The number of Muslim delegates attending the Democratic National Convention has quadrupled since 2004, according to a Muslim advocacy group. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations counts more than 100 Muslim delegates representing some 20 states at the Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C., this week.
The Rev. Patrick Baraza gently placed the holy Quran on a carved wooden stand at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center, then turned to the small crowd and welcomed them to the center’s Day of Prayer.
“Today we’re going to focus on another religion that’s maybe not your own,” he said.
Following attacks on seven U.S. mosques in the last two weeks, including three attacks last weekend, many Muslim Americans are approaching the end of Ramadan on Sunday (Aug. 19) under a cloud of fear as Muslim groups try to increase security without spurring panic.
With this morning’s rising sun dawned the Islamic month of Ramadan — a sacred time for Muslims to commemorate when the Quran’s scriptures were first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.
From now until Aug. 19 Muslims will fast from sunup until sundown.
An outspoken supporter of a planned mosque that has sparked opposition in Murfreesboro, Tenn., has switched sides and joined the anti-Islam movement. Eric Allen Bell, a documentary filmmaker, was a fixture at court hearings and protests over the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro in 2010.
In the past two years, the FBI has placed at least five men with affiliations to the mosque, including its longtime religious leader, on the nation's no-fly list, a roster of suspected terrorists barred from flying in the United States. None has been charged with a terrorism-related offense, and federal officials haven't told them why they're on the list.