GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Kamal Saleem, the self-proclaimed former terrorist whose multiple appearances in West Michigan have been marked by controversy, will talk at three West Michigan events next month.

Saleem is scheduled to speak about the "threat of Islam" at separate events Feb. 7-9 for the Fremont-based American Decency Association, according to the ADA's website.

A Christian, Saleem has made waves for claiming he is a former member of Islamic militant groups in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Muslim Brotherhood.

A number of academics and groups, including a Calvin College professor and the Southfield-based Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan, have called Saleem's claims dubious.

The American Decency Association, which did not return requests for comment this week, said on its website that Saleem was invited to talk about "a threat that is very real."

"We at ADA are committed to stand against evil and we’re giving you an opportunity to become informed about a threat that is very real – radical Islam, Sharia Law, and the attack upon the American Constitution – so that you, too, can prepare yourself to oppose it," the ADA wrote on its website.

MLive, 24 January 2013

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Neighbours to the so-called 'Mega mosque' believe it would completely dwarf the surrounding conservation areas and fail to serve a mixed community if given the go-ahead.

Residents near the site in Canning Road, West Ham – owned by Islamic movement Tablighi Jamaat – have spoken about what they describe as real concerns about the project despite fears of being labelled Islamophobic. It comes after mosque backers put their case to the Recorder earlier this month.

The residents of Abbey Lane told the Recorder they worry not only about the scale of the planned Riverine Centre, also known as Abbey Mills Mosque – which at 29,227 square metres is more than three times the floorspace of St Paul's Cathedral – but fear a parking nightmare due to its 9,000 capacity.

They say no proper public consultation has been held to reflect the current plans, which they say serve almost exclusively one Islamic group rather than the whole community.

Mike Duff, a 33-year-old director of an urban planning consultancy, is among the residents who have put their objections to the council and mosque backers.

He said: "I worked for six years in Saudi Arabia and helped At-Turaif, the village where Wahab Islam, the strictest interpretation of Islam globally, was founded to achieve Unesco World Heritage Status, so being anti-Muslim is the furthest thing from my mind. I understand where they are coming from with regard to practising their religion.

"But the scale of this mosque is completely unsuitable for this location, I would feel the same if it was a church of that size."

Newham Recorder, 1 November 2012

Here is a recent tweet by Mr Duff urging support for an e-petition against the Newham mosque.

The petition itself opposes the Canning Road development on the following grounds: "The Tablighi Jamaat group, a Muslim missionary movement once described as an 'ante-chamber of fundamentalism', wants to build Britain's biggest place of worship in West Ham."

So Mr Duff's claim that he would "feel the same if it was a church of that size" is disingenuous. He openly backs a campaign against the development on the basis of the alleged threat posed by Tablighi Jamaat.

As for the assertion that the mosque will be "Britain's biggest place of worship", its capacity will in fact be rather less than that of the Ahmadiyya community's Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden.

Update:  Still, to be fair, Mike Duff and his friends do have their admirers.

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The Architects Journal reports that NRAP Architects have submitted an outline planning application for a 9,500-capacity mosque at the Riverine Centre in Newham and provides "exclusive images" of the plan. Unfortunately, to subscribers only.

However, the Riverine Centre website has been updated with details of the plan. You can consult an overview of the proposals here.

It would obviously be too much to ask that the right-wing press should cease referrring to the development as a "mega-mosque", but perhaps they could bring themselves to stop publishing references to and illustrations of the old Mangera Yvars design for a 12,000-capacity mosque that was scrapped five years ago.

Update:  There's also an article at Building Design, which reports:

"NRAP was appointed in 2011 and drew up plans that included retail units and 300 flats on the 6.5ha site near the Olympic Park. But these have now been dropped after the Muslim community that is funding the 9,350-capacity mosque – including 1,830 segregated places for women – objected to the idea of its donations going towards a commercial venture.

"The scheme submitted to Newham Council by the controversial Islamic missionary movement Tablighi Jamaat is for a mosque, 2,000-capacity dining hall and Islamic library, plus a sports pavilion and playing fields for the wider community. There will also be children's facilities, eight flats for imams and overnight visitors and 300 car parking spaces."

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"The above ads are appearing at Metro-North stations in New York. A continuation of Islamophobic activists Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller's AFDI/SIOA racist and anti-Muslim/Islam advertisement campaign. In light of recent hate attacks, 8 over a period of 11 days, and another possible attack yesterday, the attempted firebombing of a Muslim family's home in Panama City, Florida, can we not consider such advertisements to be an incitement to violence?"

Loonwatch poses the question.

Update:  See "Islamophobic billboard at Metro-North station causes outrage one month after pro-Palestinian billboard", Huffington Post, 17 August 2012

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