Two Sheepshead Bay residents still fighting the hopeless battle to stop the construction of a Voorhies Avenue mosque protested a school supply giveaway in front of the still-under-construction house of worship on Saturday – but were easily drowned out by the dozens of parents and children looking for free backpacks, notebooks, and pencils.

Two neighbors noticed the Islamic Circle of North America – a group affiliated with the new mosque – handing out the supplies and used the opportunity to launch an impromptu protest, claiming that the building will destroy their block. “They picked the wrong place,” said resident Leonard Krupnik. “This is a residential community.”

But Krupnik and fellow protestor Victor Benari weren’t holding signs protesting the mosque’s location. They were holding signs reading “No M.A.S.” – an abbreviation for the Muslim American Society, which critics say has ties to Islamic extremist groups.

The two didn’t have much company throughout the day: the line of people looking for free school supplies ignored the two men, witnesses said.

Brooklyn Daily, 31 August 2012

See also “Muslims help crisis-hit Americans”, On Islam, 24 August 2012