UPDATE: Quabbin Reservior and Hampshire mosque

The members of Hampshire mosque - Amherst, which promotes peace and understanding, are understandably concerned about the decision of both the Massachusetts State Police "media relations office" and the Hampshire District Court to "black out" the names of the Muslim students from Pakistan, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia who admitted to illegally trespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir in May.

Muslims illegally lurking around the Quabbin caused a statewide terror alert and investigation.

Release the names and remove the Islamophobic cloud of suspicion.

Hampshire mosque members have nothing to hide.By not releasing the names they have only given ammunition to Islamaphobes who like to paint all Muslims with the same terrorist brush. 

Certainly the mosque has many members from "Pakistan, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia" - and many of them are "chemical engineers and recent graduates of UMass and Smith that live in Sunderland, Northampton, Amherst, and Cambridge." 

But these Muslims are all community members who have chosen "public health and safety" fields as their careers. 

They would not risk the reputation of the ISWM, Hampshire mosque, the MSA, or local Muslims by sneaking around looking for vulnerabilities in our infrastructure. 

Hampshire mosque members proudly and openly serve the community in the Public Health services.

They do not hide or lurk about at critical water supplies, but are proud to publicly proclaim both their service to the community and their Muslim faith.

The Hampshire mosque has always been very open about their members and goals and no one have ever been caught urging violence or bloodshed except for Dr. Hazratji.

Dr. Ali Hazratji


Chaplain Abdelaal earned a degree in architecture but, inspired by 9/11, devoted himself to spreading Islam. Mrs. Abdelaal (nee Lozovaya) is the Chaplin for the muslimahs at Mt. Holyoke College.

Javeria Mir, a recent Pakistani immigrant, is a UMass graduate and Sanitarian in Amherst. Javeria received special Homeland Security training assessing the vulnerabilities of the Quabbin reservoir and emergency response procedures.  

Her husband, Gul Ahmed is a Pakistani chemical engineer and helps take care of their growing family in their new South Hadley home.

Wajih Elsallal, Hampshire mosque founder, was born in Syria and raised in Saudi Arabia, Wajih attended post-graduate engineering studies at UMass and recently moved to the Boston suburbs.

Utama Abdulwahid of Singapore received a Ph.D in engineering from UMass in 2004. Utama lives in Belchertown just a few miles from the Quabbin and has visited often during the day to enjoy the quiet beauty of Allah's creation.

Naz Mohamed is a UMass alumni and works with the ION Interfaith group.

Bushra Fouz and her husband, Patrick Bensen, manage the chickens at the Islamic Society's Stony Brook Valley/Red Fire Farms in Granby.  Bushra has written some inspirational poetry that captures the essence of the Islamic love that permeates the mosque and its members.

Haneef M. Sahabdeen, of Sri Lanka, is a Radiation Safety Services Officer (RSSO) at UMass and a New England Radiation Protection specialist.

Brahim Oulbeid teaches Arabic and operates a successful taxi business.

Assem Sayedahmed is a Food Microbiologist and NEHA certified trainer in health, safety, and poisoning.

Hampshire mosque's Sunderland address