Texas Mosque Tells Supporters Not to Rally Because of Armed Protesters

Armed protest at Texas mosque
Fox4 Screenshot

A Texas mosque  told its supporters on Friday not to come when armed protesters rally on Saturday, Dec. 12.

At 2 p.m. (CT), Sat., the Bureau of American Islamic Relations (BAIR) plans to hold a armed protest at the Richardson mosque. Formally known as the Islamic Association of North Texas and/or the Dallas Central Mosque. Countering BAIR will be the pacifist Anti-Bureau of American Islamic Relations (Anti-BAIR), which says they only intends to act as escorts if asked by the mosque. They do not intend to counter-protest. Although visibly armed, BAIR’s last protest outside the nearby Irving mosque was held without incident.

Breitbart Texas spoke with Stephanie Allen-Adams of the First Unitarian Church of Dallas. She confirmed they received a written communication that “mosque leaders in Richardson asked us not to show up for security reasons.”

The church’s minister Aaron White posted on Facebook under several threads for a different Dallas pro-Muslim event Saturday, United Against Racism | Hate. One of his posts read: “The folks at both the Richardson and Irving mosques have explicitly asked that no one show up in counter protest. They’ve been in discussion with law enforcement in depth, and they have asked that we do not show up or engage those armed folks in any way.”

Breitbart Texas spoke with officials at the Richardson and Irving police stations and no one knew anything about White’s claims that law enforcement was working with the mosque, or that police advised people not to attend. Instead, the Richardson PD office of spokesman Adam Perry, who was out of the office, told Breitbart Texas that this is “not a police matter, it is a civic matter,” and advised that they were not involved in any event decisions regarding the mosque.

It is unclear what other Dallas area civic groups or religious institutions received the communication from the mosque. Breitbart Texas contacted the Richardson mosque. A clerk verified that all regularly scheduled activities and services will occur on Saturday but did not hear back from spokesman Khalid Hamideh before press time to learn more about the mosque telling supporters not to come.

The Islamic Association of North Texas issued a press release asserting that BAIR is “unfortunately protesting the wrong people.” The release says BAIR does not “realize is that we all oppose radical and extremist ideologies, and we all strive to make America safe. We are against the same people. The demonstrators are unfortunately protesting the wrong people.”

The release calls on BAIR to “appreciate the right that peaceful American-Muslims have to practice their religion in this country, and that they should instead focus their efforts on condemning terror groups both foreign and domestic.”

The Islamic Association of North Texas release also condemned “in the most possible terms, the heinous acts of domestic terrorism that shocked San Bernardino.” the mosque officials insist they are horrified, appalled and ashamed that “individual sabotaged our religion, Islam, to justify these barbaric, violent, and inhuman acts of horror.” They say, “We pledge allegiance to the same flag, and we share in the same humanity. Moreover, we hurt when this nation hurts, and we grieved together this past week.”

They say they will continue to “work with our interfaith partners to promote purposeful and intellectual dialogue…and create healthy relations with our neighbors, law enforcement and community members. Moreover, we will continue to strive and contribute positively toward the peace and prosperity of the United States of America, our home.”

The Richardson mosque claims it received threatening communications following the San Bernardino terrorist attack.

Follow Merrill Hope on Twitter @OutOfTheBoxMom.

This article has been updated since its publication.

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