When she’s not busy working as a marketing and communications consultant, Rabiya Khan likes to take photos, kayak on Lake Redman and organize family parties.
The 38-year-old York woman was born in London, went to high school in Lancaster and moved to York in 2006 to be closer to her parents. She has two sisters, a 12-year-old son and two cats.
She’s also Muslim, and she wonders why bar owner Jeff Seitz wants her dead.
“When you’re calling for death of a religion — how would you kill Islam?” Khan said. “You would kill all the Muslims. You can’t kill a religion; you kill the followers of a religion.”
Seitz’s West York bar, The Other Place, has had ‘Death to Islam’ signs posted inside since shortly after 9/11. About a year ago, he posted another sign with the same message in his bar’s window, visible from the street.
“I just put a sign up of how I feel and almost all of my customers feel,” Seitz said. “No one ever complained about it.”
Though the signs are hardly new, they’ve been getting a lot of attention recently since an anonymous Facebook user began telling people about them.
Seitz’s supporters have spoken up on Facebook, emphasizing the right to free speech. Some condemn Islam, calling it a violent, oppressive religion.
Now, the signs have begun to get the attention of the local Muslim community.
Durre Sharif, of Newberry Township, said the signs’ message doesn’t represent the opinion of most people she’s met.
“It paints such a terrible image of York — and York is such a lovely county,” Sharif said.
A recent Pew study said the U.S. Muslim population is somewhere above 5 million — about 1 percent of the total U.S. population.
Sharif, a member of Hadee Mosque, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, in Harrisburg, said Muslim groups across the country constantly work to show the public that they have nothing in common with radical groups like ISIS.
“Speaking personally, every time I interact with anyone, as soon as we get talking, they realize that you’re very normal,” Sharif said.
Kwame McPhaul, who runs Masjid at-Tawheed mosque in York, said the signs didn’t really bother him.
“It’s freedom of speech,” said McPhaul, who grew up in New York and has lived in York for 14 years. “People can say what they want. It doesn’t take away from the beauty of the message of Islam. I’m more concerned by these groups like ISIS that are damaging the message of Islam.”
Lower Paxton Township native Momin Bhatti said that, while he respects everyone’s right to free speech, the signs encourage violence against area Muslims.
“I’m disappointed that anyone would harbor such an animosity and hatred for an entire group of people,” Bhatti said. “Even if I wasn’t Muslim, I’d be disturbed by the sign, because it seems to promote hatred.”
Mubashir Mumtaz, regional spokesman for Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, said Ahmadiyya, with millions of members worldwide, promotes a message of nonviolence and religious tolerance.
“We have been active in voicing what Islam is truly about,” Mumtaz said. “It has nothing to do with ISIS or what the hijackers of 9/11 did.”
Mumtaz, a heart surgeon from Derry Township, said most people who equate Islam with ISIS probably don’t know any Muslims.
To make his case, Mumtaz said he’d be happy to meet with supporters of the ‘Death to Islam’ signs.
“We would love to have a dialogue,” Mumtaz said.