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Muslim leader defends Trump immigration order after mosque burns down

Feb 2, 2017 10:23 am By Christine Douglass-Williams

The fierce opposition against Trump has led to him being scapegoated for any and every mishap that occurs in mosques or against Muslims. Yet Shaid Hashmi, president of the Victoria Islamic Center, is not eager to blame Trump nor declare victimhood, unlike many leftists and Islamic supremacists:

Hashmi remains convinced the blaze wasn’t a hate crime. And he wants people to stop claiming it was.

We don’t know the situation right now … don’t know if it was set intentionally or if it was an accident.”

The West is in a precarious position: one need only look at the surging crime rate in Europe and ongoing threats of jihad attacks to appreciate how severely Western countries are threatened by jihad and Islamic supremacism. This calamitous trend demands that leaders step up to the plate and do their jobs to protect Western citizens. They are still largely avoiding doing this, while President Trump has made it a top priority. And remember, it was Obama who selected the seven Muslim countries that Trump listed in his temporary visa moratorium. Hashmi is not angry about that moratorium, either:

Hashmi said he has no problems with the executive order. He described it as Trump’s way of thinking “of security for the country,” even though he also stressed that he doesn’t want all Muslims to be labeled as terrorists or “bad” people.

If this case does turns out to be a hate crime against Hashmi’s mosque, then the perpetrators should be brought to justice, as should the murderer in the Quebec city mosque rampage, following a complete investigation. It is also imperative to distinguish when such individuals are acting for reasons of their own, as opposed to those who are fueled by religious zeal, acting out religious edicts or invoking religious texts to commit crimes against humanity, stemming from a belief system that encourages them to do so for a heavenly reward.

“After Texas Mosque Burned Down, Leader Defends Trump Immigration Ban”, by Sherley Boursiquot, International Business Times, February 1, 2017:

The Muslim community in Victoria, Texas, holds a communal dinner every Friday night at the Victoria Islamic Center and last week was no different. They ate, cleaned up and headed home prepared to return the following day for prayer. But when members arrived the next morning, they find their beloved mosque gutted and charred.

“The entire building was destroyed,” Shaid Hashmi, president of the Victoria Islamic Center, told International Business Times.

Saturday’s fire came hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering U.S. soil. The mosque’s destruction made national headlines after some assumed the fire was caused by individuals who sided with Trump’s decision.

But after months of Muslims leaders around the nation sounding the alarm about growing incidents of hate crime and Trump’s increasingly divisive rhetoric toward Islam, Hashmi remains convinced the blaze wasn’t a hate crime. And he wants people to stop claiming it was.

“It could perhaps be an electrical problem from inside,” he said. “We don’t know the situation right now … don’t know if it was set intentionally or if it was an accident.”

Trump’s executive order last week restricting people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from traveling to the U.S. has sparked demonstrators across the nation, with protesters calling the ban inhumane and racist. Democratic lawmakers and 16 attorneys generals released a statement condemning the order as unconstitutional. Some Republicans, including Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, have also criticized the order, while Washington, Massachusetts and New York plan to sue the Trump administration over the policy.

But Hashmi said he has no problems with the executive order. He described it as Trump’s way of thinking “of security for the country,” even though he also stressed that he doesn’t want all Muslims to be labeled as terrorists or “bad” people.

“The president has chosen to restrict certain countries, he is our president. I respect his decision, unless if it comes to the point where it will hurt innocent people, then we won’t support that,” he said. “Just because Muslims made the terrorist attack in the past that doesn’t mean every Muslim is bad. It’s not religious fault; it’s those people who are not following their true fate. Muslims are good people.”

Asked if he had any suspicions about whether someone might have caused the arson after Trump’s order, Hashmi demurred. “I’m not going to get political about it. There is no reason to get political about it at all,” he said.

Hasmi’s mosque counts about 100 members in Victoria, a small city about 125 miles southwest of Houston. Emergency workers arrived at the mosque Saturday after a neighbor called the fire department when he noticed smoke and flames coming out from the structure. The mosque’s imam, Osama Hassan, woke up randomly from his sleep and checked the online surveillance of the mosque on his phone. He saw the doors were unlocked, Hashmi said. When Hassan went down to the mosque, he noticed the fire department was already outside trying to tame the blaze.

Hassan, who spent most of his time at the mosque, called Hashmi to tell him about the fire. “He was crying like a child when he called me,” said Hashmi.

The mosque opened in 2000 and is the only gathering place for local Muslims. Its small membership is a good fit because Victoria is a “small city, everything is near,” Hasmi said.

Victoria is 79 percent white, 43 percent Latino or Hispanic, 6 percent black and 10 percent some other race, according to U.S. Census data. In 2000, 271 Muslims were living in the area, which is known for its agricultural and industrial economy.

People in the community “have been very good to us, and we have been good to them,” said Hasmi, a surgeon who has lived in the area for 32 years and claims to have performed surgery on most of the city’s residents. He said he has never experienced any discrimination personally in the community. In fact, after the fire, neighbors offered up a temporary place for Muslims to continue their religious services, Hashmi said…..

