HOUSTON — A Harwin shop owner has been dealing with outrage and threats after he posted a sign on the store window saying Perfume Planet was closed on September 11 to honor the martyr Iman Ali.

The sign generated a lot of bitter comments on the Internet and dozens of angry calls each day at the Harwin Central Mart. Folks were shocked, believing the shop was honoring a 9/11 terrorist.

“When we came back today, I didn’t go back into the store,” said Luke Vizena, who saw the sign last week. “I won’t do business with this store,” said his friend. Internet traffic was much angrier. One wrote, “This is sickening!!! How long will it take for us to become a Muslim country?” Another said, “I could not stay in the building it made me so sick.”

Store manager Imran Chunawala was stunned because the holiday had nothing to do with 9 /11. Then he realized what happened. This year a key Ramadan Holiday happened to fall on 9/11. “We did not explain enough in the sign because that is the exact same sign we put up every year on this particular day for this particular reason,” said Chunawala. He apologized for the confusion and put up a new sign thoroughly explaining the martyr they were honoring died in 661 AD.

“1400 years ago. That was a long time ago,” said shopper Dolly Korenek.

khou.com, 16 September 2009

See also Partisan Gridlock, 17 September 2009 and Snopes, 20 September 2009

The Dove World Outreach Center, a Gainesville church known for its anti-Islamic message, staged a march and demonstration in front of the Oaks Mall on Friday afternoon.

About 30 participants weaved their way through the mall parking lot and went out on the sidewalk on Newberry Road shortly after 5 p.m. They were wearing T-shirts with the slogan “Islam is of the devil” on the back and carrying signs saying such things as “Jesus is not a liberal,” “Islam Kills” and “Jesus is the only way.”

Senior Pastor Terry Jones said they wanted to memorialize Sept. 11, the people who died that day and the military, and to spread the church’s message.

He said they had planned on going into the mall but the Gainesville police told them earlier in the week that they would be arrested for trespassing if they did.

The demonstrators sang Christian hymns, the national anthem and the Lee Greenwood song “God Bless the USA.”

Some motorists honked horns. One man, who did not wish to be identified, stopped to debate the demonstrators, asking why they were so confrontational.

Meanwhile, on the Bo Diddley Community Plaza in downtown Gainesville, members of the Muslim Association of North Central Florida wore shirts with the message “Muslims Serving Society” as they served meals to about 60 to 100 homeless people.

“Helping the poor and serving the needy is one of the principles of Islam so we try to do it,” said Farouk Dey, a member of the Muslim Association of North Central Florida.

“Helping the poor and serving the needy is one of the principles of Islam so we try to do it,” said Farouk Dey, a member of the Muslim Association of North Central Florida. The organization, along with the local chapter of the national Muslim organization Project Downtown, serves the meals each Saturday but decided this week to move the meals to Friday to commemorate the Sept. 11th anniversary.

“As a Muslim community in America we are trying to send a message to our American brothers and sisters that (Sept. 11th) does not define us,” Dey said. “We are a peaceful religion.”

, along with the local chapter of the national Muslim organization Project Downtown, serves the meals each Saturday but decided this week to move the meals to Friday to commemorate the Sept. 11th anniversary.

“As a Muslim community in America we are trying to send a message to our American brothers and sisters that (Sept. 11th) does not define us,” Dey said. “We are a peaceful religion.”

Gainesville Sun, 11 September 2009