Thursday, July 14, 2016

SUFFA DAWAT MOSQUE OVER CROWDING

Initially information was given by the mosque backers that they would have at most 80 worshipers for their main service on Friday afternoon in the 2 rental spaces at the Kennesaw Commons Strip Mall, 2750 Jiles Rd location.

Since then they have expanded their rental to another next door unit which is suppose to be used for the women, bringing the total rented space to 3,300 sq ft.

Photos taken in July 2016 on the “28th Night of Ramadan” at 11 p.m. show only the men’s side, which is the original 2 units (2200 sq ft) and show at least 106 people, considering the remaining area not shown, probably there are 130 (+/-) plus an unknown number of women in the remaining unit.

While the County Fire Dept had initially established the maximum number allowed under their regulations at an unrealistic 315 for the original 2 units, you can see that the facility is well above the actual physical capacity of the rooms and the parking lot during both Ramadan and their normal main service on Friday afternoons.

The original City variance for use of the property as a Mosque for 24 months still has a few months to run but there is no indication that any other facility is being prepared for the expiration of the approved 24 month usage.

A careful look at the photos will show that there are conceptual drawings of the proposed Mosque to be built at 6045 Pine Mountain Road.  The 3.62 acres (161,000 sq ft) has set aside 200 spaces for parking.

Whether this new million dollar Mosque is ever built, in the proposed configuration or otherwise, it clearly would be impossible for it to be ready for several years.  The donations are very minimal, hardly enough to pay the rent on the current location.  

Mosque leadership has been critical of worshipers for their lack of contributions.

This despite their own leadership being composed of several multi millionaires, one of which is Abdul Kareem Amer, who is also in the news recently for being the spokesman for the East Cobb Islamic Centers building of a cemetery for 6-7,000 plots in Powder Springs on MacLand Road. 

The immediate Kennesaw concern is that their Friday service exceeds the available strip mall parking.  

Near term concerns are for what happens when both their lease and agreement with the City of Kennesaw for the 24 month variance runs out.

Long term concerns are for construction of the new Suffa Dawat Mosque on the land donated to them by Mr.  Kashif Rashid Rana of Kennesaw.

Previous dealings with this Mosque have not been satisfactory and have cost the City $18,000, a Federal lawsuit and an international black eye.

With 5 of the 6 elected City posts now held by newly elected representatives perhaps some clearer thinking will emerge on how to deal with the referenced issues.  

If not then it will be another round fought out in the press and probably the courts.

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7/8/16

MAIN FRIDAY SERVICE OVER FLOWS EXISTING PARKING

Remember how it was 'claimed' that their main Friday afternoon service might draw at most 80 people?

The 7/8/16 main service totally filled the parking area at this strip mall.

Parking monitors direct members to open spots and several slots are reserved by them for use of shoppers at other mall stores.

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Tuesday, July 5, 2016

MORE KENNESAW MOSQUE BULL SHIT

KENNESAW MOSQUE THRIVING AFTER BUMPY BEGINNING

Emily Selby MDJ 7/5/16

It’s been about a year and a half since the Kennesaw City Council balked at allowing a mosque to open in a strip mall, and since that time, mosque leaders say everything is “going great.

“It is so convenient,” said Dr. Nayyer Islam, president of the mosque, the Masjid Suffah of Kennesaw.

“It’s a great place for everyone to come together and meet each other. There are some people I didn’t even know were in the area that are coming here now.”

In December of 2014, the Kennesaw City Council voted 4-1 to deny a permit that would have allowed worshippers to open a Muslim prayer center in a strip mall on Jiles Road behind a Publix grocery store.

Protestors attended numerous council meetings about the mosque, carrying signs saying “Ban Islam” and “No Mosque,” and voiced concerns about the mosque spreading Shariah law.

After Doug Dillard, the attorney representing mosque members, threatened to sue the council for violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, council members reversed their decision and granted a 24-month permit.

