wills, but he is by no means running from it, instead meeting it head-on with determination and more than a bit of resolve.
Toward that end, he has established a legal defense fund to help his organization to help defray the daunting legal costs entailed in such an undertaking. If you are interested in contacting Pastor Wasson, offering your support and possibly making a tax-exempt [funds so raised go ONLY to defray the legal costs entailed in defending against UHF's predation] contribution, he can be reached at:
Kissimee Christian Academy Legal Defense Fund
Hundreds of Iraqi Christians have been murdered by terrorists in the past 6 months. It's AMAZING that only after coordinated, simultaneous attacks on several churches does the media bother reporting it...as if this genocide of Christians is something new.
Totally agree, even the Vatican has warned against what the Islamists have done, historically, to stamp out Christianity.
In my opinion, the only thing that gets the Islamists attention is making them pay, on the battlefield if that is the venue and in the courts if that is the venue.
I hope Mr. Wasson succeeds in making these people pay big time.
What the article didn't have space to underline is the nature of the UHF and its purpose.
Its backers hope that it will become a nerve center of Muslim higher education, including law...which is exactly what we dont need a cadre of radical Islamist lawyers in league with groups like the ACLU and assorted types, that should scare Americans out of their sleep.
I believe he was of Scottish descent.
Pending a fact check the reference to Burke's ancestry has been pulled, thanks.
He actually MAY have a chance. The key to stopping the genocide of Christians is to inform the public that it's happening to begin with. Even the mass media has been forced to sit up and take notice this time.
They're spinning madly in an attempt to fit these attacks more or less seamlessly into their Quagmire fiction and failing miserably because the murderers can't be keyworded as "insurgents". After all, what does the murder of Assyrian Iraqi Christians have to do with "American occupation", and if there are no Islamist terrorists in Iraq, who's killing them all?
In league with the ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild.
HIDEOUS EVENTS!
GOD BE WITH THEM.
Does anyone know of any churches or groups specifically funding evangelistic missionary work in middle-eastern Moslem countries? Any missionaries with the guts to do outreach in some place like Saudi Arabia?
There is no peaceful side to Islam, they are infected with hate and there resolve is universal. Terrorize and kill all how are non believers. Never trust or believe an islamist, they will definitely hurt you.
amen brother, God be with them along with a phalanx of bad ass attorneys
I am not aware of any such activity in Muslim countries, though I am not aware of lack of said activity.
My guess is that this just isnt allowed in Islamic countries.
There are religious groups doing charity work but straight out proselytizing I think just isnt in the cards.
Muslims are intollerant and backwards, all you have to do is talk to them.
Yes ACLU, National Lawyers Guild, The American Bar Assoc etc.
A pox on them.
Ah, the "peaceful people" at work ...
AMEN!
And may all the counter efforts of the Jihadi's mean that many more of them fall into their own pits!
You're right, of course, but I can't help but think that missionaries in Saudi Arabia or Afganistan face treatment no worse than that faced by the aspostles Paul and Timothy.
time to boycot superstop
and ban islam as a public danger
ban islam as a public danger
try as i might I am having a hell of a time finding the peaceful face of Islam, in WWII thousands of Japanese American joined the armed forces and fought bravely, the few examples of Muslim American soldiers I am aware of were in involved with fragging officers, acting as spies and getting "kidnapped" under mysterious circumstances.......sorry just dont trust them.........
That attitude will help you to live longer.
It's the only possible sane and reasonable one.
Nobody ever came to ruin or regret by NOT trusting muslims.
Amen.
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