Excerpt:
One mosque leader says it's time for unity. An international Islamist activist says such discussions shouldn't be aired publicly. Two weeks after the senior imam at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque endorsed partial female genital mutilation (FGM) as "the honorable thing to do," a clear effort is under way to try to stifle further debate.
Don't be "in tensions" or "in camps," mosque board member Esam Omeish told the congregation Friday. Earlier that day, Outreach Director Johari Abdul-Malik announced he was quitting after more than 15 years at the mosque over imam Shaker Elsayed's comments. Abdul-Malik wanted Elsayed fired, noting this was the latest in a series of "reprehensible statements made by" the imam.
Omeish preached a different message for one of the largest mosques in the Washington, D.C. area: Time to move on.