Trainspotter Posted July 21, 2008 Share #1 Posted July 21, 2008 Train-ing Day For Jihadists NY YORK POST By JEREMY OLSHAN JULY 21, 2008 Allah board! An Islamic group plans to blitz 1,000 subway cars with advertisements this September in a campaign being promoted by a Brooklyn imam whom federal officials have linked to a plot to blow up city landmarks. The group says its mission is to explain the true nature of Islam to non-Muslims who believe the religion is bent on acts of violence - but Siraj Wahhaj, the inflammatory imam who appears in a promotional YouTube video for the project, has defended convicted bomb-plotters and called the FBI and CIA the "real terrorists." US Attorney Mary Jo White even named Wahhaj one of 170 unindicted co-conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the thwarted plan to blow up a slew of buildings. "In time, this so-called democracy will crumble, and there will be nothing, and the only thing that will remain will be Islam," Wahhaj said in one of his sermons. The stark, black-and-white ads of the Subway Project promote Islam with the goals of clearing up long-held misconceptions about the faith and reaching out to those interested in becoming Muslim, according to the Islamic Circle of North America, the group behind the campaign. Timed to run during the month of Ramadan, the ads come in pairs, reading "Q: Prophet Muhammad?" or "Q: Islam?" and the corresponding answer is always "A: You deserve to know." Those interested in knowing more are directed to call (877) WHY-ISLAM or to visit whyislam.org, which provide literature that teaches and proselytizes about the faith. The group insists it is not looking to transform subway cars into the "G-had train." "Anyone who looks at this ad objectively can see that it is not preaching anything," Azeem Khan, the group's assistant secretary general, told The Post. "There is a lot of Islamaphobia out there. We provide people with a chance to speak with an actual Muslim who is informed." Wahhaj, imam of Al-Taqwa mosque, is a former member of the Nation of Islam and was the first Muslim to give an invocation at the House of Representatives. Formal charges were never filed against him by White, although he did serve as a character witness for the defense in the trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman, "the blind sheik" who is now serving a life sentence for his role in plotting the 1993 WTC bombings. In the promotional video for the Subway Project, Wahhaj is the first to speak. "Every day in this city, some 4.9 million people ride the subways - that is a lot of people," he says. "Imagine them seeing the word Islam. Imagine them seeing the word Muhammad." The MTA confirmed that the group has signed a contract for the ad campaign but would not comment further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted July 21, 2008 Share #2 Posted July 21, 2008 Islam is a faith of peace and (sometimes harsh) justice, and sadly very unequal for women at times. It is not a faith of hate and war. I don't need subway ads telling me about islam as my long lost best friend was a devout muslim and even had her prayers at my house sometimes (the doctrine of worship asks for 5 times a day when possible). People who use any religion to promote hate, injustice, or violence are what we need to focus on, not the faith/belief system itself. The people who are simply practicing their beliefs peacefully should be left alone and stop being hounded like this is salem. That being said i'm not a religious person, my girlfriend is, and i respect all loving peaceful faiths, and try to become as educated about them as possible. The fact that anyone would paint a mental picture of all similar looking people, or all people of a similar faith as being the same is what needs to change, not what religion someone is. People died giving the right to ANYONE in this country to have any beliefs they want and mot be unfairly treated because of it. Freedom costs you something. Responsibility is the cost of freedom. Be irresponsible and your freedoms are taken from you. I am waiting for the day people are responsible enough to put down their self drawn picture of the world, and embrace the world for the many faceted place it is, and should continue to be! - Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted July 21, 2008 Share #3 Posted July 21, 2008 Couple comments... IMHO it's a good idea to clear up any misconceptions about Islam. Islam, like metsfan said, is a religion of peace. Islamic extremists, however, have twisted this religion into a weapon bent against destroying all non-Muslims. Unfortunatly people lump these two together and come to the conclusion that all Muslims are hell-bent on destroying Westerners, especially Christians and Jews. This isn't true. All three of these religions believe in the same God, even though in different ways, and we should respect that. Being a practicing Roman Catholic, I excercise religious and cultural tolerance toward everyone. Unfortunately, many people don't. This is why people hate Muslims and Islamic extremists hate us. They are just not willing to accept each other for what they are. Forcible conversion as the extremists are trying to do to us is not the answer. Hate against Muslims is not the answer. If only everyone could see the good in each other and have tolerance towards each other, maybe this world might be a better place to live. Maybe Wahhaj is a little on the extremist side with that comment from his sermon. But with the ad campaign, he has the right idea. An ignorant people is a prejudiced people. The less we know, the more likely we are to just hate someone because he or she is "different." And about the New York Post... Even though I'm not a Muslim (see above) I take offense at the headline and certain derogatory phrases towards the ad campaign. First off, the Post is immediately calling the people who are doing this "Jihadists." Uncalled for. Do they have any proof that these people want to kill us? Do they have any proof that these people are working for a terrorist organization? No and no. They simply want to spread the truth about Islam, not kill us. Second, they call the ad campaign a "blitz." Yes, there are gonna be a lot of ads on these subway cars. Are they attacking us? Are these ads assaulting us with information that could cause us harm? No. As the article reads, they are simply to inform the general public about the true meaning of Islam and to reach out to anyone who wants to become a Muslim. Third, the phrases "Allah board!" and "G-had train." Obviously poking fun at what is a respectable religion. These jokes are not in good taste, IMO. What's ironic about this piece is that it is about something good Muslims are doing to help their image, yet the writing style of this article is quite obviously biased against Islam. Then again, it's the New York Post, not the New York Times. I've come to expect this kind of low derogatory humor from them in pretty much all their articles, and there's nothing I can do about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransitGuy Posted July 21, 2008 Share #4 Posted July 21, 2008 Islam is a faith of peace and (sometimes harsh) justice, and sadly very unequal for women at