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News: "Muslim Day" stirs controversy at SFGAdv

Posted at 5:46 PM EDT (2146 GMT)

Sep. 14th, 2004 -- On Sept. 17, Six Flags Great Adventure will host a "Muslim Day," similar to other themed days that both GAdv and many other amusement parks have held. However Muslim Day has a created a storm that no other event day has yet.

On Muslim Day, the park will be open only to Muslims and their friends. Typically on themed days all visitors are welcome. Several groups have labeled the decision discriminatory, particularly for a publicly traded company like Six Flags.

The day itself is not the only source of controversy. One of the event's organizers, the Islamic Circle of North America, has sponsored speakers who glorify suicide bombers, deny Muslim involvement in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and proclaim America's war on terror to be a Jewish plot. The ICNA also has alleged ties to the terror group Hamas and is reputed to have a hatred of Jews similar to that of the Nazis.

See World Net Daily for more on this story.

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Comments
Aaron Joined: Jun 2001 Posts: 4401 View Park/Ride Count	I find this more then a little unsettling. I have nothing wrong with Muslim Day, but I don't think the park should be closed to all other guests. I think that's pretty discriminatory right there. Then there's this issue of the ICNA. Hamas has more then once threatened the life of my friends in Israel, and to hear that the ICNA has potential ties to them worries me, not to mention their anti-Jewish stance and all the rest of it. Then my question is, why is Six Flags hosting an event in which the co-organizer is a group like this?
9/14/2004 5:56 PM
Phil Joined: Jun 2002 Posts: 9182 View Park/Ride Count	I don't think parks should have any "fill in a culture" days. That really doesn't seem like a good idea. That fact that Six Flags chose to allow an organizer set this event up when they want to do the things mentioned is absolutely ridiculous.
9/14/2004 6:51 PM
HPStormRunner22 Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 1370 View Park/Ride Count	I don't think its right to close the park to everyone. At most give Muslim's a discount. But don't give them the park for a day.
9/14/2004 7:10 PM
kermat13 Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 425 View Park/Ride Count	What is the difference if a company chooses to rent the park for the day--the park is closed to the GP those days also. Plus, IF they glorify suicide bombers than I;m not sure I want to be there anyway.
9/14/2004 7:34 PM
leeloo1953 Joined: Apr 2003 Posts: 3279 View Park/Ride Count	The difference between a company renting the park for a day and the park having a "special" day for a certain group, is that the company pays for it, they pay for the privacy of being the only ones in the park. This is just ridiculous. If they want to give them a special day fine, but don't exclude the normal public. However, I think at this time, maybe having others there could just be looking for trouble. Then again, I think Six Flags could be making a mistake with this one. Guess we'll see.
9/14/2004 8:01 PM
CPdude05 Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 1642 View Park/Ride Count	Muslim day? Why? The question is why? Its descrimination.
9/14/2004 8:22 PM
leeloo1953 Joined: Apr 2003 Posts: 3279 View Park/Ride Count	Not to start trouble, but this is the type of subject that would get a hell of a lot of discussion in the forums section and I personally think it should be allowed to be discussed there. Not going to get to much here. Sorry, but this is damn good discussion and it is about parks!! I hate it when something like this can only be on the home page!
9/14/2004 8:31 PM
willski2002 Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 1501 View Park/Ride Count	How can they tell if your Muslim or not? I know a few white people that are Muslims-they're not all middle-easterners. Strange.
9/14/2004 8:53 PM
medieval Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 2007 View Park/Ride Count	I have no idea why they are doing this. But I will tell you all what I know. At 12:00 the park will open. The rides will open at 3:00pm. From 12 to 3, they will have some sort of praying thing. Also, their will be two people to a register insted of one. A guy and a girl. If a man comes up and buys a ticket, the guy had to sell it to them and same with the women. I absoutally have no idea why they are doing this. Its kinda strange to me.
9/14/2004 8:55 PM
CHILLERLC1 Joined: May 2001 Posts: 7408 View Park/Ride Count	I read the headlines and thought great, cool but when I heard they had exclusive rights to the day I thought, wait that's a lil off. I, a fellow New Jerseyean, am accepting of the diverse population the very dense state has. When my diocese had Catholic Youth Day, we shared the park with everyone else. My town recently had Sheik Day complete with a parade down our main street. I was thrilled that they had this event. I think it's great to share the place just like we share our communities. I'm a lil concerned about setting ourselves apart like that. Since Medieval mentioned some of the special practices they will do, I guess there is some sense to this.
9/14/2004 9:38 PM
meowcoaster1 Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 5046 View Park/Ride Count	Well, I'm going there the day after, and hope to see that I can do something about this hatred towards my religion (Jews).
9/14/2004 9:55 PM
Magnum Robert Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 3196 View Park/Ride Count	Well, I guess I'm Muslim for the day. If they kicked me out, then I'd sue. The only thing these Muslims should get is a discount on ham sandwiches. "Hey, I have brown hair", so why not have a day for me? How about a day for those who are left-handed? After all, they're in the minority.