Former Councilwoman Cris Eaton-Welsh was the only council member to approve the permit in the initial vote. She said she voted to approve the mosque because it was their “constitutional right to be there.

“The (mosque members) who came to that City Council meeting, they have been members of this community for 20, 30 years,” Eaton-Welsh said “They are your radiologists, your doctors, your dentists … I’m glad they have a safe space to worship. I don’t think it’s any different than a synagogue or chapel.”

Former Councilwoman Debra Williams, who initially voted against the mosque, said her opposition was based on the location.

“It was going in a retail space that had active businesses, and a worship center takes away from that. We need to put in businesses that complement each other,” she said.

However, Islam said the shopping mall is now thriving.

“The (shopping) complex where the mosque is located had one or two businesses back then, and as I was promising the city at the time, now the whole complex is flourishing,” Islam said.

Dream Body Inc, a personal training studio, moved into the strip-mall in May, and owner Seth Carver said that while parking had been an initial concern, business is good and the studio has about 150 sessions per week.

“They are very courteous, they come over and put cones in front of our space so that nobody parks in front of our business so that way there’s parking for our clients,” Carver said.

CONVENIENT LOCATION

Before the mosque opened, many Muslims in the area had to travel to other communities to worship.

Mosque board member Naser Omer, of Kennesaw, said “we were going and coming 10 miles each way, so that’s 20 miles, and some of the prayers are only ten minutes.” He called the mosque a great facility.

Nayyer Islam’s daughter, 18-year old Maha Islam, said before the mosque opened, her family traveled to Canton to a different Muslim community.

“It’s so nice having the mosque here. I didn’t know all the Muslims in this area and now I do,” she said.

Another mosque on Barrett Parkway in west Cobb is scheduled to open in about four to six months.  

(See:   http://www.atlantamuslim.com/directory/masjid-al-furqan/)

The Masjid Suffah, which sees about 80 to 100 members on its busiest day, is collecting funds to move to a permanent location behind the Walgreen’s pharmacy and Bank of America on Pine Mountain Road near Cobb Parkway.

Nayyer Islam said an architect, who is a member of the mosque, has already drawn up the plans for an 8,500-square-foot space with a larger worship area and multi-purpose space for kids to play. The property, which was donated to the mosque by a member, is about 3.5 acres and the new development will include about 200 parking spaces.

Kennesaw resident Eileen Alberstadt, who opposed the mosque’s opening in 2014 citing traffic congestion, said she is still concerned about traffic when the Pine Mountain Road location opens.

“I live on Pine Mountain and it’s a nightmare to get out of the subdivision,” Alberstadt said. “The traffic will be hell; it’s already hell now.”

Alberstadt and Williams also said mosque members tried to demolish a house on the Pine Mountain Road property, but did not have the permit and were forced to stop.

Because the project is privately-funded, it is difficult to pinpoint when it will be finished, Nayyer Islam said.

“If you wrote me a check today, I could start working tomorrow,” he said, laughing.

According to Nayyer Islam, the property already has the needed zoning and the final architectural designs will be submitted to the city for approval. The estimated cost for the Pine Mountain Road mosque is $1.4 million.

The mosque has a 24-month leasing period for the strip mall location which ends in about nine months.

“We told them at the time that this is a temporary thing and our permission is for two years, so we are going to obey our promise,” he said. “We are going to keep striving towards building the other mosque so it becomes a permanent thing where people can go.”

RAMADAN

Nayyer Islam is hopeful to have more funds for the permanent mosque after Ramadan, a religious month for Muslims.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and practice self-restraint and self-reflection. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is celebrated as the month Muhammad received the revelations that became the Quran.

Each night during the holy month, the Masjid Suffah serves about 150 people with a four-course meal at sunset that is followed by prayer.

“Ramadan is about restricting ourselves from what is normally available. We restrict in everything, including lying and cussing,” Nayyer Islam said. “Those things happen from impulse and the purpose of Ramadan is to calm those impulsivities … the training for this month allows us to remember these things in the next 11 months. It trains us on how to be a good citizen.”

