Mosque Opponent Calls "Kenny The Carpenter" A Plant
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 12:00PMA New York Mosque opponent appears to have accused “Kenny the carpenter,” a dark-skinned man confronted by demonstrators at a rally Sunday, of being an agent provocateur.
The initial exchange between the dark-skinned man and the crowd was captured on camera and the footage has since gained considerable momentum on the blogosphere. The video shows a man, identified only as a carptenter named Kenny by the videographer, making his way through the rally’s crowd as demonstrators chant “no mosque here.” After a mosque opponent approaches Kenny personally, a shouting-match erupts between he and other attendants.
In a video posted by Talk Radio News, a speaker tells the rally shortly after the incident that the exchange was intended to egg the crowd on.
“We had someone up here looking to cause trouble. Someone in here trying to make us all look like racists,” the speaker shouted. “We don’t have to prove s*** to anybody. This is our country.”
The footage from Talk Radio News features a different angle of the incident than the video that gained popularity Sunday. The original is here. The Talk Radio News version is here.
This is not the first time Conservative activists have accused individuals of being plants. During the tea party rallies amid the health care reform debate, a trend emerged wherein organizers dismissed attendants with racist signs as left-wingers intent on embarrassing the movement.
Justin Duckham and Benny Martinez contributed to this report.
Grassroot Activists Unveil A New Online Platform For American Muslims
A collection of American Muslims announced a new grassroots online project Monday aimed at countering any anti-Islamic sentiment that has developed around the controversial proposal to build a mosque near the site of the World Trade Center.
Entitled “MyFaithMyVoice.com,” the newly launched website is being described as a platform for American Muslims to voice their opinions via-video.
“The website allows Muslims to … speak directly to the American public about what is in their hearts and what is on their minds,” Hassan Ahmad, a Virginia-based lawyer involved with the project, said during a briefing at the National Press Club.
Added Ahmad, “We hope that our … own Muslim community will take advantage of this opportunity to simply let our fellow Americans know who we are”
Ahmad stressed that those who came together for My Faith, My Voice do not represent a single strain of Islamic thought, nor do they hail from one organization. The group also says that they have no connection with Park 51, the individuals spearheading the effort to build the New York mosque. When asked if the group would comment on whether the mosque should be built, Ahmad said that the organization is too diverse to issue a collective statement on the matter.
The new website prominently features a new PSA portraying Muslim men and women of various races explaining that American Muslims fit seamlessly into U.S. society.
“I don’t want to impose my faith on you,” one of the video’s participants says.
“I don’t want to take over this country,” says another.