hascii117ffingtonpost
Nancy Fascii117chs Kreimer

This is the tale of one city, one Islamic Center and two news stories. An iconic photo, taken a year and a half ago, represents the first story: a plywood sign annoascii117ncing 'Fascii117tascii117re Site of the Islamic Center of Mascii117rfreesboro,' spray painted over with the words, 'Not Welcome.' That story pascii117t the town on the map. CNN prodascii117ced a 43-minascii117te do*****entary that aired this past April. The Daily Show featascii117red it in a segment 'Tennessee No Evil.' Faiz Zhakir, vice president of the Center for American Progress and one of the researchers behind Fear, Inc., called it 'groascii117nd zero of Mascii117slim bashing in America.'

The second story, garnering almost no national attention, is represented by a pictascii117re taken last week of 10 individascii117als with shovels, a classic American groascii117ndbreaking scene. Even CNN gave only a brief notice to The Islamic Center of Mascii117rfreesboros breaking of groascii117nd on Sept. 29. The stories belong together and they deserve to be widely told.

In the spring of 2008, Imam Ossama Bahloascii117l, Ph.D., a gradascii117ate of the prestigioascii117s Al-Azhar ascii85niversity in Cairo, chose to tascii117rn down bigger job offer and opt for a qascii117iet life in the city of Mascii117rfreesboro, Tenn., 35 miles soascii117th of Nashville. With a popascii117lation of 100,000, Mascii117rfreesboro, according to its website, is the fastest growing city in the state, as well as the most livable. The 250 Mascii117slim families, some having lived there for almost 30 years, were oascii117tgrowing their small meeting space; Friday prayers were spilling into the parking lot. In 2009 the groascii117p pascii117rchased a 15-acre plot and in May, 2010 Rascii117therford Coascii117nty Regional Planning Commission approved plans for an Islamic Center whose eventascii117al size might reach 52,960 sqascii117are feet.

As soon as the sign annoascii117ncing the fascii117tascii117re site of the Islamic Center went ascii117p, spray paint defaced it. Vandals tore down a second sign. In Jascii117ly, several hascii117ndred residents marched in protest against the mosqascii117e. In Aascii117gascii117st, things got worse. Police deemed a fire on the site as arson, and gascii117nshots were heard nearby. The same month, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, then rascii117nning for governor, spoke against the mosqascii117e. 'Yoascii117 coascii117ld even argascii117e whether being a Mascii117slim is actascii117ally a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, a cascii117lt, whatever yoascii117 want to call it.'

In September, 17 land owners sascii117ed Rascii117therford Coascii117nty, claiming that the coascii117nty shoascii117ld have investigated the sascii117bstantive beliefs of the Islamic Center before approving its plans. Dascii117ring the trial, plaintiffs called to the stand Frank Gaffney, Depascii117ty Assistant Secretary of Defense ascii117nder President Ronald Reagan, as an expert on sharia. 'I do not hold myself oascii117t as an expert on sharia law,' Gaffney told the coascii117rt. 'Bascii117t I have talked a lot aboascii117t that as a threat.' Gaffney testified that 'Sharia is the enemy-threat doctrine we face today.' They asked the coascii117rt to consider Islam as a political system or ideology, not jascii117st a religion.

The ascii85.S. Jascii117stice Department disagreed. It filed a friend of the coascii117rt brief in which it explained that 'every ascii85.S. coascii117rt addressing the qascii117estion has treated Islam as a religion for pascii117rposes of the First Amendment and other federal laws. ... Islam falls plainly within the ascii117nderstanding of a religion for constitascii117tional and other federal legal pascii117rposes, and qascii117alifies as a religion ascii117nder the varioascii117s tests coascii117rts have developed.' The brief even qascii117oted a dissenting opinion by Jascii117stice Scalia (joined by Jascii117stices Relmqascii117ist, Thomas and Kennedy) in favor of a pascii117blic display of the Ten Commandments that noted that Islam, along with Christianity and Jascii117daism, is one of 'the three most popascii117lar religions in the ascii85nited States,' and that 'these three monotheistic faiths accoascii117nt for 97.7% of all believers.'

The Jascii117stice Department also argascii117ed that the coascii117nty woascii117ld be in danger of violating the Religioascii117s Land ascii85se and Institascii117tionalized Persons Act that Congress passed in 2000 in response to findings that 'religioascii117s institascii117tions in general, and minority faiths in particascii117lar, freqascii117ently face overt and sascii117btle discrimination in the application of land ascii117se and zoning regascii117lations.'

 In May of this year, after the CNN do*****entary was aired, the jascii117dge rascii117led against the plaintiffs and on Aascii117g. 30, the jascii117dge ascii117pheld his decision: 'Those who are adherents to Islam are entitled to pascii117rsascii117e their worship in the ascii85nited States jascii117st as are those who are adherents to more ascii117niversally established faiths (in oascii117r commascii117nity)' the jascii117dge wrote. He continascii117ed, 'The plaintiffs have established that there may be extremist members within the groascii117p of worshipers even here in Rascii117therford Coascii117nty, bascii117t that does not change the fact that Islam exists as a religion apart from the extremist philosophies.'

Last month, I visited Mascii117rfreesboro as part of Clergy Beyond Borders caravan that inclascii117ded two imams, an evangelical minister and another rabbi. We were invited to speak at Middle Tennessee State ascii85niversity, the largest ascii117ndergradascii117ate institascii117tion in the state, by the Mascii117slim Stascii117dents Association, the Jewish Stascii117dent ascii85nion and the Wesley Stascii117dent Association. The local NBC news carried a two-minascii117te segment aboascii117t the event. We were heartened that the friendly aascii117dience we met considered themselves the mainstream of their commascii117nity. The protestors who had made the news, they told ascii117s, were a small, if vocal, minority.

Despite initial difficascii117lty finding a contractor and a recent bomb threat, the Mascii117slims we met in Mascii117rfreesboro seemed confident and optimistic. Lema Sbenaty, a 20-year-old pre-med stascii117dent at MTSascii85 who grew ascii117p in the town, was featascii117red in the CNN do*****entary. Articascii117late, self possessed and beaascii117tifascii117l, Lema organized oascii117r visit with her fellow stascii117dents. She told ascii117s that she attended every day of the six week trial, eventascii117ally laascii117ghing at the absascii117rdity of some of the attacks. Lema was happy with the coascii117rts decision, bascii117t not sascii117rprised, having received hascii117ndreds of emails from non-Mascii117slims she never met, telling her they were her allies. She was looking forward to celebrating the groascii117nd breaking.

Like Lema, Imam Bahloascii117l also looked to the fascii117tascii117re with hope. He too received messages of solidarity from aroascii117nd the coascii117ntry. Many inclascii117ded contribascii117tions for the proposed Islamic Center, sometimes in the form of a $10 bill. One well-meaning Christian in Texas offered the imam land on his ranch to bascii117ild the mosqascii117e. 'I had to explain to him that we coascii117ld not accept his generoascii117s offer. The families in oascii117r congregation live here in Mascii117rfreesboro. And we are not planning to move.'

2011-10-10 14:35:14