The Hamas-linked terror organization known as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will trumpet this as a victory for “Islamophobia,” and fundraise off it. But it is actually a victory for common sense, as explained here. “Duke Cancels Plan for Muslim Call to Prayer From Tower,” by Jonathan Drew, Associated Press, January 15, 2015: Duke University has canceled its plan to use the tower of its chapel for a weekly, amplified call to prayer for Muslims. In a release Thursday, the university said Muslims will instead gather on the quadrangle before heading into a room in the chapel for their weekly prayer service. “Duke remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant and welcoming campus for all of its students,” said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. “However, it was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect.” Under the canceled plan, members of the school’s Muslim Students Association would have recited the call lasting about three minutes from the bell tower. However, the plan drew the ire of evangelist Franklin Graham, the son of the Rev. Billy Graham, who urged Duke alumni to withhold support because of violence against Christians that he attributed to Muslims. He wrote on Facebook that the decision is playing out as “Christianity is being excluded from the public square.” The chapel is identified by the school as a Christian church but also hosts Hindu services and has been used for Buddhist meditations. The chapel’s associate dean for religious life, Christy Lohr Sapp, said before the plans were canceled that the move showed the school’s commitment to religious pluralism. In a column written for the News and Observer in Raleigh, Lohr Sapp acknowledged the headlines generated by violence by extremists in ISIS, Boko Haram and al-Qaida, contrasting it to what’s happening on campus…. jihadwatch.org/2015/01/duke-cancels-plan-for-muslim-call-to-prayer-from-chapel-tower
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 20:43:16 +0000