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Article: A divide in American Shiism; Close Up.(News)
- Article from:
- The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA)
- Article date:
- July 20, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 The Seattle Times. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Rachel Zoll; The Associated Press
DEARBORN, Mich. --
The hotel conference room was divided: men on the left, women on the right. The speaker, a compact, bearded man in a safari vest, had come to talk about current events and the Quran.
In the weeks leading up to the gathering, postelection protests had shaken Iran, and the audience of American Shiite Muslims wanted to know what to make of the turmoil.
Imam Mohammad al-Asi, a Michigan-born activist, sounded like a spokesman for the Iranian government. The Iranian protesters, he said, were aiding "the political Jews and the political Christians," the U.S. government and the ...