Several at the mosque echoed the statement with concerns about how media, especially Western media, broadcasts a bombardment of messages at odds with their religious beliefs. Paramount among these worrisome signals, said one man from Sri Lanka who declined to give his name, are the glorification of drinking alcohol and casual attitudes toward sex.
"I can't send my kids to school here [in Taiwan]. What they teach is what I am opposed to in every way," he said.
Ma elaborated on the cultural friction, saying that Western individualism admits much behavior that Islamic collectives find unacceptable. As examples, he mentioned homosexuality, abortion and sex before marriage.
"Islam says these are immoral. The West says this is freedom," he said.
Also a source of tension that a few people at the mosque could not help mentioning was "the Palestine problem." Specifically, Ma cited Palestine's millennia-old territorial dispute with Israel, while one or two others broached their bitterness at US support for Israel, which is compounded by Israeli troops' continued shedding of Palestinian blood.
Agitated by such topics, the man from Sri Lanka went so far as to threaten this reporter, who is American, saying, "You are safe in the mosque today, but if there is an attack, you better watch out. Then you must go back. Out of Taiwan. You will not be allowed to stay here."
Soon afterwards, others from the mosque told me that this man's views were found abhorrent by many of his fellow Muslims. They implored me to disregard him. He was only one bad apple, they said, and only a few ever listened to him.
One such voice came from Kahveci, who said, "Muslims are like everybody else. We do not support violence in any form. All we want is peace."
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