9/15/2004 12:39 PM
Drew S Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 1580 View Park/Ride Count	The park is listed as closed that day, so I'm guessing that this group that organized it is renting the park and promoting it as "Muslim Day". The park switched to weekend hours after Labor Day so I don't think it's a park sanctioned theme. Also, there's no mention of it in the upcoming events section either.
9/15/2004 2:59 PM
meowcoaster1 Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 5046 View Park/Ride Count	They have days for Christians, but they don't open the park to only them, and on physics days, they dont open the park to only schools and scientists. So why should Muslims get it so exclusive? Theree isn't even a Jewish day at all, and this religion of theirs gets to close the park? I say no. I'll complain about it on saturday. Same for what happened to Aaron, my relatives in Israel are threatened by these people, and some of their friends were killed. I wouldn't trust this group "running" the park for a day.
9/15/2004 3:46 PM
medieval Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 2007 View Park/Ride Count	I might go their to see what is going on. Thats if I feel like it.
9/16/2004 9:09 AM
Drew S Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 1580 View Park/Ride Count	Again, the park is closed. It is rented by a private group that is refering to it as "Muslim Day". It's no different than if Microsoft rented the park and called it "Microsoft Day" and only let their employees in. You guys need to settle down.
9/16/2004 9:20 AM
Byron Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 1002 View Park/Ride Count	Exactly Drew. I'm glad someone here has reading comprehension skills..... It's on a Friday. What park do you know (outside of the year-round parks) that would be open to the public on a Friday in mid-late September?
9/16/2004 6:34 PM
coasterlove Joined: May 2001 Posts: 6418 View Park/Ride Count	While I understand that the park is closed that day, I don't like the idea of letting those types of people (not muslim in general) who support suicide bombing and that. I find it wrong. I don't know why Six Flags would allow for them to have the park for a day. I'd hate to be working that day.
9/16/2004 10:02 PM
meowcoaster1 Joined: Aug 2003 Posts: 5046 View Park/Ride Count	Did they carry the day through? If anthing, they would've started the day by now, sO does anyone know if the whole thing happened? Maybe, that society rented the park, meaning it wasn't the parks idea, so you never know.
9/17/2004 11:49 AM
AmericanInfidel Joined: Sep 2004 Posts: 1 View Park/Ride Count	QUOTE:"Drew S Joined: Oct 2001 Posts: 912 View Park/Ride Count Again, the park is closed. It is rented by a private group that is refering to it as "Muslim Day". It's no different than if Microsoft rented the park and called it "Microsoft Day" and only let their employees in. You guys need to settle down." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's a BIG difference from Microsoft renting the park and I will tell you why.... During this "exclusive" day for muslims, there is going to be an IMAN there on the speakers praying verbally all over the park...and there is a huge chance that jihad or any other encrypted message "could be relayed via arabic" on those speakers. If not there then again in the future since its been so easy. Think about it, what a clever way to jihad preach? In the UK on corner streets there are Iman's/clerics preaching hate about the USA and jihad. What would be any difference here at the park if there is no monitoring at all and if you don't know arabic who knows what could be dictated through these "prayers" These terrorist use the internet and many of their video tapes for cryptic codes to one another. Also the group that is taking these "youth" have in the past had alot of "interesting" summer activities for these "muslims of tomorrow." Do any of you really know much about the ICNA? Do any of you know about their summer camps here in the USA? Do any of you know what they do with these kids during these camps? Do any of you know the speakers and the classes these kids go through right here in the good old USA? Might suprise you if you check it out. Take a look.... Now put on your thinking caps and remember as you read this...that this is the exact group that is taking the kids to Six Flags for a family day. Changing the name of their past camps from "Jihad Camp" to " Few Good Men" doesn't necessarily change the content does it? This is very sneaky....quite the deception. Lets take a brief look at Imam Mazen Mokhtar, which speaks at these camps...Lets see WHO IS HE.... NJ. Man Accused of Aiding Terrorists Called Moderate W. Post August 13, 2004 MIM: Imam Mazen Mokhtar was accused of ties to Al Qaeda was a scheduled speaker at a Muslim Youth Camp in Pennsylvania The Muslim Youth Camps are run by ICNA and MAS , two groups behind the establishment of the Universal Heritage Foundation in Kissimmee Florida. The Muslim Camp Theme was entitled "A Few Good Men". Another scheduled speaker was the web administrator for the UHF, Tayebb Yunus, more proof of "zero degrees of separation' between groups like Al Qaeda , and major Muslim organisations. The youth camps used to be called "Jihad Camps" and "Afterlife Camps" For more on this see to gain more insight: MAS/ ICNA "Muslim American Subversives" and "Islamist Conservatives of North America" http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/216 /> Please spend some time here folks and see how ISLAM grooms the future muslims of tomorrow in the good old USA. http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/239 /> Now remember this is one of the muslims speaking to the kids at this camp...nothing