New Jersey attorney general visits mosque to apologize for counter-terror program - Jihad Watch

New Jersey attorney general visits mosque to apologize for counter-terror program - Jihad Watch

New Jersey attorney general visits mosque to apologize for counter-terror program

Now when will he reassure those under threat from jihad terror plotting? Why is it that the New Jersey Muslim community doesn't have to do a thing to reassure the attorney general that it is law-abiding and rejects jihad, but he has to reassure them?

"NJ’s attorney general visits mosque as part of outreach after NYPD surveillance flap," from the Associated Press, November 30:

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa quietly visited a Newark mosque Friday that had been listed in a secret report by the New York Police Department, and he reassured worshippers that New Jersey officials do not believe certain groups of citizens have lesser rights than others.

Nor should they. But counterterror surveillance does not strip them of their rights.

Chiesa attended prayer services at Masjid Ibrahim, a modest, single-story mosque set up inside a ramshackle former commercial space in Newark. The mosque was among several in the report by the NYPD, which conducted surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey and elsewhere.

“It is not tolerable here in New Jersey for us to have people treated differently in this state — period,” Chiesa said.

The attorney general’s visit was part of an ongoing effort by his office to repair relations between Muslims and New Jersey law enforcement after The Associated Press uncovered the NYPD spying. The NYPD has said its actions were legal and it has the right to travel to other cities in carrying out its duties.

Explaining to mosque-goers that he had only been in office about a month when the NYPD spying came to light, Chiesa said he was there to listen and answer questions from the community. He said he understood how badly he and his family would feel if they had been subjected to spying at their church or made to feel they could not freely practice their religion.

How ridiculous. I wouldn't care in the slightest if I were "subjected to spying" at church, because I would not be calling for terrorist attacks or agreeing with any illegal action, and so I wouldn't care who was listening. And if people were there who were plotting illegal activities, I would want them found and apprehended.

The mosque’s imam, Mustafa El-Amin, is a member of the Muslim outreach committee formed by Chiesa’s office in the wake of the NYPD revelations. He has gained a following for oratory that translates the teachings of the Quran into modern-day parables, relevant to his largely poor and working-class African-American congregants.

El-Amin’s sermon on Friday was somewhat tailored to his visitors. He emphasized that Islam is a religion of peace and explained the significance of Friday prayers.

“It’s not a conspiracy session. It’s not a session where we plot anything bad,” El-Amin said of Friday prayers. “All are welcome. Our doors are always open. We have nothing to hide.”