Americans for Peace and Tolerance
Encyclopedia
Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT) is a Boston, Massachusetts, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
. It was founded by Boston political activist Charles Jacobs
(its President), Boston College
political science
professor Dr. Dennis Hale
(an Episcopal
lay eucharistic minister, and the former Chairman of the BC Political Science Department), and Islam
ic scholar Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour
, all of whom serve on its Board of Directors.
Its stated purpose is to:
Jacobs previously founded the American Anti-Slavery Group
, which works to oppose slavery in Sudan
, Mauritania
, and elsewhere, and The David Project, an Israel education and advocacy organization.
Founders Hale and Jacobs wrote an op-ed
article that The Boston Globe
printed on July 5, 2009, in which they said that the mosque was "paid for largely by the Saudis, and run by what federal authorities describe as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood
," and that "it is way past time for sensible citizens to demand answers to questions about the leaders of the new Islamic Center in Roxbury." The op-ed article indicated that the mosque had sued organizations headed by both Hale and Jacobs.
release of Tarek Mehanna, charged with providing material support to terrorists, Feoktistov said:
, or resign. If they do not apologize, we will consider forming a movement to recall them." Jacobs said he believes allowing Guantanamo Bay detainees into the U.S. is dangerous, adding: "To say that one belongs to a charity ring of that group[ Lashkar-e-Taiba
, the group with which the detainee was affiliated], is like saying that one only belonged to the part of the Ku Klux Klan
that organized bake sale
s."
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
. It was founded by Boston political activist Charles Jacobs
Charles Jacobs (political activist)
Charles Jacobs is the co-founder of the American Anti-Slavery Group , which campaigns against slavery worldwide, and a co-chairman of The Sudan Campaign , a coalition calling for an end to slavery in Sudan...
(its President), Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
professor Dr. Dennis Hale
Dennis Hale
Dennis Hale is Associate Professor of Political Science at Boston College.-Education and teaching:Hale has a B.A. from Oberlin College , an M.A. from Brooklyn College , and a Ph.D...
(an Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
lay eucharistic minister, and the former Chairman of the BC Political Science Department), and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic scholar Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour
Ahmed Subhy Mansour
Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour , born March 1, 1949, in Abu Harair, Kafr Saqr, Sharqia, Egypt is an Egyptian-born noted Islamic scholar and cleric, with expertise in Islamic history, culture, theology, and politics...
, all of whom serve on its Board of Directors.
Its stated purpose is to:
promote peaceful coexistence in an ethnically diverse America by educating the American public about the need for a moderate political leadership that supports tolerance and core American values in communities across the nation.
Jacobs previously founded the American Anti-Slavery Group
American Anti-Slavery Group
The American Anti-Slavery Group is a non profit coalition of abolitionist organizations that engages in political activism to abolish slavery in the world today...
, which works to oppose slavery in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Mauritania
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
, and elsewhere, and The David Project, an Israel education and advocacy organization.
Roxbury Crossings mosque controversy
APT has been a primary critic of the new $15.6 million mosque in Roxbury Crossings, known as the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, which APT asserts is led by extremist leaders and contributors. Jacobs has played an audiotape of a man he says was a recent speaker at the mosque describing Christians as "filth", and denying the Holocaust. He described the tepid official reaction to his concerns as "Islamophobiaphobia". The mosque opened, despite APT's protests.Founders Hale and Jacobs wrote an op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
article that The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
printed on July 5, 2009, in which they said that the mosque was "paid for largely by the Saudis, and run by what federal authorities describe as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
," and that "it is way past time for sensible citizens to demand answers to questions about the leaders of the new Islamic Center in Roxbury." The op-ed article indicated that the mosque had sued organizations headed by both Hale and Jacobs.
Mehanna bail release incident
Ilya Feoktistov is APT's Research Director. Commenting in November 2009 on the possible bailBail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
release of Tarek Mehanna, charged with providing material support to terrorists, Feoktistov said:
Boston has one of the oldest, moderate, educated Muslim communities in America, but unfortunately in recent years there's been an influx in radical ideology that's having a terrible effect on Boston Muslims. We're very concerned about what they are teaching kids at Islamic centers that are radical around here.
Guantanamo Bay detainee incident
In January 2010, upset that two aldermen had sponsored a failed attempt to bring a Guantanamo Bay detainee to the city, Jacobs said: "We want [aldermen] Steve Linsky and Ted Hess-Mahan to apologize, and to go for sensitivity trainingSensitivity training
Sensitivity Training is a form of training that claims to make people more aware of their own prejudices, and more sensitive to others. According to its critics, it involves the use of psychological techniques with groups that its critics, e.g. G. Edward Griffin, claim are often identical to...
, or resign. If they do not apologize, we will consider forming a movement to recall them." Jacobs said he believes allowing Guantanamo Bay detainees into the U.S. is dangerous, adding: "To say that one belongs to a charity ring of that group
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
, the group with which the detainee was affiliated], is like saying that one only belonged to the part of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
that organized bake sale
Bake sale
A bake sale is a fundraising activity where baked goods such as doughnuts, cupcakes and cookies, sometimes along with ethnic foods, are sold. Bake sales are usually held by small, non-profit organizations, such as clubs, school groups and charitable organizations...
s."