Food served varies night to night but often includes dates, meats, rice, bread and desserts.

“It’s a cool thing here because we have different Muslims from a lot of different countries. Everyone signs up to bring in food for Ramadan so we have a lot of different flavors,” said Maha Islam.

The end of Ramadan is called Eid and is a time for celebration. People dress up in colorful outfits and donate to the community.

Humaira Qhan, a member of the mosque who has lived in Kennesaw for 12 years, said. “We give alms to the poor and to the underserved so they can celebrate Eid with us.”

This year, funds donated to the mosque will be given to the community of Clarkesville, according to Nayyer Islam.

Also new this year for Eid, the Masjid Suffah gathered with other mosques in the area at Pine Mountain Middle School to pray and celebrate the end of Ramadan.

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Mosque v. City of Kennesaw at:  http://suffadawatsuit.blogspot.com/

Davey Crockett

Just now · 

AFTER ALL THE NONSENSE WITH THE SUFFA DAWAT MOSQUE HERE IS ANOTHER ONE OPENING UP. HOPE IT IS A DIFFERENT BUNCH RUNNING THIS ONE FROM THOSE LIARS AT THE JILES RD MOSQUE!

New mosque in the works for west Cobb

by Meris Lutz October 16, 2015 Special to the MDJ

WEST COBB — When Amjad Taufique first moved to Cobb from Houston, the entire observant Muslim population of the county could fit in the small office they rented for prayer services.

More than 25 years later, the community is preparing to celebrate the opening of the first mosque constructed in Cobb County.

There are five mosques already throughout the county, but all of them are in repurposed buildings, said Taufique, an active community leader who owns a repair management company.

Named Masjid Al Furqan, the about 45,000-square-foot mosque off Barrett Parkway, not far from the intersection with Dallas Highway, is expected to open early next year.

“The county is growing,” said Taufique. “It’s a good place to live, good for businesses. We’ve got a lot of Muslims who have businesses around here, doctors, we have a lot of them, so that kind of attracts a crowd.”

Fadi Ali, a management consultant who moved to Cobb County from Florida with his wife, a surgeon, and children two years ago, recently bought a house near the new mosque in order to attend prayers there.

Ali said being able to build a place of worship from the ground up is significant for the Muslim community.

“I think it makes a huge difference,” he said. “This is significant especially for me because I can take my children, my wife, my extended family and show them how we put this window here and that there.”

Ali also said it was important to him that the mosque be a resource not just for Muslims, but for the entire Cobb community, and talked about offering classes and activities.

When finished, Al Furqan will occupy a six-acre site that includes two existing houses, one of which will become administrative offices and the other will be available as the residence for the imam, who leads the congregation in prayer. The grounds will be encircled by a landscaped buffer and walking trail, which Taufique said would be open to the public.

The mosque is being built with funds donated by the community and is expected to serve a congregation of up to 300 people. Construction is estimated to cost $1.2 million, Taufique said, adding that the building was designed to blend in with the surrounding neighborhood, with a few nods to Islamic architecture, such as arches in the entranceway.

The property was previously owned by a church and already zoned to allow a religious institution.

“We are going to stick to the code like nobody ever did,” said Taufique. “We know where we are, we know our position.”

Taufique is hoping Al Furqan will be open for services by February or March of next year, and encouraged members of the public who were curious to reach out to arrange a tour.

“We would love for our neighbors to say, ‘Hey I just want to stop by,’” he said.

Construction of the mosque follows on the heels of a heated confrontation in Kennesaw in December that saw protests over a proposed storefront prayer hall in a shopping center. The Kennesaw City Council eventually reversed its vote not to allow the prayer hall after being threatened with legal action.

By contrast, both Ali and Taufique said they were not aware of any negative responses to the new mosque in west Cobb. In fact, they said, all of the neighbors have been very welcoming.

A handful of people have expressed alarm to the local county commissioner, Bob Weatherford, however.