times. It is not a faith of hate and war. I don't need subway ads telling me about islam as my long lost best friend was a devout muslim and even had her prayers at my house sometimes (the doctrine of worship asks for 5 times a day when possible). People who use any religion to promote hate, injustice, or violence are what we need to focus on, not the faith/belief system itself. The people who are simply practicing their beliefs peacefully should be left alone and stop being hounded like this is salem. That being said i'm not a religious person, my girlfriend is, and i respect all loving peaceful faiths, and try to become as educated about them as possible. The fact that anyone would paint a mental picture of all similar looking people, or all people of a similar faith as being the same is what needs to change, not what religion someone is. People died giving the right to ANYONE in this country to have any beliefs they want and mot be unfairly treated because of it. Freedom costs you something. Responsibility is the cost of freedom. Be irresponsible and your freedoms are taken from you. I am waiting for the day people are responsible enough to put down their self drawn picture of the world, and embrace the world for the many faceted place it is, and should continue to be! - Andy Couple comments... IMHO it's a good idea to clear up any misconceptions about Islam. Islam, like metsfan said, is a religion of peace. Islamic extremists, however, have twisted this religion into a weapon bent against destroying all non-Muslims. Unfortunatly people lump these two together and come to the conclusion that all Muslims are hell-bent on destroying Westerners, especially Christians and Jews. This isn't true. All three of these religions believe in the same God, even though in different ways, and we should respect that. Being a practicing Roman Catholic, I excercise religious and cultural tolerance toward everyone. Unfortunately, many people don't. This is why people hate Muslims and Islamic extremists hate us. They are just not willing to accept each other for what they are. Forcible conversion as the extremists are trying to do to us is not the answer. Hate against Muslims is not the answer. If only everyone could see the good in each other and have tolerance towards each other, maybe this world might be a better place to live. Maybe Wahhaj is a little on the extremist side with that comment from his sermon. But with the ad campaign, he has the right idea. An ignorant people is a prejudiced people. The less we know, the more likely we are to just hate someone because he or she is "different." I definitely agree with these posts. Well said guys. And about the New York Post... Even though I'm not a Muslim (see above) I take offense at the headline and certain derogatory phrases towards the ad campaign. First off, the Post is immediately calling the people who are doing this "Jihadists." Uncalled for. Do they have any proof that these people want to kill us? Do they have any proof that these people are working for a terrorist organization? No and no. They simply want to spread the truth about Islam, not kill us. Second, they call the ad campaign a "blitz." Yes, there are gonna be a lot of ads on these subway cars. Are they attacking us? Are these ads assaulting us with information that could cause us harm? No. As the article reads, they are simply to inform the general public about the true meaning of Islam and to reach out to anyone who wants to become a Muslim. Third, the phrases "Allah board!" and "G-had train." Obviously poking fun at what is a respectable religion. These jokes are not in good taste, IMO. What's ironic about this piece is that it is about something good Muslims are doing to help their image, yet the writing style of this article is quite obviously biased against Islam. Then again, it's the New York Post, not the New York Times. I've come to expect this kind of low derogatory humor from them in pretty much all their articles, and there's nothing I can do about it. Yeah I agree with that as well 110%. I'm a pretty casual Muslim but the article just sounded biased and the "jokes" and/or word alterations such "G-had Train" where inappropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted July 21, 2008 Share #5 Posted July 21, 2008 I definitely agree with these posts. Well said guys. Yeah I agree with that as well 110%. I'm a pretty casual Muslim but the article just sounded biased and the "jokes" and/or word alterations such "G-had Train" where inappropriate. It is the post... A news corp holding. They are not exactly well known for being sensitive to things. - Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Posted July 21, 2008 Share #6 Posted July 21, 2008 You never know what to expect from both the Daily News and Post. Sometimes I can't stand the headlines on both papers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTrain Posted July 21, 2008 Share #7 Posted July 21, 2008 Oh wow, I wonder how may people actually pay attention to these ads, especially with the ads about Islam? 4.5 Million people ride the every day, and I won't be surprised if people don't remember what the Islam ads were about. That dude is a real freak, but I do agree that Islam is a religion that is consistently misunderstood. People associate the religion with terrorists, and that's just false. NY Post and NY Daily News can be so over dramatic with these stories. Sometimes I feel like reading the same paper with these two, as some of you have pointed out earlier. WOW :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted July 22, 2008 Share #8 Posted July 22, 2008 It is the post... A news corp holding. They are not exactly well known for being sensitive to things. - Andy You never know what to expect from both the Daily News and Post. Sometimes I can't stand the headlines on both papers. NY Post and NY Daily News can be so over dramatic with these stories. Sometimes I feel like reading the same paper with these two, as some of you have pointed out earlier. WOW :eek: IMHO, the Post is a lot worse when it comes to sensitivity, but I agree. You don't know what to expect with these papers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebbieprops Posted July 25, 2008 Share #9 Posted July 25, 2008 I won't even get into the time that the Post once published a headline in which they called the Holocaust the "H-Caust". It was all over the left-wing blogs after a number of Jews voiced opposition to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted July 25, 2008 Share #10 Posted July 25, 2008 One more note... This story actually made the front page. The headline? "(J)ihad Train" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R68 Subway Car Posted July 25, 2008 Share #11 Posted July 25, 2008 I won't even get into the time that the Post once published a headline in which they called the Holocaust the "H-Caust". It was all over the left-wing blogs after a number of Jews voiced opposition to it.And lets not forget the time when the Daily News put that photo of a bleeding dead man that was shot at that Eastern Parkway Labor Day Parade back in 2003. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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