Imam Mohamed Asi previously led the daily and Jum'ah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. His khutbahs originate from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige. He is also the author of the first-ever tafseer of the Qur'an - titled : The Ascendant Qur'an- written directly in the English Language. The Qur'an gained popularity with a wide variety of Muslims, justice seeking groups and sinister rulers. However, this has led to translations and interpretations that fit the different agendas of these wayward rulers and often has meant drifting far from the original meaning of the words. Imam Asi attempts to reverse this trend and in my analysis of his struggle, he has deliberately set out to evacuate these covert assailants on Islam's mission who distort or completely alter the message that the Qur'an actually transmit. 08-13-2009 The Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) is an international intellectual centre of the global Islamic movement.[1] It consists of individual activists, journalists and academics from around the world who share a common commitment to developing the social and political ideology of Islam, and promoting their ideas and analysis as an alternative worldview to that of the western civilization. ICIT was established in 1998 to continue the work initiated by the late Dr. Kalim Siddiqui (1931–1996), who was Director of the Muslim Institute in London. Following his death, Dr Kalim Siddiqui's closest associates advanced the work of ICIT. These include Zafar Bangash of Toronto, Canada, who is now Director of the ICIT, Imam Muhammad al-Asi and Imam Abdul Alim Musa of Washington DC, and Iqbal Siddiqui of London, now the editor of the Crescent International news magazine. Show Less >>