CHARLOTTE, August 31, 2012 — Isaac’s winds have scattered. The Republicans are basking in the glow of their convention. The Democrats are headed to Charlotte. And the Jumah prayer at the 2012 DNC kicked off a series of hundreds of events that will spread throughout the city for a week.
The Jumah took place at Marshall Park in an open air setting on a rolling lawn that begins at the statue of Martin Luther King and slopes gently downward to a small pond and fountain that face the Charlotte skyline. It was open to the public as an opportunity not only for the Jumah, but also to allow non-Muslims to participate in the observance and explanation of the ritual. [...]
Much of the controversy regarding the Charlotte event comes from other Muslim leaders who believe that radicals who embrace Islamist supremacy are behind the Jumah. Dr. M Zudhi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, and a devout Muslim, says the beliefs of Hough and his group are potentially dangerous.
Hough’s mosque, the Islamic Center of Charlotte, is owned by a Muslim Brotherhood group, the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT).
“Muslims visited America prior to Columbus. It was a Muslim who guided Columbus on his voyage to the new world,” Hough said during his comments at the Jumah.
