Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a moderate Muslim group, says that he was criticized publicly by the imam at his mosque for condemning Hamas.
"Our imam took it upon himself during one of our biggest holidays of the year a few weeks ago to basically say that there are Muslims within our community that are working against us, that are not amongst us, that spread hate on Fox News and national TV," Jasser told J.D. Hayworth on "America's Forum" on
Newsmax TV Wednesday.
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"He never had the courage to use my name, but it was abundantly clear to everyone in the room who he was talking about," Jasser said. "Ultimately, this is what happens when people see where the moderate voice is and why people aren't speaking out."
Jasser wrote about the experience in an opinion piece for
The Arizona Republic on Monday. He is also the author of
"A Battle for the Soul of Islam."
"They were upset because a week earlier I had a number of times on national TV criticized Hamas and said that while the pain of the Palestinians is severe and we need to pay attention to it, it's really primarily the result of the war mongering of Hamas," he told Newsmax.
"They went into overdrive to marginalize my ideas and make it seem like I'm some type of pariah and this is what they do," he said. "If you try to reform and try to target the real problems in our community, they will marginalize you and make you seem to be a traitor."
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