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Filed Under: Donald Trump, Featured, immigration, mosques, United States Tagged With: Shaid Hashmi, texas, Victoria Islamic Center


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Comments

  1. Mac-101 says

    Feb 2, 2017 at 11:03 am

    Is this guy the Moderate Islamic Leader we’ve been looking for?

    • Guest says

      Feb 2, 2017 at 3:55 pm

      No, he’s not: “It’s not religious fault”. He’s might be a nice guy who ignores/reinterprets the worst koranic suras, but he’s downplaying the *fact* that violent jihadis do use the religion to justify their actions.

      A true moderate would at least admit that the koran contains verses that must be ignored.

      • gravenimage says

        Feb 2, 2017 at 7:41 pm

        I’m afraid this is true. Hashmi said, “Just because Muslims made the terrorist attack in the past that doesn’t mean every Muslim is bad. It’s not religious fault; it’s those people who are not following their true fate. Muslims are good people.”

        Of course, any Muslim who really follows his own creed will support violent Jihad. I am glad that Hashmi is not doing this; but he is also whitewashing Islam and pretending that this is not what it demands–which offers cover for Islam, whether this is his intent or not.

  2. Angemon says

    Feb 2, 2017 at 11:06 am

    Victoria is 79 percent white, 43 percent Latino or Hispanic, 6 percent black and 10 percent some other race, according to U.S. Census data.

    79+43+6+10 = 138%. Something doesn’t add up here.

    • Mac-101 says

      Feb 2, 2017 at 11:18 am

      It’s easy. Hispanics are considered white if they are somewhat white and commit a crime. If it is about discrimination concerns, then they are brown.
      .
      PC-101

    • Oliver says

      Feb 2, 2017 at 12:12 pm

      Many possibly a majority of Hispanics are white.

      • gravenimage says

        Feb 2, 2017 at 7:45 pm

        Yes–when I worked for the Census in 2000 I was surprised that Hispanics could also identify as “White” or “Black” as well as Hispanic.

    • somehistory says

      Feb 2, 2017 at 2:16 pm

      When one drives though the town, one sees mainly white. That *some other race* is one I never saw there.

      • gravenimage says

        Feb 2, 2017 at 7:46 pm

        Are you a Texan, somehistory?

  3. marina says

    Feb 2, 2017 at 11:35 am

    So horrific.This madman was emulating his beloved Mo who butchered 800 people from a jewish tribe.

  4. marina says

    Feb 2, 2017 at 11:42 am

    This Muslim has still has some brain cells left (after 5 times banging head on the floor) which are quite functional.

  5. DB says

    Feb 2, 2017 at 12:57 pm

    This ‘religion’ which is more an ideology, is based on the very OPPOSITE of what Jesus taught, which is LOVE, Love those who do you wrong, pray for those who dispitefully use you, do good to those who do you wrong, return good for evil. etc.

    If you look at the foundation of the Islamic belief system you will soon see that it is founded on HATE, just the opposite of God. God IS LOVE and those who follow Him learn to put their human thoughts aside and refuse to hate others. Satan is the author of hate and murder and evil. God is light and there is nothing evil about Him or what He promotes. Those who follow God will display His attributes. Those who follow satan will display those attributes belonging to satan. Enough said. Jesus said you would know His disciples by their LOVE.

  6. Artus says

    Feb 2, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    Are muslims surprised their mosque was burnt? How many churches, Buddhist temples, Hindu temples was burnt by muslims? thousands

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 2, 2017 at 7:47 pm

      Artus, there is *no* reason to believe at this point that this Mosque was deliberately burned down by anyone.

  7. livingengine says

    Feb 2, 2017 at 2:25 pm

    4 reasons the Victoria mosque fire may be arson.
    http://time.com/4652725/texas-mosque-fire/
    1. The Victoria mosque was burglarized a week beforehand, and laptops were stolen. Laptops contain hard drives that could possibly survive a fire.
    a. On Jan. 21, someone broke in and stole some electronics, including laptops.
    2. Alarm systems were turned off
    a. The alarm system had been turned off and the doors were unlocked. If the windows were left open, as well, that would also strongly suggest arson
    b. “The congregation’s pastor, known as an imam, was awake in the early morning hours and checked online surveillance of the mosque and found no alarm active and the doors unlocked, Hashmi said.”
    3. The building was completely destroyed by fire
    a. A building completely gutted by a spontaneous raging fire would also suggest arson
    4. Statements by the investigators could be interpreted as reluctance to publish their findings
    a. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has been called in
    b. “That process can take days, weeks or even months,” The Victoria Fire Chief, Taner Drake, said
    i. Investigations that determine arson can theoretically be concluded in a day, but finding a suspect may not ever be possible.
    5. We don’t know what happened, and all we can go by is what is reported in the news which, at this point, seems very suspicious.

    • gravenimage says

      Feb 2, 2017 at 7:50 pm

      If valuables were removed prior to the fire, this might point to its being an inside job. Time will tell.

  8. gravenimage says

    Feb 2, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    Yes–Hindus have suffered horrible Jihad, with an estimated 80 million slaughtered.

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