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TagsBY ANASTASIA MILLICKER
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
A Newark mosque that was involved in the NYPD surveillance report is taking the incident and turning it into a positive way to draw in more members.
The advertisement, which ran in the Star Ledger Thursday, said his mosque has an “open door” policy and that there is no need for the New York Police Department or other agencies to conduct undercover surveillance of the mosque, according to the Associated Press.
Imam Mustafa El-Amin of Masjid Ibrahim said he came up with the idea after reflecting on a phrase in the Quran — "With every difficulty, there is relief". He said a positive creation can come out of a negative experience, a concept which is rooted in Islam.
"We've heard a lot about the negative effects, but once you get this level of exposure, one of the best things about it is, if you're positive, than the positive will win out," he said in the article.
Despite the recent revealing of the surveillance, attendance at the mosque has not declined, he said. The ad was created to draw in potential converts, and emphasize the mosque’s value and no tolerance stance to terrorism.
"You have to be innovative, when something concerns you or your community," El-Amin said in the article. "It's not purely advertising; it's to state unequivocally that we have nothing to hide."
El-Amin is one of several Muslim leaders who met with New Jersey’s attorney general Jeffrey Chiesa following the media attention regarding the secret surveillance of mosques in New Jersey and New York up until 2009 and requested an investigation.
As to date, no formal investigation has been announced El-Amin said.
