In the End: What to Remember About the 5th of November

Joe Fowler, staff writer

GREENE COUNTY, Va. —  Members of Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church – Unitarian Universalist held an event called “Speaking for Truth and Love.” It coincided with what many considered a controversial seminar “Understanding the Jihadi Threat,” hosted by Greene County Sheriff Steve Smith. Both events occurred at the PVCC Eugene Giuseppe Center adjacent to the Greene County Library in Stanardsville, VA on Nov. 5.

According to Linda Dukes, a member of Unitarian Universalist church, event coordinators began working to plan the gathering on Thursday, Nov. 3. Despite the short notice, the event was surprisingly organized. Supporters were ready with signs and informational pamphlets on the Muslim faith several minutes before the scheduled start time of 12 p.m.

“Understanding the Jihadi Threat” was originally titled Understanding the Muslim Threat. PVCC released an official statement on Oct. 26 stating, “PVCC does not endorse the ideas being presented and is troubled by the apparent one-sided nature of the presentation towards the Muslim religion.” The PVCC faculty and Student Government Association also released statements voicing support of Muslim students. Smith said, “No lies will be told. It’s not about rhetoric against Muslims. It’s about what they teach their own people,” according to CBS 19.

The seminar began early Saturday morning. At noon, the seminar attendees took a break for lunch. A few dozen supporters of Speaking for Truth and Love stood along the entryway to the Greene County Library holding signs and welcoming discourse from all who passed them, including those who had come solely to attend the seminar.

Najeeha Kahn, who studies international affairs at JMU, held up a sign that read, “Meet a Muslim.” Next to her stood Zahia. Both discussed the value of free speech regarding the seminar, while adding the importance of different perspectives and a balanced approach to all sides of the arguments. Other supporters echoed the criticism of concerned citizens prior to the seminar in that the content of “Understanding the Jihadi Threat” in that the content was neither neutral nor educational.

Representatives of “Speaking for Truth and Love” handed out flyers with information on the Muslim faith to all who passed. A seminar attendee also handed out flyers on the event happening inside. Both Najeeha and Zahia accepted the seminar information, though the seminar attendee declined their information about the Muslim faith.

The gathering was non-violent. Passionate debates sprung up frequently during the lunch hour when seminar attendees and “Speaking for Truth and Love” representatives encountered each other going in and out of the library. Those who came to support the Unitarian Universalist event formed a prayer circle outside near the main entrance.

The utterance of the “hate inside” could be heard from the circle, which sparked another heated exchange. The individual who made the statement talked back and forth with the gentleman who took offense to the comment about hatred. The claim of hate was based on the complete lack of representation for the Muslim community during the seminar.

Seminar attendees challenged the citizens from “Speaking for Truth and Love” to go learn from seminar speaker, Chris Gaubatz. Several people accepted the offer. Muslim, Christian, Atheist and Neo-Pagan alike took their seats and listened to Gaubatz without causing a disruption.

Gaubatz began his lecture on Islamic Law by mentioning that those he described as hardcore Muslims claim that non-Arabic speakers do not understand the Quran and that 80 percent of Muslims are non-Arabic. He concluded that “80 percent of Muslims don’t understand Sharia.”

Gaubatz said that many law enforcement agencies rely on the same translations as most Muslims to understand Islamic law.

The topic of the lecture moved on to a comparison of different time periods in the history of Islam. Gaubatz explained that the peaceful revelations in the Quran occurred during the Meccan period when Muhammad had few followers that were persecuted heavily. According to Gaubatz, Muhammad transitioned from a religious leader into a political and military leader upon arriving at Medina.

Later suras (chapters) in the Koran were less peaceful, because Muhammad had more followers, according to Gaubatz, who also added that the later suras always took precedent over the earlier ones.

With this reasoning, Gaubatz went on to offer his perspective on Islamic law. He also discussed Muhammad’s life as outlined in the Sunnah, further explaining that the text describes Muhammad as the example that all Muslims should follow.

Using this perspective, Gaubatz pointed out that Muhammad married his wife when she was six and consummated the marriage when she was nine, concluding that it can’t be against Islamic law. Audible gasps and exclamations of disbelief rose from the audience.

The next topic of the lecture involved the treatment of those not of the Muslim faith. Gaubatz said that according to Sharia law, Muslims gave pagans and unbelievers the choice to convert or die. Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians had the third option of paying a penalty tax. Gaubatz acted out this last point by comparing it to paid protection in Brooklyn. He spoke with a fake  New York accent, saying, “Hey, how about a little side money,” while rubbing his thumb against his fingers in the familiar gesture for money grubbing

Some members of the audience laughed at his imitation.

The next set of Suras presented involved passages advocating terror, according to Gaubatz. He referenced several verses from the Koran before asking the audience, “Were people terrorized on 9/11?”

The audience responded, “Yes!”

“Was it against Islamic Law?”

“No!”

He finished that portion of lecture by saying that the events of September 11, 2001 had everything to do with Islamic law.

The last subject of the lecture included passages from Muslim literature that allegedly said that Allah intended to kill Christians and Jews and send them to hell during the the day of judgment. Gaubatz said that Muslims now convince Christian pastors to believe that all faiths worship the same god. He then asked if the same god who intends to kill all Christians and send them to hell could be the same god who sent Jesus Christ to save them. “Today only scratches the surface,” he said.

Linda and Frank Dukes from the Unitarian Universalist church walked out of the seminar at that point, along with Najeeha, Zahia and several others who had attended to hear different perspectives.

Several minutes later, those who walked out of the lecture sat in a circle with a variety of food on a blanket. While the food was passed, some of those present consoled Najeeha who began weeping before coming outside.

Supporters of “Speaking for Truth and Love,” commented on “Understanding the Jihadi Threat” after viewing the presentation. “Changing the title, doesn’t change the content,” said one gentleman. Several people commented on a point that had been made earlier in the day about the lack of Muslim speakers during the seminar. As of 2 p.m. there were no reports of Muslims discussing their understanding of Islam as part of the seminar.

Najeeha commented on her emotions inside, saying that she felt indifference at first, followed by surprise. “Then there was anger and rage.” She described walking outside as walking through a portal. “I came out and realized I needed these lovely words and this lovely food and these lovely people.”

After a few more minutes of discussion, everyone joined in a prayer. A woman stood up, presenting the tree they all sat under with a flourish of her hand. She marveled over the fall foliage. “All of the colors come together to create the beauty,” she said.