Coast Muslims Speak Out on Marquee
The message on the marquee at Cowan Road Baptist Church in Gulfport has the Coast Islamic community up in arms. “Allah is Satan, Jesus is God” are the words posted outside the church. In the first part of a two part series with both sides, News 25 caught up with representatives from the Islamic community on the Gulf Coast so they can set the record straight on what they truly believe.
It’s those six words on the marquee at Cowan Baptist Church that Coast Muslims say make them feel attacked. Dawud Salaam and Ari Hooper are both members of the Islamic community of the Gulf Coast. They believe statements like these are in response to the attacks in Paris.
Hooper and Salaam believe the portrayal of Muslims in society after these attacks clumps them all into one category. They tell News 25 that they’re mistakenly connected to these terrorist. They say those attacks directly oppose their beliefs. “As Muslims, as true followers who adhere to the faith of Islam, we denounce terrorism,” said Hooper. “We condemn terrorism in the present, in the past and if it continues, we’ll condemn it in the future,” said Salaam.
Salaam says they’re actually taught to save lives, not take them. “Allah says in the Holy Quran if you save one life then it’s as if you saved the entire human family. So, on the other side of that, if you take one life it’s like you took the life of the entire human family.”
News 25 spoke with Cowan Road Baptist Church and we do plan to sit down and speak with them to get their side of the story. Hooper and Salaam say they want to speak with them as well, not as a confrontation but to simply sit down and have a conversation as adults. “Our duty as Muslims is just put the message out there. So now, he sits down with us, we let him know what the truth is, he may not take the sign down,” said Hooper. “According to the U.S. Constitution and the Mississippi Constitution, it’s a freedom of expression. So even after we give the message, he can keep that sign up because we have that right as Americans,” said Salaam.
Both tell News 25 that as part of the Muslim community, they simply want to live life like everyone else. “We still love this country. We strive and we fight every day to prove ourselves worthy to be members of this wonderful society that we live in,” said Salaam.
News 25 has spoken with Pastor Chris Ashley from Cowan Road Baptist Church. We plan to sit down with him to get their side of the story next week.
It’s those six words on the marquee at Cowan Baptist Church that Coast Muslims say make them feel attacked. Dawud Salaam and Ari Hooper are both members of the Islamic community of the Gulf Coast. They believe statements like these are in response to the attacks in Paris.
Hooper and Salaam believe the portrayal of Muslims in society after these attacks clumps them all into one category. They tell News 25 that they’re mistakenly connected to these terrorist. They say those attacks directly oppose their beliefs. “As Muslims, as true followers who adhere to the faith of Islam, we denounce terrorism,” said Hooper. “We condemn terrorism in the present, in the past and if it continues, we’ll condemn it in the future,” said Salaam.
Salaam says they’re actually taught to save lives, not take them. “Allah says in the Holy Quran if you save one life then it’s as if you saved the entire human family. So, on the other side of that, if you take one life it’s like you took the life of the entire human family.”
News 25 spoke with Cowan Road Baptist Church and we do plan to sit down and speak with them to get their side of the story. Hooper and Salaam say they want to speak with them as well, not as a confrontation but to simply sit down and have a conversation as adults. “Our duty as Muslims is just put the message out there. So now, he sits down with us, we let him know what the truth is, he may not take the sign down,” said Hooper. “According to the U.S. Constitution and the Mississippi Constitution, it’s a freedom of expression. So even after we give the message, he can keep that sign up because we have that right as Americans,” said Salaam.
Both tell News 25 that as part of the Muslim community, they simply want to live life like everyone else. “We still love this country. We strive and we fight every day to prove ourselves worthy to be members of this wonderful society that we live in,” said Salaam.
News 25 has spoken with Pastor Chris Ashley from Cowan Road Baptist Church. We plan to sit down with him to get their side of the story next week.
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