like the summer camps we had now is it??? AND this is going on in the USA!! More on Mazen Mokhtar http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/002824.php />NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- To federal authorities, Mazen Mokhtar is a technologically savvy Internet whiz who operated a Web site soliciting funds and recruiting fighters for the Taliban and other Muslim warrior groups. They searched his North Brunswick home, hauling away several bags of items, but have not charged him with a crime. Mokhtar is listed in Internet directories as the registrant and administrative and technical contact for the Web site www.minna.com, which authorities said is an exact duplicate of one run by Babar Ahmad, who was arrested last week in London and charged with aiding terrorists. NOW...AS for the IMAN that will be praying on the speakers all over the park this friday at Six Flags and remember he is again another one of these muslims speaking also at the summer camps. Who is Imam Zaid Shakir?? A little history for you.... An ISNA-sponsored conference this past summer in Dallas featured Imam Zaid Shakir, (another Orlando conference invited guest speaker) who said in a 1992 educational video that Muslims can't accept the American political system because "it is against the orders and ordainments of Allah." Also present were Wahhaj, Syeed and Siddiqui of the Orlando conference. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/a....CLE_ID=36441 /> Imam Zaid Shakir is the current Imam of the Masjid al-Islam mosque in New Haven. He received his Bachelors degree in International Relations from American University in 1983, his Masters degree in Political Science from Rutgers in 1986, and then spent a year in Cairo studying Arabic. Upon returning to America in 1987, he became a lecturer in Political Science at Southern Connecticut State University, and served as the Imam of Masjid al-Islam. In 1994, he traveled to Syria to study Arabic and Islamic law. In addition to completing a formal Islamic studies program at the College of Islamic Studies and Arabic, he received a traditional Islamic education at the hands of a classically trained mentor. In November 2001, he returned to America to resume work in both the educational and Islamic realms. An accomplished artist, and a published poet, he has written extensively for several Islamic publications, and appeared on national television, Lou Gosset Jr.'s Story of a People and Bill Moyer's Now, which recently aired on PBS. His translations include: Adab li Hamala al-Qur'an (Etiquettes for the Recitation of the Qur'an); and, Al-'Ulama Waratha al-Anbiya' (The Scholars are the Heirs of the Prophets). More reading here http://www.intervarsity.org/ism/new....p?news_id=39 /> So basically we have some really freaky speakers as role models for these muslim children during the summer months here in the USA eh? Do we really want this to take place on our homefront? And can I ask this to anyone? WHERE is the ACLU? Had 10,000 Christians or Jews excluded anyone in a park and held a prayer like this the ACLU would have been all over it! Why aren't they? Are they too busy looking for tiny cross symbols on state seals of our American cities? Funny how they let this slip eh? Gotta wonder about the ACLU, since also this year they offered FREE council service, by their many lawyers, to ANY muslim that might get questioned by the FBI via the patriot act! All I can say is this...ITS different and very disturbing that there wasn't more fuss on this one, because basically you have Six Flag's catering to terrorist associated groups and posing as a mosque with a rollercoaster for a day! Do your research people and I will tell you as an American that I am quite concerned about what is being taught in Islamic schools right here in America, and what is taking place in these summer camps, and NOW watching muslims advertise exclusion like this and being allowed to do their prayer via speakers through the park. (take a look here http://www.memri.org/video/ to see the sermons and prayers some of these iman do) I don't know how much you guys here know about what is really going on here in America as far as the muslim population, but muslims in Islamic countries do NOT allow any other religion but ISLAM, but as soon as they migrate here into the west, they demand to have their right to freedom of religion! A bit hypocritical eh? We have seen this year an Iman and a cleric arrested in NY at their mosque for trying to buy weapons. We have heard about mosque helping fund terrorist. Should we be watching these mosque more? Whats really going on inside them? Should we be watching what is taught at these children's summer camps? Should we be allowing them to congregate "exclusively" in our parks? Have any of you even thought about how tragic it would be, after they were there on this Friday, for them to have planted something inside the park? Didn't the poor Russian school hostage horror have all their explosives and guns hidden into the floor prior, about a month before they took the people hostage there? Makes you think eh? I just am furious that Six Flags allowed this and I tell you I will boycott them from now on! I feel every American company should refuse to accomodate any group that has any ties with any terrorist!!!! And if you own stock in the company...sell it. That simple...Who wants to own something that could be helping and abetting the enemy? WE are at war for God's Sake!! I find Six Flags being irresponsible in not doing their own research on who these people are. Had they done their homework they would have seen all the connections! Maybe their recent lawsuit is another explanation ...maybe they sold out the security of America for the almighty buck!!
9/18/2004 6:07 AM

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