FOX NEWS: As many as 50,000 American Muslims are expected to gather on Capitol Hill Friday for the religion's first-ever national prayer rally, organizers of the event say.
The rally is intended to be all about prayer, and no political speeches or signs will be allowed, said the event's organizer, Hassen Abdellah, president of the Dar-ul-Islam mosque in Elizabeth, N.J.
But at least one of the prominent speakers who will read from the Koran has drawn criticism in the past for statements he's made about the Sept. 11 terror attacks, as well as for saying that the American media are largely under "Zionist control."
In 2005, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, Sheik Ahmed Dewidar said the "suspicion towards anything Islamic" remained a burden on Muslim Americans and that "the media — most of which is under Zionist control — has helped to spread this perception.
"When [the media] see a bearded Muslim selling fast food on any street in any state, they put the camera lens in front of him and interview him as though he represents Islam. At the same time, they ignore every moderate Islamic voice, every serious, scientific Islamic model, and every expert religious scholar."
During another interview by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's Web site, Dewidar hinted at an American government conspiracy in relation to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
"Whether or not these events were planned, or pinned on the Muslims, or something else — [it] provided an opportunity for [the American government] to legislate dubious laws that restrict the growth and presence of Islam in the U.S.," Dewidar told ikhwanonline.com.
Dewidar also denounced then-President Bush's policy in the Middle East, claiming it was dictated by Israeli politician Natan Sharansky.
"This Jew has despicable goals, and we see their effects today in America's actions in the region, imposing its opinion and its outlook on democracy, education, and political involvement on our countries," Dewidar told the Web site.
According to a biography on islamoncapitolhill.com, the prayer rally's Web site, Dewidar was born and raised in Rashid, Egypt, and had memorized the Koran by age 12. Now an instructor at Manhattanville College in New York, he also established the Islamic Center in Manhattan, near the United Nations. Efforts to contact Dewidar were unsuccessful. >>> Joshua Rhett Miller | Thursday, September 24, 2009
