Elizabeth (NJ) mosque organizes national prayer gathering for Muslims in Washington, D.C.

A mosque in Elizabeth, Dar-ul-Islam, is spearheading a national prayer gathering next month in Washington, D.C., that organizers are billing as the first event of its kind — organized prayer for tens of thousands of Muslims outside the U.S. Capitol building.

The event will not include political speeches or placards, just prayer, said Hassen Abdellah, president of Dar-ul-Islam and a main organizer of the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 25.

Abdellah says,

“This is not a protest. Never has the Islamic community prayed on Capitol Hill for the soul of America. We’re Americans. We need to change the face of Islam so people don’t feel every Muslim believes America is ‘the great Satan,’ because we love America.”

This is an exercise in good intentions, though I’m skeptical about how well this will be received by a largely secular American population that responds awkwardly at best to public displays of worship. I could easily see Islamophobes using such imagery in their ‘invasion’ and ‘takeover’ propaganda…