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Posted on 07/25/2008 8:24:02 AM PDT by NYer
Mosques are multiplying across the country and their inspiration may come as a bit of a surprise – Christian megachurches.
Similar to many megachurches, new mosques are popping up as extension campuses to a main mosque with the stated goal of making it more convenient for Muslims in an area to worship. These extended mosque sites are sometimes referred to as “mosque chains” and tend to be adopted by more progressive Muslim congregations.
"Because of how streamlined we are, you can get off the highway from anywhere and find a mosque that is well-maintained, well-structured and that will always be open," said Abeer Abdulla, media specialist for the nine mosques owned by the Islamic Society of Central Florida in Orlando, according to Religion News Service.
Besides serving as a place of worship, the campuses sometimes double up as a Muslim community center. Some sites feature gymnasiums, adult education classes, psychological counseling, sewing lessons, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts programs.
One such mosque is operated by the All-Dulles Area Muslim Society in the greater Washington, D.C.-area. It has a main mosque in Sterling, Va., and seven branch locations that offer a range of social activities for the annual membership cost of $30.
The Society’s multi-site mosque organization is similar to several other D.C.-area churches that have recently extended their campuses. McLean Bible Church, one of the largest churches in the D.C. area, announced its vision to launch nine satellite campuses last September. The goal is to have 10 campuses within 10 years to “surround Washington and pound Washington” with the Gospel.
And National Community Church, which is part of the theater church movement, now holds meetings in four locations throughout the D.C. area.
It’s worth noting that seven of the top 10 fastest-growing churches in the United States are multi-site churches, according to Outreach Magazine.
But for multi-site mosques, the satellite campuses help relieve the stress on the main campuses during Friday prayer meetings where thousands of people show up.
"Where do they park? They park on the road, they park here, they park there. The prayer starts exactly on time every day, so it becomes a huge bottleneck of space and time," said Muqtedar Khan, associate professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware, to RNS.
Supporters of the mosque chain deny that the growth is about power, but say it provides better service to congregants and protects worshippers from foreign political agendas that may be attached to overseas funding received by independent mosques.
"If I go into any of the ISCF (Islamic Society of Central Florida) mosques, I know that just like the marketing material, the newsletters and the community announcements are the same, the imam is also following the same policy as all the imams in the other mosques, to have good relations with people of other faiths so we can understand that we are a part of this country," said 18-year-old member Bassem Chaaban.
The multi-site mosque concept is still fairly new and some “megamosques” are considering to go nationwide.
Are you sure this isn’t a parody?
Mega-mosques? Seems extravagant for a congregation that constitutes 2.2% of the US population.
It makes more sense for a scattered population to take (as it were) a distance-learning approach to religion. If there’s only one mosque for (random number) 10,000 Moslems in a major suburban sprawl, it’s going to be very inconvenient for many to attend services, and also a mess when the try to park (as the article, which I still think is a parody, points out).
If they have several storefronts at key locations in the ‘burbs, then “instant mosque” just by adding some carpets and a closed-circuit tv feed.
And between 17%-20% of the U.S. prison population.
Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts programs?
Hmmm....decentralizing the armories. Makes sound tactical sense.
In one of the cities near us, I think Utica, they are taking over a Methodist church that moved out. Be very afraid...
Who’s funding them?
Steve Emerson’s recent article :”New Disclosures Tighten ISNA-Muslim Brotherhood Bonds.”
http://www.steveemerson.com/blog/2008/07/new-disclosures-tighten-isna-muslim.html
Watch out if they’re affiliated with the ISNA.
Soon popular Muslim books will hit the shelves at Walmart:
“Purpose Driven Saber”
“Your best Jihad now”
“Woman, though head art loosed”
Islam is not a religion nor is it a cult. It is a complete system. Islam has religious, legal, political, economic and military components. The religious component is a beard for all the other components. Islamization occurs when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their so-called ‘religious rights'.
When politically correct and culturally diverse societies agree to ‘the reasonable’ Muslim demands for their ‘religious rights,’ they also get the other components under the table. Here’s how it works (percentages source CIA: The World Fact Book (2007)).
As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness:
At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs:
From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. They will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves — along with threats for failure to comply. (United States).
At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world but to establish Sharia law over the entire world. When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions (Paris –car-burnings). Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats (Amsterdam - Mohammed cartoons).
After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning:
At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare:
From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels:
After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide:
100% will usher in the peace of ‘Dar-es-Salaam’ — the Islamic House of Peace — there’s supposed to be peace because everybody is a Muslim:
Of course, that’s not the case. To satisfy their blood lust, Muslims then start killing each other for a variety of reasons.
"Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; and the tribe against the world and all of us against the infidel."
– Leon Uris, ‘The Haj’.
It is good to remember that in many, many countries, such as France, the Muslim populations are centered around ghettos based on their ethnicity. Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. Therefore, they exercise more power than their national average would indicate.
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