6.Loay Assaf — Direct/Cross

LOAY ASSAF: Sure. So during that period of time, there was an event in the Muslim calendar called the Ashura, which is -- kind of commemorate the time when Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, migrated from Mecca to Medina, and he interacted with the Jewish community there and learned that they're celebrating a particular celebration.

So he asked them about this celebration and said this is the time when Prophet Moses, peace be upon him, and the Israelites were rescued from Pharaoh. That's why we're celebrating it. So the Prophet, peace be upon him, he ordered the believers then to celebrate and join the society by fasting.

So I wanted to take advantage of this incident, especially that this is kind of the right time frame for it, everybody's celebrating the Ashura, they -- to take a lesson so people can learn about, you know, how the Prophet did it, integrate in this society, especially that many of those who attend the prayers there and the ISB, the Islamic Society of Boston, are mostly immigrants. So that was my message to them.

So during this sermon, I mentioned, you know, the idea of, you know, we're here, many of us come, so nothing wrong for us to be part of this society and, you know, celebrate Thanksgiving is coming and -- because it was also around that time. And Fourth of July, there are so many events that we should, you know, celebrate.

At that moment, the older brother -- I didn't know his name at that time; I didn't recognize him -- stood up, and he was shouting at me and so angry and fired up that "This is not Islamic. This is wrong. You should not say that," and he would just keep repeating this. I kept quiet, silent, give him the room to say whatever he want. I felt that awkward, honestly, because usually people don't do this in such ceremonies.

Later on he -- within a couple of minutes or so he left the room and I continued the sermon. After we're done with the service, he came back. And many people came kind of to support me, and they say, you know, "This is wrong," and they're trying, kind of, to calm me down. I was not so angry to begin with. But he came, and people surrounded us.

I was hoping to kind of understand his point of view, where he's coming from, so I had a dialogue with him explaining to him my kind of basis, my -- the principles from which I'm bringing my thoughts and asking him, you know, "Show me why you're saying this is wrong, what -- on what basis?" And he kept repeating the same thing, "This is wrong. This is not Islamic. You should not say that," without giving me any proof or any reference to, you know, events in the holy Qur'an or a saying of the Prophet or any reference material that can be used.

Then I think there were so many people around us, and I cannot remember exactly how he left, but he left, and I then left after that.

LOAY ASSAF: Oh, yes. The -- so in the tradition, the Friday prayer sermon is like once a week. It starts by a sermon and then followed by a prayer service. During the sermon, people are not allowed to be distracted. Distraction means voiding the whole prayer service.

And there is different saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him, describing what distraction means. So in one of these sayings he said if you turn to the person next to you and say "hush," that's a distraction, and your prayer is voided. Another saying he was describing that -- at the time they were sitting on pillows because there were no carpets, and if you touch and play with these pillows, that's a distraction and you will void your prayer.

So imagine a person standing and shouting and putting a whole act like this. That was my main concern, that he was voiding his prayer. And people don't usually do this. I haven't seen that happening before that time. That was my first experience.

LOAY ASSAF: Sure. So again, January, third Friday, I come again. At that time, it was the kind of the time we're celebrating Martin Luther King Day. It was like within the week or so. So I take advantage of this opportunity, try to highlight that Martin Luther King is a great man, done a lot for his community. He had the cause, and he fought for this just cause, and we can see the fruits of his efforts.

So, again, as a Muslim community, we -- many of us think and feel that a lot of our rights are not served. Again, there are so many analogies there. So I want to kind of entice people to be part of this society and speak up for their civic rights and be part of the whole civic engagement movement.

So I was kind of approaching this from an angle that it's not just Martin Luther King who's done that; it's many, and pretty much all of the great people, including the prophets in the past. And great people always had a mission to serve the society. They cared less about themselves personally. They were not selfish. They faced some opposition, and they overcame that opposition by being persistent on the true path.

So I was mentioning different names, including Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as a role model for the Muslims, and I also mentioned Martin Luther King. And when I mentioned that, again, the older brother stood up, and he was fired up, very hot. And you can see his face like tomato red. And he was shouting that, "This is wrong. I remember you from last time," and even his stance was fighting stance.

I later on, actually after the bombing incident, learned that he was a boxer because he was doing something like this (indicating). "I know you from last time. I remember you," and he kept saying this -- "This is not Islamic. This is not right, and you are hypocrite," kind of insulting me with this.

And the people at the time was -- were shouting at him, asking him to shut up and to sit down. That incident took longer than the first one in terms of time. Then he left the room.