Michigan mosque official praises peaceful protests

(2 Jun 2020) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus137361 An official with a Michigan mosque says his religion's position on the week of unrest that was set off by the death of George Floyd is "quite simple." "There is no room in Islam for racism," Dr. Farhan Bhatti (far-HAHN' BAH'-tee) said Tuesday during an interview at the Islamic Center of East Lansing. Bhatti said he supports peaceful protests that are intended to bring about changes in racist policies. "Our Prophet taught us that if you see an injustice, try to change it with your mouth, which means try to speak out against the injustice," Bhatti said from the mosque that sits just off the campus of Michigan State University. But Bhatti said there is no place for the kinds of actions that result in violence, such as one in recent days that damaged buildings near the state Capitol in nearby Lansing. "Not only is that completely contradictory to the teachings of Islam, it's also counterproductive to the movement of trying to advance the civil rights of minorities in this country," said Bhatti, who also was critical of the gassing of protesters near the White House on Monday so President Donald Trump could make his way to a church for a photo opportunity. "The optics of the president holding a Bible and going to church while simultaneously ordering the peaceful protesters to be tear-gassed and shot with rubber bullets is categorically awful," he said. The Islamic Center of East Lansing, which has more than 1,000 members, has been closed since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bhatti said he expects it to open up for prayer services next week. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...