OSMANLI DERGAHI

1663 Wheat Hill Road, Sidney Center, New York, 13839

(607) 369-4816
www.Naksibendi.org

October 1, 2010

Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim,

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
Dear Fellow Townspeople of Sidney and Upstate New Yorkers,

My name is Hans Hass and I am a member of the Sufi Muslim community center. By now, I’m sure any of you
reading this letter have heard something about our cemetery and the Town’s attempts to force us to dig up the
bodies buried there. I won’t go into the details of the matter, but I have attached a short history below. Let me just
say that we have done everything legally and tried to work with the town to resolve this, to no avail. At the last
Town meeting, I warned Mr. McCarthy that the Board’s actions could generate a lot of negative publicity. He
responded : “I don’t care”. We’re sorry like everyone to see that the issue has given Sidney and, by association all
of Upstate NY and America, a bad name. As Americans, we know that the vast majority of people here are not
bigoted. I am writing this to explain our position going forward and to suggest how we might work together as the
larger community of Sidney to resolve this in a peaceful and constructive way.

One person the other day reminded me of an account of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. One day,
he was sitting and talking with some of his companions. The funeral procession of a Jew came in sight and the
Prophet stood up in silence until the procession passed. At the time, there were severe political tensions between
some Jewish clans and the first Muslims. One of the companions asked, “Why do you stand up? You know that
man was a Jew.” The Prophet turned around and asked, “Was he not a human being?”

This is the true way of Islam. It is the way of Jesus and Moses and all the Messengers of Allah, peace be upon
them. It is the way that we seek to live here at our “dergah”, our community center in Sidney. Unfortunately,
extremists from all sides, people filled with anger, have taken over the political landscape in this country and
around the world. Korans burn, embassies burn, a bomb is dropped killing innocent people, a car bomb goes off
killing innocent people, some attempt to desecrate a cemetery… The world is now watching what we do in Sidney.
If we, as reasonable people, do not stand up, speak out and show that the actions of a few officials do not
represent us as a whole, then we too are responsible for any evil that comes of this. There are people in the area,
not from our Muslim group, who are organizing a peaceful protest to be held at the next town meeting on October
14. Like it or not, national and international media will be there.

The easiest way to resolve this would be for the Town Board of Supervisors to apologize for their mistake and for
Supervisor Robert McCarthy and Town Attorney Joseph Ermeti to resign. For a man who has brought dishonor to
the town he represents, it would be the honorable thing to do. However, I don’t think we can count on this.

Some good things have already come out of all this. I think we’ll get a better town government. Apathy towards
local politics, my own included, has helped put us in this situation where people who really are unfit for public
office can gain power and cause such damage.

Another good thing is that it has brought people of goodwill together. Hundreds have called and wrote us to offer
their support and kind words. We have tried to respond to everyone personally, but we’d like to say again: Thank
you and may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon you.

Sincerely,
Hans Hass
on behalf of the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani Sufi Order in Sidney, NY.