Weatherford said he has received calls from “five or 10” constituents who called to complain.

“You get some that are far out there,” Weatherford said. “I don’t discriminate based on anything as long as it’s legal.”

He went on to say he supported freedom of worship as long as it did not infringe on the rights of others and it was done “peacefully.”

“My opinion of that particular religion is that they have a propensity not to be peaceful,” Weatherford said, adding he was speaking in general terms and not about the Muslim community of Cobb County.

Ali said he was not concerned about the kind of anti-Muslim sentiment that was on display in Kennesaw last year, where protesters held signs that read “ban Islam” and “Islam wants no peace.”

“I believe in our justice system and elected officials,” Ali said.

As a community leader, Taufique has often found himself in the role of ambassador of his faith, especially since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Several years after the attacks, he recalled reading an article about a young Muslim couple who were interrogated by the FBI after their neighbors reported “suspicious” behavior, which, it turned out, included fixing their washing machine and cooking biryani, a popular South Asian and Middle Eastern rice dish.

“It made me start to think that the neighbors really don’t even know you. They’re just scared (for) no reason, so what can we do to change that?” he asked.

Taufique decided to invite his entire neighborhood association, representing more than 140 houses, to an open house at his home.

“We said, ‘Hey, we understand maybe you guys are a little concerned about who we are, what we are, so come in and see,’” he said.

About 100 neighbors showed up, many of them meeting for the first time in Taufique’s home.

Taufique calls the extra efforts made by Muslims to assuage their neighbors’ fears “the price we pay,” and takes it in stride. Since 9/11, he has built strong connections with local Jewish, Christian and other religious leaders and helps organize an annual interfaith Thanksgiving dinner.

“I built up good relationships with many people after that just because they called and we had lunch together,” he said. “It’s a process of education that we have to really put out there for the community to see who we are.”

_______________________

Location: Masjid Al Furqan, 3861 Ernest W Barrett Parkway Southwest, 

Marietta, GA 30064. See: http://wc-ic.org/, and 

http://www.atlantamuslim.com/directory/masjid-al-furqan/ 

for info on existing Kennesaw Mosque see: 

8/30/15

SUFFA DAWAT MOSQUE

During the past week signage for the Mosque has been added to their 2750 Jiles Road location.  Although a donation of land was made less than half a mile away it is unlikely that the proposed $800,000 new Mosque will be built there.

The current facility has had a hard time getting donations to keep it afloat.  

Several of the founding Mosque members are multi Millionaires and could easily afford to build the new Mosque but they didn't get to be multi Millionaires by spending their own money.  

So unless those running the Mosque can find a few suckers to donate money, it is likely that they will remain where they are and may well spend some funds to expand to an adjacent unused space next to the Mosque

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8/28/15

The Mosque's Friday afternoon service is the largest one at the mosque, it nearly fills the parking lot.

8/27/15

Welcome to the new Kennesaw Mosque, a new one costing $800,000 is coming.

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Suffa Dawat Construction Drawings 5/27/15

for 2750 Jiles Rd #111

Plans by:   A and R Engineering, Inc, 2160 Kingston Ct, Marietta, 30068.  

Contact Person:  Naser Omer.  This is one of at least 4 firms owned by Abdul Kareem Amer of Marietta.

Men's Prayer Hall, 1311 sq ft, Maximum Occupancy 187


Women's Prayer Hall, 468 sq ft, Max Occupancy 67

See the below construction drawnings at:

http://www.masjidsuffah.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Suffa-Dawat-Center-6-03-15.pdf

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Some Mosque Info FYI:      I understand that there is some bitching and moaning by the big shots at the Suffa Dawat Mosque regarding the lack of contributions that 'members' are making to run the mosque.  Gee, tough shit folks you have enough millionaires there that they should be able to fund it without asking Joe and Jill Sixpack to pitch in with a few bucks.

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Photos from Sept 28, 2015

See Video at: 

 https://www.facebook.com/KennesawMasjid/videos

See Article at: 

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/azadeh-shahshahani/mosque-controversy-in-geo_b_6446040.html


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MUSLIM ACTIVIST AND MULTI MILLIONAIRE, ABDUL KAREEM AMER is at it again.

     This time he is pushing for a Fall opening of his 6-7,000 plot, 13.5 acer Muslim cemetery on Macland Road in Powder Springs and local members of that heavily black community are up in arms about how it was snuck in with no notice to area residents.

     Well Kennesaw residents already know that Mr. Amer is a pretty sneaky guy. Perhaps you remember him from the Suffa Dawat Mosque problem in the down market Kennesaw strip mall at 2750 Jiles Road?

     Mr Amer is called 'the engineer' and was the self described man behind the new Kennesaw Mosque. He and a few others decided they wanted their own boutique mosque in Kennesaw.

     This is the guy who got Kennesaw resident, Mr. Mufti Fakhir Islam, to put in the application for a 24 month waiver of the Kennesaw zoning regulations so a store front Mosque could be put into a down market strip mall behind the Publix store on Cobb Parkway.

     Mr. Mufti Fakhir Islam put in writing the bogus Suffa Dawat claim that there were no other Mosques within a 20 mile radius when there are at least 7, one as close as 8 miles away. This claim later got an apology from Mosque attorney Dillard, but you won't likely have heard about the apology as it was given in an (illegally) closed session before the start of the Dec. 1st regular Council meeting.

     Even their lawyer was appalled by the lies told by his Muslim clients. He wasn't all that sorry though as he threatened to sue the City for at least $1,000,000 for enforcing the City zoning regulations. They did in fact later sue and got $18,000. see: http://suffadawatsuit.blogspot.com/ andhttp://suffadawa.blogspot.com/

     Let's look a bit closer at Mr. Abdul. Kareem Amer:

He is a multi millionaire. He lives in a gated estate at 2467 Sewell Mill Rd, in Marietta with a Fair Market Value, last year, of $795,000. This residence is just a 2 minute drive from the East Cobb Iislamic Center, which is now behind establishing the new Muslim cemetery on Mackland Road.

     Abdul Amer is listed in Cobb County Tax records as having a boat with a FMV (Fair Market Value) of $728,640 and an airplane with a FMV of $66,640 and just in Cobb County the Georgia Secretary of State site says that he owns 4 companies:

A&R ENGINEERING INC.,

LILY ESTATES, LLC, 

ROBINSON ESTATES, LLC 

THE SHOPS AT HICKORY GROVE, LLC.,

an 11 unit strip mall at 2639 Hickory Grove Rd, Acworth, Ga. 30101, FMV of $2,074,900.

     Just over 2 years ago Amer was butting heads with Kennesaw for his boutique mosque, today he is spear heading the 7,000 burial sites in his Powder Springs Muslim cemetery.

What will he be up to next year?

     That snowball has already starting to roll downhill for Kennesaw with a proposed $1,000,000 mosque on an oddly shaped 3.62 acer plot (161,000 sq ft) at 6045 Pine Mountain Road, which is near North Cobb Parkway and is about half-a-mile away from the Kennesaw Commons shopping center where the Suffa Dawat mosque is now.

     This heavily wooded property recently sold for $95,000, with it going from the estate of Mary Estelle Holcombe, who had owned it and its 6 room 1,484 sq ft, dilapidated ranch style house (built in 1900), to the new owner Kashif Rashid Rana of Kennesaw. (Parcel ID is 20027902450).

     It was in turn donated to the Suffa Dawat Mosque for its future location.

     Neighbors of this property, directly abutting the new Mosque, will be some of the owners at The Village at Pine Mountain, with 17 of their homes affected and the Cedar Creek Professional Center at Pine Mountain and Cobb Pkwy.

     When Amer is finished with his cemetery project Kennesaw will be seeing him again.

Details: http://www.newsradio1067.com/…/cobb-co-homeowners-protest-…/